St. Petersburg authorities refuse opposition's request to hold May Day demonstration in city center
Boris Vyshnevsky, the Deputy in St. Petersburg’s legislative assembly and Russian political analyst reported that, for the first time in many years, the opposition wasn’t allowed to hold a rally dedicated to the Spring and Labor Festival. “Petersburg democratic opposition received a refusal to hold the procession dedicated to the 1st of May and rally in the center of Petersburg for the first time in recent years,” the public figure wrote on his Facebook page on the 25th of April.
According to Vyshnevsky, the authorities justified their decision by the fact that another previously declared procession was scheduled at the same time. Vyshnevsky stated that in the previous years all such events were successfully held one after the other. Now, the Russian United Democratic Party Yabloko changed their proposal to hold a procession and rally in Polyustrovsky Park in the north-east of St. Petersburg.
The Democratic Petersburg Party, the People’s Freedom Party, the Progress Party, the Democratic Choice of Russia and other political parties all proposed to hold a procession and rally in Novoselki in the north of the city. “It's a real mockery,” Vyshnevsky said, outraged.