Russian Opposition Activist Says He Will Protest Until Putin is Gone

Opposition activists in Russia are pressing ahead with plans for new protests on Saturday.

This despite the forceful response from authorities to Monday’s rallies against Vladimir Putin’s election victory.

Riot police broke up the rallies and arrested hundreds of demonstrators.

The opposition says Putin’s election was marred by fraud.

But Putin and the government reject the allegations.

One of the activists arrested Monday is 26-year-old Ilya Vorontsov.

Marco Werman speaks with him.

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Marco Werman: I’m Marco Werman, this is The World. Opposition activists in Russia are pressing ahead with plans for new protests on Saturday and that’s despite the forceful response from authorities to yesterday’s rallies against Vladimir Putin’s election victory. Riot police broke up the rallies and arrested hundreds of demonstrators. The opposition claims Putin’s election was marred by fraud, but Putin and the government reject the allegations. One of the activists arrested yesterday is 26-year-old Ilya Vorontsov. He stood with crowds of protestors gathered in Moscow’s Pushkin Square.

Ilya Vorontsov: There were about 30,000 people. After the demonstration finished, Sergey Udaltsov the leader of the Left Front – he’s one of the leaders of [??], he at the end of the demonstration said, “I want to stay here until Putin leaves the Kremlin. Of course, my idea does not sound serious,” but he said that we have to stay at this Square and not go away.

Werman: So 30,000 people at the Square after the protest ended, did a lot of them start to leave or did everybody stay?

Vorontsov: Yes, most of them started to leave, about 2,000 stayed there.

Werman: Right, then, around 10 p.m. I understand the police showed up. What happened then?

Vorontsov: Then, I saw that 300 policemen came from one side, 300 policemen came from the other side. They surrounded us and started to arrest us.

Werman: Right. Now you actually have a friend who videotaped this moment when you, Ilya, were arrested and apparently, in the video, thrown to the ground. Here is some sound of that [sound of protestors being arrested]. So, Ilya, it looked like there were a bunch of policemen all around you trying to subdue you, fighting you down into the snow-covered ground there at Pushkin Square. Were you fighting back?

Vorontsov: I’m trying not to let them arrest me but a policeman kicked me to the nose and I stopped fighting.

Werman: Were you hurt?

Vorontsov: No, just a little bit.

Werman: Then the police put you and 300 others who were also arrested on buses, right?

Vorontsov: Yes. These police buses went to different police stations. Me with about 20 people and Sergey Udaltsov also in my bus were taken to [??] police station.

Werman: That’s Sergey Udaltsov the opposition leader. Did the police tell you why you had been arrested?

Vorontsov: They started to write the papers and they didn’t know what to write on the papers – what law we broke, because usually in this protest somebody from high cabinets would tell them what to write. By Russian law, meetings with a Member of Parliament could take place anywhere, anytime.

Werman: So this was a legal protest?

Vorontsov: Yes, that was legal because it was a meeting with a Member of Parliament.

Werman: Were you able to contact your lawyer? How were you able to be released?

Vorontsov: When I was arrested, I immediately called my lawyer and also to other lawyers who work for free with protestors, but the policemen didn’t want to let them go inside.

Werman: So what got you eventually released, Ilya?

Vorontsov: Then, because Sergey Udaltsov was with us, Member of Parliament [??] who was at the demonstration came to our police station. He told the policemen that they had to let the lawyers come in.

Werman: So Ilya, you’re going to have to appear in court; you may get a fine. Will your experience prevent you from protesting again?

Vorontsov: No. Of course I will go to protests again and again until Putin goes away. That’s my point and that’s our goal to make Russia a free country. The next demonstration will be this Saturday, 10th of March.

Werman: Protestor Ilya Vorontsov who was arrested at anti-Putin demonstrations last night in Moscow and released early this morning, thank you for speaking with us.

Vorontsov: Thank you.

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