Russians protest against benefit cuts

[CHIMO]

MOSCOW - Tens of thousands of Russians took to the streets in several cities Saturday in an ongoing protest against cuts to social programs.

The revolt, largely led by pensioners, has spread across Russia's 11 time zones and confronts President Vladimir Putin with his biggest domestic challenge to date.

Protesters are angry over a law scrapping benefits for millions of pensioners and other groups and replacing them with cash payments.

The benefits included free public transportation and subsidized medication and heating. The opposition says the cash payments are much too low to cover costs.

http://www.cbc.ca/story/world/national/2005/02/12/russia-marches050212.html

[BayCityProgressive]

1. I didn't

realize transportation, medicine, food ect. was all covered by the government still. That seems pretty communistic for a capitalist Russia.

[CHIMO]

2. A Bit More of The Story

Is given in the attached article.

Rallies, protests sweep across Russia

Pro-Kremlin forces have staged massive rallies to counter demonstrations by tens of thousands of Russians calling for the government's ouster.

The protests against the government's benefits programme have been part of a largest outburst of public anger since President Vladimir Putin came to power five years ago.

The reform, substituting cherished benefits like free transportation for pensioners and other groups with cash payments that many say are inadequate, has dented Putin's popularity and prompted an unsuccessful Communist-led effort aimed at bringing down the Cabinet earlier in the week.

An Interior Ministry spokesman said nearly 240,000 Russians demonstrated across the country, but said the ministry did not have a breakdown between the pro- and anti-Putin rallies. A Communist Party official claimed the anti-Putin protests drew more than 200,000 nationwide.

http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/1E71D097-736D-40D1-9E6B-7DA8D8B6C63D.htm

[Igel]

3. They're pensioners, many of whom retired when

communism was still the going thing. Now that it's gone, what to do with those embedded in the old structure?

Danged country's going to implode.

Yet another tragedy (in the sense of everybody doing what they should or must, and therefore running into crappy consequences, not just something lamentable).