Moscow police detain people at 'Kremlin-friendly' Communist Party rally over 'political freedom', says party

Police in Moscow detained around 60 people at a rally organised by Russia's Kremlin-friendly Communist Party on Sunday, the party said, as protesters called for political freedoms and fair elections.The detentions took place as the rally was ending, according to a statement from the party. Its Moscow branch said it was working to secure the release of those detained, most of whom were young people.The rally was held to mark the anniversary of the Kremlin's 1993 crackdown on a parliamentary uprising. According to the Telegram news channel Ostorozhno Novosti, protesters chanted slogans including "Freedom for political prisoners", "For fair elections" and "Down with the Tsar"., as quoted by AP.The gathering comes amid growing public frustration over the impact of Ukraine's intensifying drone attacks inside Russia. The strikes have targeted oil refineries and warehouses, causing fuel shortages and disrupting daily life, including in Moscow.The 1993 crisis followed a prolonged confrontation between then-President Boris Yeltsin and hard-line lawmakers opposed to his free-market reforms. Yeltsin ordered parliament dissolved, after which supporters of the lawmakers attempted to seize the state television broadcasting centre.Yeltsin then deployed the military, which shelled the parliament building with tanks. Authorities put the death toll at 123, while unofficial estimates said several hundred people were killed.Russia's Communist Party has remained one of the main forces in parliament since the 1990s. It has been led for more than three decades by Gennady Zyuganov, 82, a former Soviet official.Although the party has criticised some government policies during President Vladimir Putin's more than 25 years in power, it has avoided direct criticism of Putin and has consistently backed Russia's war in Ukraine.You use AI every day. Now get your AI Quotient. Take the AIQ test.