The Deputy of Legislative Assembly of Leningrad region Vladimir Petrov proposed to suppress the rallies with the participation of children. The statement he sent to the head of the MIA of Russia Vladimir Kolokoltsev, reports RIA Novosti with reference to the representative of the office of parliamentarian on Friday, February 3.
“The participation of children and adolescents in political speeches should be qualified by the police as a breach of the safe conduct of public events”, — the statement says. The exception, according to Petrov, are Patriotic actions, including the may day March.
The Deputy cited the example of the protest against transfer of property of the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) of St. Isaac’s Cathedral that “some activists, without actually breaking the current legislation”, held in the Church on January 28.
“Numerous performances and activities of the opposition in January 2017 in St. Petersburg held with the participation of children”, — said Petrov.
Thursday, February 2, the state Duma Deputy Yevgeny Fyodorov (“United Russia”) expressed opinion that gatherings must be equated with political demonstrations. He stated that he was preparing a bill.
A day earlier, the Parliament of St. Petersburg passed in the first reading a bill that equates the communication of citizens with deputies to the meetings. The document was a reaction to protest against the transfer of the Cathedral of the Russian Orthodox Church in the campus Martius also held on January 28. The city administration denied the organizers in the coordination of the meeting, in the end, they held an event in the form of a meeting with deputies of the legislative Assembly.