Picketers in Volgograd criticize some Russian laws

On April 12, members of the regional branch of the "Volya" (Will) Party held a rally in Volgograd, where they stated a poor development rate of the country's aviation industry, and criticized the actions of the authorities and the "Edinaya Rossiya" (United Russia) Party.

On the Cosmonautics Day, six people gathered near the building of the Central Bank. They held a poster: "Not to drive our aerospace industry into the coffin, you, member of 'Edinaya Rossiya', go to space yourself!" The picket was accompanied by photos of Yuri Gagarin saying the famous "Poyekhali!" (Let's go!), and of Vladimir Putin saying "Priekhali!" (We've screwed up!)

Galina Lobanova, one of the organizers of the picket, said that the picketers had joined the all-Russian campaign held by the party in different cities, and launched into the sky a toy bear attached to black balloons: "The bear symbolized the 'Edinaya Rossiya'; and paper weights were attached to it with inscriptions 'Registration', 'Juvenile justice' and 'Housing utilities'."

"This was our protest against the laws adopted in our country. We also touched upon the problem of the collapse of the aviation industry in Russia. We disseminated respective leaflets among passers-by," she said.