“Elections should be held under new conditions,” Kudrin told the crowd, saying the current parliament should be allowed to work for the next six months or year but then be replaced. Without new elections, he said, “there will be a revolution.” He offered to serve as a mediator.
Another erstwhile Kremlin ally, billionaire Mikhail Prokhorov, who has said that he would run for president against Putin, was also in the crowd, though he did not speak.
Thousands packed Moscow’s Sakharov Prospekt, a street named for Soviet dissident Andrei Sakharov that is a mixture of boxy Communist-era buildings and glass-fronted ones built with the gusher of oil money that accompanied Putin’s ascent. First-time protesters exchanged nervous glances as police helicopters looped overhead and hundreds of police officers stood nearby.
But many people described rapid changes within their social circles: Before the parliamentary elections, they studiously avoided the simplest mention of politics in their private lives. On Saturday, with all their friends joining in the protest, many said they had little excuse not to muster the courage to come as well.
“Before, I didn’t think a lot about politics,” said Alexandra Anisimova, 29, a lawyer. “I’m still indifferent to any political party. But it’s my obligation as a citizen to be here.”
‘We should move forward’
Putin was initially dismissive of the protesters, suggesting earlier this month that they had been paid by foreign backers and that the white ribbons they have adopted as a symbol looked like condoms. But the Kremlin has since appeared to view the demonstrators as a serious threat, with even people who once enthusiastically supported Putin drifting into the other camp.
“Russia needed Putin at a certain stage, because he is a strong politician,” said Roman Chernykh, 30, who owns a chain of clothing stores. “But we should move forward. Today’s authorities are not doing anything for businessmen.”
Protesters exulted at the turnout and warned the government to expect more.
“I can see enough people to conquer the Kremlin and the White House right now. But we are not going to do it because we are peaceful,” said Alexei Navalny, a popular blogger who has emerged as a leader of the opposition, drawing roars from the crowd as he spoke from the stage. “But we cannot be patient forever.”
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