Murmansk government snubs anti-corruption protesters

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City authorities in Murmansk have rejected three applications from activists planning local street rallies on June 12. The sites for the planned protests are either occupied by other events, or undergoing reconstruction works, the city administration writes in its response to the protest organizers, SeverPost reports.

Anti-corruption protests are planned held all over Russia on 12 June. They are initiated by presidential hopeful Aleksey Navalny and his Anti-corruption Fund.

Regional protest organizers face problems not only in Murmansk city. In Apatity, the town in the Kola Peninsula, the local anti-corruption organizer has decided to call off the protest after outright threats from the police, 7x7-journal reports. Similar threats are reported to have come from the police in Olenegorsk, another town in the region.

In the Murmansk Arctic State University, a faculty dean has reportedly warned students against taking part in the protest, saying that they will face consequences.

Activist Violetta Grudina says on Twitter that new requests for permission to hold the rally will be sent to the Murmansk city government.