The Moscow authorities officially refused to approve the application submitted by the "Yabloko" party to hold a march against Russia's war with Ukraine on March 12. The theme of the application was "expressing the attitude of Muscovites toward a special military operation," which is how the Russian authorities require the military action to be called. This was reported by the Ekho Kavkaza.
The mayor's office also refused to approve the so-called March of Solidarity between the People and the Army - in support of the Russian operation. The march had also been planned for March 12 in central Moscow; a number of nationalist publicists had applied for it.
The reason for refusal in both marches was named "epidemiological situation" - the ban on mass actions due to coronavirus in Moscow is in force for 2 years already.
However, just the day before Moscow authorities in connection with improvement of epidemiological situation cancelled most of the restrictions, including QR codes in public places. The ban on mass actions remained in force.
Since February 24, when the Russian armed invasion began, every day uncoordinated rallies against the war have been held in Moscow. Thousands of protesters have been detained. Calls to go to a mass anti-war rally on March 6 are being circulated, and the general prosecutor's office has warned of responsibility for calling for and participating in it.
