Moscow's December 24 holiday controversy

The saga surrounding Ilya Yashin’s efforts to stage a rally in Moscow on December 24 continues. Yashin, the head of Moscow’s Krasnoselsky District Council, says he’s willing to hold his “Free Elections Day” “holiday celebration” on Sakharov Prospect (where the city previously offered Dmitry Gudkov a demonstration permit), not at Lermontovsky Square (where Yashin previously wanted to stage his event). In an effort to exert his authority as a city councilman, Yashin insists that the gathering should take place as a municipal holiday, not as a public protest (which any citizen can organize).

The disagreement about December 24 is rooted in a power struggle between the opposition-controlled Krasnoselsky District Council and the Moscow Mayor’s Office. Ilya Yashin says the Krasnoselsky District Council has the legal power to stage district-wide holiday celebrations, and he wants to celebrate voters’ rights on December 24. City Hall, meanwhile, has refused to issue a demonstration permit for this event, arguing that Yashin’s event would be an illegal gathering.

To complicate matters further, former State Duma deputy Dmitry Gudkov obtained a permit for a separate rally on December 24, not far from the location Yashin hoped to assemble his “holiday celebration.” Gudkov says he thought he was helping Yashin, but the latter objected to the permit because it was issued for a typical rally, not a holiday event. Gudkov then withdrew his permit request.

On December 20, ruling on a lawsuit brought by one of the Krasnoselsky District Council’s United Russia deputies, the Moscow City Court formally removed the “Day of Free Elections” from the council’s list of approved holidays. Yashin has vowed to appeal the decision.