The Moscow Mayor’s Office has authorized an opposition rally planned for May 1 on Bolotnaya Square, Russian journalist Olga Romanova reported on her Facebook page.
The event will start at 15:00 Moscow time (11:00 GMT), according to Romanova, who gave no other details about the format of the action and did not say how many people had been authorized to attend.
The event is in support of the opposition protest movement throughout Russia, including demonstrations in Astrakhan, Nizhny Novgorod and other cities, lenta.ru reported, citing a member of the organizing committee meetings Yury Saprykin.
A bid to host the May 1 rally was filed on April 16.
Moscow authorities have agreed with representatives of three political parties that rallies and marches will be held on May 1 in the city center, a source in the city administration said.
The Communist Party has been allowed to march on Kaluzhskaya Square across the Bolshaya Yakimanka street, Bolshaya Polyanka and Mokhovaya street to Teatralnaya Square.
“The time of the rally from 11:30 to 14:30 (7:30 – 10:30 GMT), the number of registered participants is up to 5,000 people,” the source said.
The Far right Liberal-Democratic Party (LDPR) will hold a rally in Pushkinskaya Square from 12:00 to 14:00 (8:00 – 10:00 GMT) with the 2,000 registered participants.
The A Just Russia party will also hold a rally of up to 5,000 protesters in Pushkinskaya Square from 11:00 to 13:30 (7:00 – 9:30 GMT).
The Moscow authorities also approved a Trade Unions Federation rally in the capital on May 1 with 100,000 people, the source said.
Previous opposition rallies in Moscow in the last six months have gathered tens of thousands of people, including one at Bolotnaya Square in December.
Authorized demonstrations have passed off peacefully, but unauthorized actions have been swiftly broken up by the authorities and participants arrested.
