Perm misses rallies – Picture of the Day – Kommersant

The Perm initiative group “Stop Tariff” tried for almost nine months to agree on a rally against the city’s transport reform – and finally got its way. This will be only the third legal action in the Perm region since 2020. Protesters were not allowed to gather in the city center.

The Stop Tariff rally will take place in Perm on September 18, beginning at 14:00. How informed member of the initiative group Lyudmila Eltysheva, the action is dedicated to criticism of the city transport reform. In addition, the organizers will raise questions tariff growth for public transport and increase in fines for stowaways. Ms. Yeltysheva noted that the rally was agreed upon on the seventh attempt.

The first movement was made in January – after the fare in Perm increased from 24-26 to 33 rubles. At first, the initiative group collected signatures for the abolition of the new tariff, but the authorities, according to activists, “did not get in touch” – so it was decided to organize a rally.

At that time, the strict ban on mass events introduced in 2020 due to COVID-19 was no longer in effect in the Perm Territory. However, the holding of events must be coordinated in three stages – with the department of Rospotrebnadzor, with the authorities of the region and the city administration. The number of participants in this case should not exceed 30 (indoors) or 50 (outdoors). Since the easing of anti-COVID restrictions in the Kama region, only two concerted protest actions have taken place: picket against forced vaccination and QR codes and dedicated to the same topic rally.

In January, Rospotrebnadzor approved the Stop Tariff rally, but the governor’s administration refused the activists. After that, the participants of the movement repeatedly tried to coordinate the action with the regional authorities, but each time they were refused with reference to the unfavorable epidemiological situation.

At the end of May, coronavirus restrictions on public events were lifted in Prikamye. In this regard, the Stop Tariff group decided to coordinate the rally directly with the city authorities.

As Lyudmila Eltysheva told Kommersant, the administration of Perm allowed the action to be held in early June, but it was decided to postpone the event due to the holiday season.

Last week, activists sent a new notification to the mayor’s office about holding a rally and three days later received a positive response. At the same time, the administration rejected the proposed “Stop Tariff” options for a place to organize an action in the city center, explaining that “a cultural and leisure event is planned there, the notification of which was submitted earlier.” As an alternative, the city authorities proposed three sites in more remote areas of Perm.

AT interview Aleksey Demkin, the head of Perm, told 59.RU that the administration did not agree on the venues in the center for the protesters, including due to repair work. For example, the square near the Perm Opera and Ballet Theatre, which was proposed by Stop Tariff as one of the options, is now undergoing reconstruction, the mayor noted. Mr. Demkin believes that the places for the rally proposed by the mayor’s office are also well suited for this purpose. “Any political movements, if they are constructive, we never hold back. In principle, I believe that if there is a desire to rally, this opportunity should be provided. It is simply important that the protesters, when holding their events, strictly follow the federal and regional legislation, as the city authorities do,” Mr. Demkin said.

The Stop Tariff movement has not yet decided on the venue for the rally – and invited potential participants to choose it themselves by voting for the sites on social networks proposed by the authorities. It is difficult for Lyudmila Eltysheva to predict the approximate number of protesters that will be able to gather. “We have declared a minimum number of participants of 50 people and we hope that there will be no less,” the activist said. If the action is successful, the activists plan to continue organizing similar events on issues related to urban transport. “We sent the collected complaints of residents to the prosecutor’s office, participated in the discussion of the situation in the transport industry at the site of the regional public chamber, but we failed to build a dialogue. An organized rally is the only effective tool for drawing attention to this topic at the moment. Despite the fact that it took so long to coordinate it, it has not lost its relevance, since the problems in this area in Perm are only growing,” says Ms. Yeltysheva.

Ekaterina Artemova, Perm