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Up to 10,000 people rallied in the Russian Baltic enclave of Kaliningrad on Saturday, demanding Prime Minister Vladimir Putin’s resignation. The group is outraged over living costs and unemployment. 

 

The sanctioned rally was attended by Solidarity and the Liberal Democrats, while the protest march was organized by local Kaliningrad rights group Spravedlivost.

 

Solidarity leader Boris Nemtsov says that new taxes and measures introduced by the government lower the standard of living and heighten unemployment.

 

[Boris Nemtsov, Solidarity Leader]:

"You would never in your life imagine that maternity hospitals, other hospitals would be closed in the middle of Europe; you would never imagine that taxes would be increased during crisis; you would never imagine that money would be being pumped out of the region."

 

Further taxes have also been introduced.

 

[Boris Nemtsov, Solidarity Leader]:

“Now the main anti-crisis measure of Putin is to raise the import duty for cars being imported to Kaliningrad and other country regions. So, tens of thousands of Kaliningrad residents have lost their jobs.”

 

Some protesters chanted anti-Putin slogans, but a resolution passed by a show of hands focused on economic issues, including pensions, the transport tax and the price of petrol.  

 

[Konstantin Doroshok, March Organizer]:

"Pass the law allowing to suspend the parliament members, who no more enjoy people's confidence. We will demand the resignation of the governor, and the government of the Kaliningrad region."

 

Russian authorities traditionally increase bills for housing, transportation, water and electricity after the New Year. This can stoke inflation which reached 1.7 percent for the first 25 days of January. 

 

Despite signs of improvement, Russia remains mired in an economic crisis, with its gross domestic product contracting 8.9 percent in the third quarter from a year earlier. Unemployment reached 8.2 percent in December.