“March of Millions” turns into clashes with police.
From the very beginning, the March of millions was a nervous event. Even before the march many large liberal media sites: Echo Moscow radio station, Kommersant daily, and Dozhd TV channel, were subjected to DDOS-attacks. Authorities closed nine metro stations in the center of the city. adding to the tension, the Moscow military commissariat confirmed it would issue draft summons to all detained men, even if they are older than the draft age.
Despite the nervous mood, there were from 10,000 to 20,000 people by 4pm according to different estimates. The number surprised even march organizers, in their notification to city authorities they said they expected 5,000 participants in the March of Millions.
Later, the number of participants grew with some optimistic estimates giving the march 50,000 participants. Yakimanka street was filled with people. There were banners of “Solidarnost,” “Left Front,” nationalists, and the LGBT community all in separate marching columns. Several dozen participants formed a column in support of the arrested Pussy Riot members.
Police estimate that there were 8,000 protesters.
The march started at approximately 16.15. The head of the column, where Alexei Navalny, Sergei Udaltsov, Ilya Yashin and Boris Nemtsov were, reached Bolotnaya square in half an hour. Then, suddenly, the march leaders announced a sit-in right on Maly Kamenny bridge, near the Udarnik cinema. The passage to Bolotnaya square, where the rally was to be held, was obstructed by a line of metal detectors. There were police cordons in front of the Bolshoi Kamenny bridge, put there so that the protesters couldn't march to the Kremlin after the rally.
Groups of protesters started to join the sit-in, some with drums. OMON (riot police) started to push the protesters away, so that the sitters had to stand up and move.
At some point someone threw several flashes and bottles with flammable liquids at riot policemen. Gazeta.ru correspondents report these were masked young men. OMON started to detain people, very roughly. Before taking a detained protester to a police bus, policemen thoroughly beat him with batons. March participants broke through some of the police chains.
After police chief Vladimir Kolokoltsev arrived at the scene, police started to detain more people. OMON arrested Alexei Navalny, almost breaking his arm. Udaltsov was arrested later when he came on the stage to announce that the rally was over, but that protesters should stay in the square. Boris Nemtsov was also arrested. Leaderless activists stayed in the streets.
In some parts of the square clashes were especially brutal, the protesters managed to break the asphalt on the Maly Kamenny bridge and started throwing pieces of it at the police, who answered the throws with beatings and brutal arrests.
Approximately 450 people were detained, ITAR-TASS reports, quoting a police source.
Police reported 20 policemen wounded, one of them was knifed. Six protesters were also hospitalized.
Most of rally participants dispersed in the evening, but several hundred protesters are still there, police are pushing the crowd to Bolshaya Ordynka.
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