The public garden on St. Isaac’s Square in St. Petersburg, where the opposition holds its “festivities,” has been closed for repairs, but protesters are remaining at the park.
The “festivities” have been held in St. Petersburg and Moscow for more than a week. Petersburg activists gather on St. Isaac's Square, where they socialize, play games and sing songs, peacefully protesting against the authorities.
Over a hundred people, including famous musicians, artists, and also film director Alexander Sokurov, stroll across St. Petersburg from St. Isaac’s Square towards Nevsky Prospect on Sundays. The organizers of the event said that next Sunday they plan to hold a protest walk again.
The protest walk with writers in Moscow a week ago gathered some 2,000 participants according to the police while the organizers put the figure at over 10,000.
The idea of a "protest walk" was suggested by writer Boris Akunin who actively participated in protests against the alleged fraud at the parliamentary elections in winter.
The Moscow protest walk took place after the police’s tight response to the March of Millions held on the eve of the inauguration of Vladimir Putin for a third presidential term, in which dozens of people were detained.
