This is the letter I received from Moscow City Hall in response to the notice about holding the march and the "He Is Not Dimon to Us" rally.
An interesting document. It is neither an approval nor a refusal. They are basically saying there is no room on Tverskaya Street, but they are not offering another location. Even though by law they cannot refuse to propose an alternative.
In a phone conversation with Zhdanov, they even admitted that this was illegal. But, as they put it, "those are the instructions."
They write that our demand to "investigate cases of corruption by public officials" would violate the rights and interests of citizens. Basically, we even know the names of those citizens, and we would very much like to disrupt their interests. That is exactly why we are protesting.
As I understand it, the presidential administration was very impressed by the fact that rallies about corruption and "Dimon" were announced in 79 cities. And in most cases, without any coordination. Spontaneously.
A purely grassroots initiative, and it is shaping up to be the largest nationwide action in Russia in the past 15 years.
That is why the Kremlin abruptly changed its strategy. At first, permits were being issued everywhere, apparently with a smirk and the thought, "let's see how many people actually show up."
Now, in a panic, they are refusing permits and revoking approvals that had already been granted.
In Nizhny Novgorod, there was practically a machine uprising.
Well, of course. The "computer" saw that 1,200 people had already joined the "I'm going" group, and immediately malfunctioned.
In Kazan, a thousand people are planning to attend, so they are trying to ban even the local Hyde Park, where by law no approval is actually required.
Still, I look at the map and understand this: our country is vast; it simply cannot be the case that there is absolutely no place in our cities for rallies by people who oppose corruption.
So personally, I will be out there on the 26th no matter what.
First, because I have the right to do so, and my demands regarding the venue are reasonable. We requested Tverskaya Street, but we are ready to discuss other locations in the city center. There is definitely enough space there.
Second, I have argued about this many times already with the authorities in Moscow and in Russia. And every time, I turned out to be right. In the end, the European Court supported me and stated that I did have the right to demonstrate. Now Putin's government is paying me compensation worth many thousands.
So this time I am going out with legal proof that I am in the right. And if they detain me, they will just have to pay even more compensation later.
I will not withdraw my question to Medvedev and the others.
And I urge all of you to do the same. Here is the list of groups. Sign up, and come out into the streets of your cities on the 26th against corruption.