About 25 arrested in Moscow for trying to hold New Year's Eve protest
12/31/2012MOSCOW — About 25 people reportedly have been arrested in Moscow on New Year's Eve for trying to hold an unsanctioned protest.
The gathering at Triumphalnaya Square in central Moscow attracted 50 to 100 people. Among those arrested was prominent radical writer Eduard Limonov; the Interfax news agency cited activists as saying about 25 people were arrested.
For about two years, activists have tried to rally on the 31st of each month with that many days, a reference to Article 31 of the Russian constitution that guarantees free assembly. Authorities routinely deny permission for the demonstrations.
Limonov's faction has fallen out with other elements of the wave of opposition to President Vladimir Putin.
In his New Year's Eve address, Putin made no reference to the protests of the past year.