St. Petersburg government permits Nemtsov march after two refusals

After twice denying permits for a proposed February 29 protest in honor of assassinated opposition politician Boris Nemtsov, the government of St. Petersburg has granted permission for activists to hold a memorial march instead.

Maxim Reznik, a city-level legislator, told Interfax that the march will take place in the Petrogradsky neighborhood, away from the city’s downtown. “Of course, this isn’t the march of our dreams, but the alternative to what we’re suggesting now is mass arrests and, God forbid, violence in the middle of the city. This will essentially be a mass picket and, in many ways, a memorial event,” Reznik said.

A permitted memorial march will also take place in Moscow on February 29.