RUSSIA: Thousands of pensioners took to the streets across Russia over the weekend as opposition parties united against government plans to slash benefits.
The demonstrations signal the rejection by pensioner groups of a government compromise last week under which compensation for lost benefits would be increased. And, with more protests planned, Russia's pensions crisis is proving the most serious domestic challenge to President Putin in five years of power.
"This is a policy of robbery against the vast majority of the Russian people," said pensioner Vladimir Gularie (65), standing in thick snow at a protest in Moscow's Pushkin Square.
At issue are plans which came into force on January 1st to end free transport, medicines and other benefits for pensioners in exchange for cash.
Russia insists that it needs to make the change to put its economy on a more realistic footing, ending the distortions caused by Soviet-era perks. But pensioners and opposition parties say that the cash being offered is paltry compared to the benefits being lost.
"The compensations they are offering are so small they are not comparable to the benefits - nowhere near," said Leana Kacheshvili, of the Russian Party of Pensioners.
Last week, after pensioners blocked roads across the country, President Putin blamed regional officials for short-changing pensioners and the government announced an increase of 50 rubles a month (approximately €2) in cash payments.
But pensioners say that this is not enough. Typical is the case of Ljubov Ovechkina, from Izevsk in the Ural Mountains. This month she was given 100 rubles (about €4) to make up for lost benefits - and then saw the city council issue travel cards costing 125 rubles each. With other bills for medicines, and steep rises in electricity bills and council rents, Yulia says that she needs at least 1,000 rubles to bridge the gap.
The result has been to alienate many of Russia's 40 million pensioners and galvanise an almost moribund political opposition.
Last weekend's rallies were organised by the Rodina (Motherland) party, the Communist party and the centre-right Yabloko party. These parties lack the strength to challenge Mr Putin's United Russia party, which controls two-thirds of the seats in the Duma (parliament). But their use of street activists have struck a chord with ordinary people, and police are reluctant to arrest pensioners even when, last week, they blocked major highways.
At issue is the fact that Russia is now awash with cash. High oil prices have seen Moscow's foreign exchange reserves jump to more than US$100 billion. The government says that this money is needed to pay foreign debt, but opponents say the needy should come first.
"When the country has all these revenues from oil, this is the most hypocritical way to do these things. This is robbery," said Yabloko party official Sergei Mitrokhin. "This is the natural property of the people."