A giant traffic jam in the center of Moscow was dedicated to fair elections

Yesterday the opposition held a political rally in Moscow in a new format: as a sign of protest against violations committed in the State Duma elections, a car rally called “White Ring” was held along the Garden Ring, not coordinated with the authorities. According to the organizers, the rally has become the largest in the history of Russia - with the participation of more than 3 thousand cars. The action provoked serious traffic jams in the center of Moscow, but the protesters who were caught in the jam were happy with it.

The organizer of the White Ring motor rally was the League of Voters, created after a large-scale rally against the falsification of the State Duma elections on December 24, 2011. The League is now preparing for the protest march on February 4 in Moscow, so the White Ring became the first test of the strength of this social structure. Participants in the rally were invited via social networks to drive their cars on Sunday afternoon to the inner part of the Garden Ring for a “peaceful civil protest”, while urging, if possible, not to create inconvenience to other road users.

One of the gathering places for civil activists was the parking lot near the Central House of Artists. A red Jeep Wrangler with a “To the Kremlin” sticker and a fake anti-aircraft gun on the roof was parked here. One of the protesters tied a rubber doll with a photo of Prime Minister Vladimir Putin to the hood of his Renault Logan with ropes. Other cars had white ribbons, blue buckets and balloons, as well as “For fair elections!” stickers.

There were practically no traffic police officers nearby. Several police buses and tow trucks were on duty on Zubovskaya Square, but in general the presence of security services was not felt at the rally. Inspectors stopped the Renault Logan with the Vladimir Putin doll almost immediately, and the driver was fined 500 rubles. for unreadable numbers, and the dummy had to be moved to the salon. The rest of the cars drove onto the Garden Ring almost unhindered. By prior agreement, the protesters tried to stay in the second row. However, within half an hour it became clear that there was no longer enough space and motorists began to occupy adjacent rows.

In the last few years, several large car rallies have been held in Moscow, the reason for which was mainly protests by drivers against increased transport taxes, gasoline prices, and increased fines. This time, the protesters expressed their indignation at the results of the State Duma elections, which significantly increased the mass scale of the event. According to the Blue Buckets movement, about 3 thousand cars gathered on the Garden Ring. It is curious that not only Zhigulis and inexpensive foreign cars drove out with protest paraphernalia, but also the new BMW X6, Audi Q7, Mercedes E-classe and Range Rover. Along with the others, standing in the traffic jam were the executive BMW 7 Series (price from 3.2 million rubles), Bentley Continental GT (from 9 million rubles) and Porsche Panamera (from 4.8 million rubles), decorated with white ribbons, and also a collectible 1962 Rolls-Royce. State Duma deputy Anton Belyakov attached two blue buckets to the roof of his red Zaporozhets.

The rally was actively supported by pedestrians who stood in small groups on the Garden Ring (including above the tunnels), joyfully greeting the participants and waving white ribbons.

By 15:30, drivers managed to almost completely fill the Garden Ring with cars. The Yandex.Traffic service recorded serious traffic jams on the western and southern parts of the highway. The speed did not exceed 10 km/h; at some traffic lights we had to stand for 10-12 minutes. The traffic police did not intervene in the situation - several State Traffic Inspectorate vehicles only accompanied the convoy. In the area of New Arbat, a car with a white ribbon got into a small accident, and the presence of inspectors was very helpful.

It is curious that the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs for Moscow on Sunday counted only 300 cars that took part in the protest action. The metropolitan police could not explain to Kommersant how the count was carried out. “The rally passed without incident,” the press service of the capital’s police said. But the coordinator of the Blue Buckets movement, Pyotr Shkumatov, confidently told Kommersant that the rally was “the most massive in the history of Russia.”

Ivan Buranov

Elections to the State Duma gave runs