Moscow: Undeterred by denial to hold an
anti-Putin rally, protesters in Russia came up with a novel
way to express their anger at the alleged fraud in Duma
elections, displaying toys calling for fair polls.
Activists in the northern Russian town of Apatity, having
failed to gain permission on Saturday for a rally against the
parliamentary vote results, decided on a flashmob instead and
displayed little toys carrying placards calling for fair
elections, English language TV channel Russia on Sunday reported.
"Toys from Kinder Surprise chocolate eggs will represent
protester," the activist group's page on Russian social
networking site VKontakte, the home-grown version of Facebook.
The mixed and matched group of toys "will exactly depict
our society," the activists claimed.
And as toys are not banned from gathering, they said,
they will not be dispersed.
Organisers called on people to provide the Kinder toys,
which have long been popular with Russian kids, with slogans
fit for a protest.
"We advise sticking the slogans on toothpicks," the
group's web page advised.
At a time when tens of thousands protesters across the
country took to streets in Moscow, St. Petersburg and dozens
of cities demanding the resignation of Putin-Medvedev ruling
tandem and free elections in Russia, the organisers claim the
event in Apatity proved to be a success
"I'm for honesty," a robot proclaims with his poster,
while an elf's placard reads, "We are for fair elections."
While the 'nano-rally' - as organisers labelled it -
could not boast marching crowds, the one thing it certainly
got was public attention and the police did not disperse it.
PTI
First Published: Monday, December 12, 2011, 00:08