The opposition “March Against Scoundrels” began on Pushkin Square in Moscow, aimed against the ban on the adoption of Russian children by American citizens. This was reported by a Lenta.ru correspondent from the scene.

Left Front coordinator Sergei Udaltsov said that up to 30 thousand people had gathered by the start of the action. Another opposition activist Ilya Yashin said that at least 20 thousand are already on Pushkinskaya. According to preliminary estimates from a Lenta.ru correspondent, the number of participants in the action does not exceed 10 thousand people. However, people quickly arrive at the starting point of the march, so that a crush periodically occurs on the square and adjacent boulevards. According to the first estimates of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, by 13:45 4.5 thousand people had gathered on Pushkinskaya.

Participants in the march are chanting “Shame” and holding posters, including images of deputies of the Russian State Duma who voted for the ban. People lined up in two columns on both sides of Strastnoy Boulevard. As an Interfax correspondent reports , the police blocked the exit from Strastnoy Boulevard with metal fences, as a result of which the area “became very crowded.”

The majority of well-known oppositionists take part in the “March against Scoundrels,” including Boris Nemtsov, Vladimir Ryzhkov, Mikhail Kasyanov, Gennady and Dmitry Gudkov, and Ilya Ponomarev. The leader of the “Russians” movement, Dmitry Demushkin, announced his non-participation in the action on behalf of the nationalists.

On January 13, smaller protests against the adoption ban are also taking place in other Russian cities, including St. Petersburg, Novosibirsk, Tomsk, Tyumen and Penza. The largest event took place in St. Petersburg, about two thousand people took part in it.

A significant number of messages about provocations by pro-Kremlin activists have appeared in the blogosphere. Thus, according to Ilya Yashin, the Nashi plan to unfurl American flags in the crowd. Also seen in the square was a man in a bear costume with the inscription drugoi. Apparently, this suit illustrates the story of accusations of pedophilia against top blogger and member of the Opposition Coordination Council Rustem Adagamov. Pro-Kremlin activists also began promoting the hashtags “March for Pedophiles” and “Beware of the March of Pedophiles” on Twitter.

"March against scoundrels" has begun in Moscow