Moscow to host a protest this Saturday against Russia's intervention in Syria
Moscow will host a public protest on Saturday, October 17, against Russia's intervention in Syria. The organizers of the event are the Solidarity movement and the December 5 Party. The demonstration will take place at Suvorovskaya Square and organizers have received a permit from the city to hold the rally.
In its announcement of the protest, Solidarity says its supporters don't want civilians or Russian soldiers to die in Syria for the sake of rescuing the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Organizers argue that Russia's intervention in the Syrian conflict is actually intended as a "counterbalance" to the actions of the US-led international coalition, only aggravating Russia's isolation in the world.
Moscow city officials granted organizers a permit to hold the protest on Saturday. The crowd's size is limited to 300 people.
We are against this war because Russia cannot afford to spend billions on a distant war at the cost of further deteriorating the welfare of its citizens, freezing their pension savings accounts and refusing to adjust social security benefits [for inflation].
- On September 30, following a unanimous vote by the Federation Assembly to authorize the use of Russia's armed forces abroad, Moscow launched airstrikes against targets inside Syria. The Russian Air Force has carried out attacks every day since, reportedly informing the US-led coalition of its bombing runs.
- The United States and other nations have called on Russia to focus its airstrikes on ISIL position in Syria, rather than attack armed groups currently engaged in a war against the Syrian government.