An estimated 3000 vehicles clogged Moscows 16 lane ring road, driving around and around. Some were covered in white balloons, some merely sported a white balloon or two and white ribbons. This protest is part of building the buzz and participation in an anticipated massive protest in Moscow on February 4, 2012.
Not all cars were covered, but the vigorous protest, despite the very high cost of gasoline in Russia, went on for hours. What was it about, well read the sign:
Okay, Okay. In case you cannot read Russian, the sign says “Russia without Putin”. Those without cars got into the act too – thousands of them like these women:
But to be fair, it was not all protest, not all anti Putin and in fact there is an aspect that I wish Americans took to heart. In the Ural city of Ykaterinaberg the protest was not only PRO Putin but Pro “GOTV” – that is American wonk slang for “Get out the Vote.” Voting matters – men and women have died for the right to vote and the very best way to reclaim our government, and protect our Bill of Rights is to vote. Anyway, here is my “in all fairness some folks still want Putin” photo:
What this sign basically says is be grateful and vote! Not such a bad sentiment to end my day on.
http://www.novayagazeta.ru/photos/50773.html
Huge rally scheduled for Saturday; the Occupy Movement could have learned something about how to protest from the Russians.