Russia: A Voice of Discontent

On December 10, 2011, over 50,000 people assembled for a protest rally in central Moscow, just a bridge away from the Kremlin. The scope of this demonstration was unprecedented for "Putin's Russia." Overwhelmed by the dramatic rise in protest mood following the December 4, 2011 parliamentary election, the authorities did not interfere with the event. Demonstrators wore white ribbons on their coats and carried white flowers to symbolize peaceful protest. Democrats, communists, anarchists, radical lefties, and people with no political convictions came together to assert their right to make an electoral choice and their fundamental democratic liberties. Thousands of Russians made it clear that they would no longer tolerate being ignored.