Fifteen persons come out to protest against political repressions in Volgograd

On October 31, in Volgograd, 15 people gathered for a rally against political repressions and for disbanding the Centre for Combating Extremism.

The list of protesters' demands included release of all political prisoners and termination of repressions against "dissident political and civil activists." During the rally, activists collected signatures for release of political prisoners.

The rally, held on the embankment near the fountain "Arts", was organized by Boris Stikhin, an activist of the International Union of Anarchists. He was supported by the "Left-Wing Front", the "RPR-Parnas" and the Volgograd Branch of the Society of Defrauded Depositors of the "Sberbank" (Russian Savings Bank).

Boris Stikhin reminded, in his opening word, that October 30 is the Memory Day of victims of political repressions. "The country where we live has machinery for police suppression of the dissent," said the organizer. "This suppression is targeted – such as the demonstrative trial on the 'Bolotnaya Case', where now about 30 persons are the figurants."

Mr Stikhin also criticized the operation of the centres to combat extremism, which, in his words, "were involved in intimidating civil society activists and planting drugs on them."