"March of Freedom" Was Cancelled Due to Absence of the Last

Representatives of opposition assure that their negotiations with the authorities of Moscow about rather mass action under the name "March of Freedom", planned for December, 15 broke down.

Sergey Udaltsov writes: "It seems that March on December, 15 won't be coordinated. People want to gather at 15.00 on Lubyanka. They have this right. Responsibility for lack of coordination of the March lies completely on City Mayor’s Office. We did everything we could. See you on March!"

"Officially: City Mayor’s Office just rejected finely our lawful notice on procession. On December, 15 we will meet on Lubyanskaya Square," — oppositionist Alexey Navalny wrote in his microblog in "twitter". "We took the most flexible position. Procession along any route with termination on any of six central squares. Answer: no, you are nobody," — he added.

The member of the coordination council of the movement "Solidarity" Ilya Yashin also reported in "twitter" that "negotiations with City Mayor’s Office on coordination of “March of Freedom" broke down". "Officials rejected our demand and didn't offer acceptable route," — he claims.

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From editorial board: City Mayor’s Office has experience of illegal rejection of the demands. From personal experience - in October they illegally forbade meeting against closing of YouTube. At first they confirmed unsuitable for the action place, we heard refusal at the attempt to coordinate more acceptable places including refusal of the place which was earlier offered by City Mayor’s Office itself.

Naturally, there is no place to appeal. In October we held the event under roof that doesn't demand coordination now. Even in this case there was a pressure upon owners of the gallery Vinzavod, upon Marat Gelman who provided the room to us. Gelman didn't pull in horns and the action took place.

It’s clear thing that march can’t take place inside. Even if to rent pavilion in the All-Russia Exhibition Centre. It’s fraught to postpone the meeting even for a week, New Year and frosts are coming.

Go over open conflict?

It seems that the power pushes to it. It is the first thing.

Secondly - by and large, nobody asks for our opinion. There is certain Coordination Council of Opposition, there is Navalny, Sobchak, Yashin, Parkhomenko and a number of outstanding figures of oppositional movement, national heroes and orators. We have absolutely different function - to listen what we will be said.

City Mayor’s Office treats laws like it wants and does what it likes though we didn't elect it. It’s been appointed to us by Putin who is elected by us. But tens thousand people come to mass actions just because they didn't elect any Putin. Tens of thousands, while millions live in the country... After all people coming to marches, as a rule, don't know also those who voted for Putin. On average a person has about 200 acquaintances. Let's multiply even only 30 thousand by 200 and we will receive 6 million. Practically all voting population of Moscow. Plus, minus but all the same it turns out that Putin wasn’t elected in Moscow. Why does he dictate Moscow his will and do it through intermediaries appointed by him? If he has such right?

Though we also didn’t choose Coordination Council of Opposition. Say, Forum of Left Forces uniting vast majority of left organizations made the decision not to participate in the elections of Coordination Council. Liberal majority of CC now has hysteria related to the majority of people with red flags participating in marches – thus it confirms that the majority of opposition obviously didn't vote for them. All in all only 60 thousand participant voted – figure which is obviously less either than 140 million of the Russians and 12 million of Muscovites. If to believe that counting of votes was honest, actually it’s hardly be trusted, but it’s not our business - we didn't vote.

Why then does someone from CC represent us to someone in the City Mayor’s Office? What do WE have to do with it?

Actually, situation of a year prescription which was in details described by The Moscow New Times repeats now. The participants are practically the same. With that difference that last December there was no experience of May, 6 and now we have it and the power waits for continuation - not all are in prison.

Actually all demonstrations have sense when force, instead of weakness is shown. What will we show on 15th?

For a year of mass protests none requirement of people was met by the authorities. None! The main reason is in people who managed to put itself at the head of the protest. By December, 24th of last year they formulated own targets and tasks - not change of a mode, but improvement of own situation at existing mode. They received it, one part fell off at once, other part continues the game. Own game, as far as we could judge. In this game we are even not pawns, but some anonymous counters. Whether counters can have requirements?

So, it seems that such satiation should be changed. People should be not in themselves, but to be grouped in organization, parties, fractions - somehow. These organizations also should have to be coordinated, in general. The problem of initial phase of mass protest was that unorganized people made 95 percent of mass meeting. One year passed, people got somehow defined. Someone posed before television cameras, someone built organizations. To make people go on risky adventure with unauthorized coming to Lubyanka - whether it is good? Though CC is on its own, they don't report to anyone and represent nobody, only themselves personally – they address generally unorganized masses. If it is revolutionary organization, who Grigory Gapon is then?

Certainly, such atomized structure of mass protest is very convenient for the authorities - it is possible to snatch out certain people, to do with them everything they like and to keep the main part of citizens in awe – who wants to appear in the cell in private with repression machine? While the citizen is still alone, he isn't organized, he on his own and, as a result, isn't necessary to anybody.

At such institutional capacity to compete with the power - only to flatter the demon. Demon of vanity.

There’s no revolution without revolutionary organization of revolution.

Аnatoly Baranov, editor-in-chief of FORUM.msk

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