This is the latest action of a major protest movement shaking the Russian capital, a week before controversial local elections. Hundreds of protesters marched quietly on Saturday, August 31 in Moscow to protest against "political repression".

Demonstrations have been held almost every weekend in Moscow since mid-July to protest against the ousting of opposition candidates from the city's parliamentary election scheduled for 8 September. Unauthorized, most actions were severely suppressed by the police.

The march on Saturday, organized at the call of the main opponent of the Kremlin, Alexei Navalny, recently released from prison but who was not present, was held without any clash with the police. The police, who were present in large numbers, had not made any arrests in the late afternoon.

"This is our city!"

The parade, in which about 750 people took part according to the police, crossed great boulevards of the center. Protesters held placards calling for the release of "political prisoners" arrested in previous actions and chanted "This is our city!"

Present at the march, the opponent Lioubov Sobol, Alexei Navalny's ally, assured that she would "fight to the end" to achieve the defeat of the candidates of the power in the elections.

"I want the rights of Muscovites to be respected," said the young lawyer, who was sprayed with mud on Thursday near her home.

The protest movement, the largest since Vladimir Putin's return to the Kremlin in 2012, has resulted in nearly 2,700 arrests and the opening of several trials for "massive unrest" and "violence against of the order".

A ballot that promises to be difficult for candidates for power

Most opposition leaders have chained short prison sentences for their calls to protest, such as Ilia Iachine, imprisoned for the fifth time in a row on Wednesday.

The protest movement began after the rejection, officially for formal flaws, of the registration of about 60 independent candidates for election to the Moscow Parliament. In charge of validating the huge budget of the capital, this body is currently composed of loyal pro-Kremlin mayor Sergei Sobyanin.

This election and the other regional and local elections that will be held at the same time will be difficult for the candidates of power, in a context of social discontent and economic stagnation.

With AFP