About 60 detained after Moscow rally held by Kremlin-friendly communists

About 60 people were detained after a rally held by Russia’s Kremlin-friendly Communist Party in Moscow, the party said in a statement. The detentions occurred as the rally was ending, according to the party, which said its Moscow branch was working to secure the release of those detained. Most of the people held were reportedly young.

The rally marked the anniversary of the Kremlin’s suppression of a parliamentary uprising in 1993. The Telegram news channel Ostorozhno Novosti reported that protesters chanted slogans including calls for freedom for political prisoners, fair elections and opposition to the president. The event took place amid reported public frustration over intensifying Ukrainian drone attacks deep inside Russia.

The strikes have hit oil refineries and warehouses, caused fuel shortages and disrupted daily life, including in Moscow, according to the supplied report. The 1993 violence followed a prolonged confrontation between President Boris Yeltsin and hardline lawmakers who opposed his free-market reforms. After Yeltsin ordered parliament dissolved and supporters of the lawmakers tried to seize the state television centre, he sent troops to shell the parliament building.

Authorities said 123 people died, while unofficial estimates were higher. The Communist Party has been a significant parliamentary force since the 1990s and has been led for more than three decades by Gennady Zyuganov, 82. Although it has criticised some government policies, the party has avoided direct criticism of President Vladimir Putin and supports Russia’s war in Ukraine.