This archive report was first published on 27 July 2019.
On Saturday, Moscow police arrested more than 600 people who had gathered outside City Hall to protest what they called unfair upcoming elections and demand that opposition candidates be allowed to run for city government.
The protest in the center of Moscow turned violent as riot police officers clashed with demonstrators, marking the latest in a series of street demonstrations sparked by economic hardship and President Vladimir V. Putin's declining approval ratings.
Authorities had anticipated the unauthorized demonstration, called by opposition leader Aleksei A. Navalny, and arrested him on Wednesday, sentencing him to 30 days in jail. Other prominent opposition politicians, including Ilya Yashin, Dmitry G. Gudkov, and Ivan Zhdanov, were also rounded up before the event began, leaving protesters without leadership.
Protesters say the election is rigged without opposition candidates, and chanted slogans such as 'Where is my signature?' and 'Where is my candidate?'
According to OVD-Info, an independent monitor, the number of arrests reached 638 by Saturday evening. Police used chemical irritants and nightsticks to disperse the crowd, with one woman bleeding from a blow to the head.
Despite near-weekly protests this month, it's unclear whether the opposition is building momentum. The crowd sizes have been small, and the police response has been robust.
On September 8, Moscow's City Council will hold elections for its 45 seats, which are controlled by the pro-Kremlin United Russia party. The council is responsible for a large municipal budget, and election officials have so far registered nearly 200 candidates, most of whom are supportive of Mr. Putin.
