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 The state prosecution has called for eight-year jail terms for
Sergei Udaltsov and Leonid Razvozhayev, and they were expected to be
sentenced later on Thursday.
Udaltsov, who has been under house arrest since February 2013, and
Razvozhayev were accused of coordinating protests which turned
violent on May 6, 2012, the eve of Putin's inauguration for a third
term as president.
"Udaltsov, Razvozhayev ... agreed between themselves repeatedly on
the organization of mass disorders on the territory of the Russian
Federation," Judge Alexander Zamashnyuk told the Moscow court. The
two deny the charges of organizing mass riots and plotting wider
unrest, portraying themselves as victims of a political witch-hunt
and a crackdown on civil liberties.
Udaltsov, 37, a fiery orator with a shaven head who dressed in black
for the hearing, was one of the most prominent leaders of the
opposition movement that organized urban protests against Putin in
the winter of 2011-12 that have long since faded.
 "How many lies in this verdict? One big lie. Udaltsov's testimony
was distorted," said an entry on Udaltsov's Twitter account
maintained by members of his Left Front political organization.
Razvozhayev, 41, an aide to a member of parliament who is critical
of Putin, says he was abducted in Ukraine, smuggled into Russia and
forced into signing a confession, which he later disavowed.
VIOLENT CLASHES
Police detained more than 400 people and dozens of officers were
hurt in clashes in May 2012 after police restricted the rally on
Bolotnaya Square, across the river from the Kremlin. Seven people
were jailed in February over the protests.
"Seventy-eight representatives of the authorities (police) were
injured," said the judge at a ruling attended by many opposition
activists, two of whom were ejected for being "too emotional".
Kremlin critics accuse police of starting the violence at the
Bolotnaya rally to discredit the opposition as Putin returned to the
presidency after four years as prime minister.
They say the Kremlin uses pliant courts for political purposes and
highlight the jailing of seven people in February over the rally.
The president denies interfering in court cases but says anyone who
attacks police should be punished.
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In his third spell as president, following two successive terms from
2000 until 2008, Putin has adopted an increasingly conservative
stance to consolidate his public support. His popularity has risen
to new heights in Russia since the annexation of the Black Sea
peninsula of Crimea from Ukraine in March. However, he could become
an international pariah if Russia is found to have provided missiles
to rebels in eastern Ukraine, where a passenger jet was brought down
last week, killing 298 people.
Putin said this week he would not tighten the screws on opponents.
But critics note that another prominent protest leader, Alexei
Navalny, is also under house arrest after getting a suspended
five-year sentence on charges of theft.
Opponents say Putin has quietly enacted laws which will strengthen
his hand in his battle against dissent, including legislation
envisaging tougher punishment for people involved in riots and
imposing life sentences for various "terrorist" crimes.
He has also approved tighter controls on bloggers, some of whom have
emerged as opposition leaders and have used the Internet to
criticize Putin and arrange protests.
(Reporting Maria Tsvetkova,; Writing by Timothy Heritage; Editing by
David Stamp)
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