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MOSCOW – Russian police arrested about 20 protesters on Wednesday night ata central Moscow square where demonstrators had moved after policeuprooted them from a camp, the latest move in a broadeningcrackdown on the forces opposing President Vladimir Putin. The Wednesday night detentions on Kudrinskaya Square come as theopposition tries to maintain momentum following a series of massiveprotests over the winter. Several hundred demonstrators had gathered at the square outsideone of the city's iconic Stalinist Gothic skyscrapers after anearly morning police raid on activists who had set up a camp in apark in the center of Chistoprudny Boulevard. Video from the square streamed by Ekho Moskvy radio's websiteWednesday night showed police forcing demonstrators into buseswhile other protesters yelled angrily. Hundreds of demonstratorsremained on the square after the arrests Police said about 20 people were detained. The state news agencyRIA Novosti cited police as saying the detentions began when policewere investigating food deliveries to the demonstrators and theirattempt to set up a field kitchen. News reports also said prominentopposition figure Ilya Yashin was among those detained. As they try to intimidate Putin's opponents, authorities have putleading protest organizers behind bars, threatened others withreprisals and proposed legislation introducing a 300-fold increasein the fine for taking part in unsanctioned rallies. Some opposition leaders hope that the tough measures will fomentanger and fuel bigger rallies. But others fear the repression willblunt the protest movement by scaring away many of the mostlymiddle-class protesters who turned out in the tens of thousands forpeaceful demonstrations this winter. A demonstration of at least 20,000 a day before Putin's May 7inauguration turned into a fierce battle with police as some of theprotest participants tried to march on the Kremlin. Scores wereinjured in clashes between stone- and bottle-throwing demonstratorsand police who fought back with truncheons and tear gas. In thenext few days police chased the opposition around city, rounding uphundreds on the streets and in cafes. Then the crackdown eased, allowing the opposition to stage a campon tree-lined Chistoprudny Boulevard, one of the most iconic andattractive places in central Moscow. The organizers refrained from putting out political posters andchanting slogans so that the round-the-clock camp technicallywouldn't count as an unsanctioned protest. The gathering dailyattracted up to a few thousand during daytime, but attendance woulddrop to just a few dozen overnight. The authorities let the camp go for a week, but lost patience aftera court on Tuesday supported a lawsuit by local residents whoclaimed that the vigil was creating a mess. Police dispersed thecamp early Wednesday and activists moved to Kudrinskaya Square,which fronts on the Garden Ring, one of the city's busiestthoroughfares. Over the weekend, authorities also let a group of popular writerslead several thousand on a march across downtown Moscow unimpeded,and several top painters and other members of the capital's artsscene plan to stage a similar demonstration this week. While authorities seem to show at least some tolerance toopposition action if the organizers fastidiously obey the law, theyclearly aim to scare those in the opposition movement who appeareager to cross the barriers. Popular blogger and anti-corruption lawyer Alexei Navalny and LeftFront leader Sergei Udaltsov, the two leading organizers of thewinter wave of protests, were sentenced to 15 days in jail fordisobeying police following the May 6 rally that ended in clashes.Some Russian media reports speculated that they could face a longerprison term if accused of staging the violence. The lawmakers who played a key role in protests, Ilya Ponomarev,Gennady Gudkov and Dmitry Gudkov, all members of the socialist JustRussia faction, have faced increasing pressure from the Kremlinparty dominating the parliament. On Tuesday, several members of the Kremlin party called forstripping the three of the immunity from prosecution they enjoyedas members of parliament. "Go ahead, arrest deputies, put us behind bars, that will onlyspeed up your demise," Gennady Gudkov, a KGB veteran turned fiercePutin critic, said during debates in the lower house. "Instead ofpolitical reforms, they want to only rely on force, but violencefoments violence." His son, Dmitry, tweeted Wednesday that the Kremlin partyapparently is preparing to initiate a bill that would introduce afive-year prison term for organizers of the rallies that end inviolence. As part of the official pressure on the Gudkovs, a private securityagency they own was targeted by authorities, who found someviolations and ordered it stripped it of its arms. In another move to tame the opposition, Putin's loyalists are alsoworking on legislation that would raise the level of fines from thecurrent maximum 5,000 rubles ($166) to 1,500,000 rubles ($50,000). The rising official pressure comes as the opposition is desperatelytrying to maintain momentum amid the feelings of gloom thatfollowed Putin's inauguration. Some activists believe massive rallies are essential for shakingPutin's power, but others argue that the opposition must focusinstead on grassroots activism and municipal elections, hoping theywould help gradually make Russia a more open and pluralisticsociety. Grigory Yavlinsky, the leader of the liberal Yabloko party, haswarned the protest leaders against provoking police. "If the organizers believe that the riot police cruelty willmultiply the number of people eager to fight them, it's a wrongcalculation," he wrote on his blog. "People will simply stopattending rallies and marches if blood is shed there, if they arebeaten." ___ Associated Press writer Jim Heintz in Moscow contributed to thisreport. The e-commerce company in China offers quality products such as Plastic Toy Molding , Industrial Mouldings Manufacturer, and more. For more , please visit Plastics Injection Molding today!
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