* Moscow: Lawmakers tentatively back legislation aimed at trucker protests
-- Russian lawmakers have tentatively backed new legislation aimed at thwarting protests by long-haul truckers, whose highly public demonstrations last year tied up Moscow's already notorious traffic.
The protests in December, targeting a new national highway toll system, worried the Kremlin, fearing the country's ongoing economic woes would result in an uptick in antigovernment sentiments among working-class voters.
The truckers were angry about the increased costs for using the national toll system, called Platon, and about the fact that a close friend of Putin's controls the toll's payment system.
But truck protesters charged that the revenues from the system, predicted at $700 million annually, would merely line the pockets of Kremlin insiders.
Dmitry Gudkov, one of the only opposition lawmakers in the Duma, suggested the amendments were aimed at preventing a scenario similar to what happened in Ukraine, when months of government protests culminated in violent clashes and the ouster of President Viktor Yanukovych in February 2014.
In a posting on Facebook, Gudkov also criticized the amendments as poorly worded, saying that classifying "road rallies" as political protests could also then apply to wedding convoys -- when newlyweds and their wedding parties drive around in celebration -- or even funeral processions.
The measure was the latest in a series pushed by the Kremlin to restrict public displays of antigovernment sentiment...
(Photo: Truckers have been angry about the increased costs for using the national road-toll system) -- Moscow, Russia - RFE/RL and Mike Ecke - February 16, 2016Labels: truckers' protest worldwide
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