10,000 rally in Kaliningrad for jobs, tax-cuts
Sun, 31 Jan 2010 09:14:58 GMT


Around 10,000 people have staged a rally in the Russian enclave of Kaliningrad, demanding tax cuts and more jobs that were lost under Premier Vladimir Putin.

The Saturday demonstration was in protest to the "25-30 percent" hike in housing, transportation, water and electricity bills, Reuters reported.

The protest, however, turned into a 'large-scale' political demonstration against the Russian prime minister, urging him to resign, the report added.

"Kaliningrad residents today showed that the authorities have to reckon with them. The partial giving up of transport tax hikes proves this," RIA Novosti quoted Konstantin Doroshok, an opposition group leader, as saying.

The rally involved members of the Communist, Liberal Democrat and other parties and public organizations.

Opposition groups say that Russian authorities have raised utility bills for the Russian Baltic enclave after the New Year, an inflationary economic measure opposed by the locals.

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