Faces of protest are as varied as Russia itself
ALEXANDER ZEMLIANICHENKOALEXANDER ZEMLIANICHENKO, Associated Press?
?These Saturday, Feb. 4, 2012 photos show a dozen people from the thousands who attended a massive protest against Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's rule in Bolotnaya square in Moscow. Despite temperatures plunging to minus 20 C (minus 4 F), masses of Russians took to the streets of Moscow to challenge Putin's bid to reclaim presidency in March. Top row from left are Yekaterina, 26, a translator; Artur Gazarov, 43; Liliya Pevter, 62, a pensioner; Kirill, 26, a scientist. Middle row from left are Mikhail Shats, 46, an actor; Nina Lipkina, 53, unemployed; Tatyana Lazareva, 46, a television presenter; Vyacheslav Barannikov, 38, an engineer. Bottom row from left are Igor German, 23, an engineer; Gennady, 73, a pensioner; Dmitry Polosov, 25, a scientist; Yana Romanova, 35, a designer. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko) PART OF A PHOTO PACKAGE BY ALEXANDER ZEMLIANICHENKO
These Saturday, Feb. 4, 2012 photos show a dozen people from the thousands who attended a massive protest against Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's rule in Bolotnaya square in Moscow. Despite temperatures plunging to minus 20 C (minus 4 F), masses of Russians took to the streets of Moscow to challenge Putin's bid to reclaim presidency in March. Top row from left are Yekaterina, 26, a translator; Artur Gazarov, 43; Liliya Pevter, 62, a pensioner; Kirill, 26, a scientist. Middle row from left are Mikhail Shats, 46, an actor; Nina Lipkina, 53, unemployed; Tatyana Lazareva, 46, a television presenter; Vyacheslav Barannikov, 38, an engineer. Bottom row from left are Igor German, 23, an engineer; Gennady, 73, a pensioner; Dmitry Polosov, 25, a scientist; Yana Romanova, 35, a designer. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko) PART OF A PHOTO PACKAGE BY ALEXANDER ZEMLIANICHENKO
ADVANCE FOR USE SUNDAY, FEB. 12, 2012 AND THEREAFTER - In this Saturday, Feb. 4, 2012 photo, Gennady, 73, a pensioner, poses in front of a white canvas placed in the middle of the crowd at a massive protest against Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's rule in Bolotnaya square in Moscow. Despite temperatures plunging to minus 20 C (minus 4 F), thousands of Russians took to the streets of Moscow to challenge Putin's bid to reclaim presidency in March. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)
ADVANCE FOR USE SUNDAY, FEB. 12, 2012 AND THEREAFTER - In this Saturday, Feb. 4, 2012 photo, Yana Romanova, 35, a designer, wears a white ribbon reading "For Russia without Putin" as she poses in front of a white canvas placed in the middle of the crowd at a massive protest against Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's rule in Bolotnaya square in Moscow. Despite temperatures plunging to minus 20 C (minus 4 F), thousands of Russians took to the streets of Moscow to challenge Putin's bid to reclaim presidency in March. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)
ADVANCE FOR USE SUNDAY, FEB. 12, 2012 AND THEREAFTER - In this Saturday, Feb. 4, 2012 photo, Igor German, 23, an engineer, poses in front of a white canvas placed in the middle of the crowd at a massive protest against Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's rule in Bolotnaya square in Moscow. Despite temperatures plunging to minus 20 C (minus 4 F), thousands of Russians took to the streets of Moscow to challenge Putin's bid to reclaim presidency in March. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)
ADVANCE FOR USE SUNDAY, FEB. 12, 2012 AND THEREAFTER - In this Saturday, Feb. 4, 2012 photo, Liliya Pevter, 62, a pensioner, poses in front of a white canvas placed in the middle of the crowd at a massive protest against Prime Minister Vladimir Putin's rule in Bolotnaya square in Moscow. Despite temperatures plunging to minus 20 C (minus 4 F), thousands of Russians took to the streets of Moscow to challenge Putin's bid to reclaim presidency in March. (AP Photo/Alexander Zemlianichenko)
MOSCOW (AP) ? The faces of the Russian protesters who braved brutal cold to express their discontent were as varied as the vast country itself: youthful and aged, unshaven and elegantly made up, self-confident and shy.
Wearing the white ribbons that have become a symbol of the peaceful pro-democracy protest movement, tens of thousands of people turned out in Moscow on Feb. 4 for the third big demonstration against Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.
As the protesters marched to Bolotnaya Square, just across a frozen river from the Kremlin, thousands of police kept order but did not intervene.
The Kremlin hoped that temperatures of minus 20 C (minus 4 F) would keep many people at home, but they came in furs and sheepskins, or ready for Alpine ski slopes. Their rosy faces were framed by bulky hoods, elegant fur hats or hats with goofy ear flaps.
For all their variety, the protesters had one thing in common: excitement over the new political energy that has taken Russia by surprise.
The protesters have few illusions that they can stop Putin from winning a March presidential election to remain in power, but for the first time in years Russians are challenging his control and demanding that their voices be heard.
One thing already has changed. While opposition protests in recent years have been routinely banned and quickly broken up by police, the government has authorized the big anti-Putin rallies that began in December following a fraud-tainted parliamentary election. The number of protesters is now too high to arrest them all.
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