Background

In January-February 2005, rallies were held in dozens of cities against the law on the monetization of benefits. Thus, on January 10, in Khimki near Moscow, 1 thousand pensioners blocked the Leningradskoye Highway. As a result, many benefits were retained in the regions, and the government spent 100 billion rubles on an unscheduled increase in pensions.

On February 12, 2006, thousands of cars with white ribbons and slogans “No to flashing lights!” drove onto Russian roads. They supported Oleg Shcherbinsky, who was sentenced to four years for participating in an accident with the car of the governor of the Altai Territory, Mikhail Evdokimov. Soon Mr. Shcherbinsky was acquitted.

In March-April 2006, rallies were held in Irkutsk against the construction of the Eastern Siberia-Pacific Ocean oil pipeline near Lake Baikal. On April 26, President Vladimir Putin publicly ordered a change in route.

Since December 2006, the opposition has regularly held “Dissent Marches.” The largest event was on March 3, 2007 in St. Petersburg, which attracted about 5 thousand people. In May 2009, the “Dissent Marches” transformed into regular “Strategy-31” actions in defense of freedom of assembly. On Triumfalnaya Square in Moscow, they attracted from several hundred to 2 thousand people.

On December 14, 2008, in Vladivostok, about 3 thousand motorists dissatisfied with the increase in duties on foreign cars blocked the main streets and demanded the resignation of Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. By the end of the day, riot police from the Moscow region dispersed the demonstrators.

On June 2, 2009, about 300 residents of the city of Pikalevo blocked the St. Petersburg-Vologda federal highway for seven hours, demanding the resumption of cement production and payment of wage arrears. After the prime minister's intervention, the debts were paid off and production started working.

On December 12, 2009, a rally was held in Kaliningrad with the participation of 5 thousand people against increasing the transport tax , and on January 30, 2010, 10 thousand people demanded the resignation of Governor Georgy Boos. Already in January, the local Duma reduced the increase in taxes, and in August, United Russia did not include Mr. Boos on the list for re-approval.

In the summer of 2010, the fight against the construction of an expressway through the Khimki forest intensified. On July 28, more than 500 people attacked the administration of Khimki, and on August 22, a rally and concert in defense of the forest was held in Moscow by three thousand people. Soon, President Dmitry Medvedev suspended construction, but then it was decided to continue the project.

On December 11, 2010, in Moscow on Manezhnaya Square, according to various sources, from 5 thousand to 20 thousand football fans gathered, dissatisfied with the investigation into the murder of Spartak fan Yegor Sviridov. Similar actions, mainly under nationalist slogans, took place in other cities.

The largest protests in recent years