Supporters of direct mayoral election hold solo pickets in Astrakhan

Today, the centre of Astrakhan has hosted a series of solo pickets. The protest actions were timed to the today's meeting of the Regional Duma. Supporters of Oleg Shein, a deputy of the Regional Duma, who came to the pickets, demanded to preserve the direct election of the City Mayor. The nationalists were holding in their hands the posters with slogans on social regional problems.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on October 27, deputies of the Astrakhan City Duma formulated and presented to the regional Duma the amendments to the regional bill on the formation of local self-governments in the region. According to those amendments, the head of the regional centre is to be elected from the deputies. Earlier, the issue has already been discussed in the region, and in April, Oleg Shein, the leader of the local branch of the "Spravedlivaya Rossiya" (Fair Russia) Party announced the intention to initiate a regional referendum to preserve the election of the City Mayor and deputies to the City Duma. On June 17, deputies of the Astrakhan City Duma refused to support the initiative proposed by Oleg Shein.

During the today's protest action, Oleg Shein's supporters were holding in their hands the posters reading: "We will not be silent", "This is not Khazaria", "Let's return our future". The activists stood for about half an hour, and at 10:00 a.m. Moscow time, when the City Duma started its meeting, the protestors went away.

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.