>Obviously you can protest all you want in Russia today. You just can't get caught:
>http://www.themoscowtimes.com/news/article/nemtsov-detained-as-police-disperse-rallies/411437.html
>http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703296204575401530046406788.html
>
>But according to the 2nd article, the govt has found an easy way to deter them.... maybe they are considering starting NASCAR in Russia... :o)
>
>Seems to have been relatively small groups of protesters....

And it probably doesn't pay to trust reporting on what's going on in Russia - domestic sources will be biased towards the government, few so-called independents will be paid by their Western patrons, and what West reports can't be trusted at all. When about 200 retirees were protesting against their free rides on city buses were revoked (but would get some reduced price tickets instead), listening to NPR I thought we're witnessing the last days of Putin. Likewise, the importance of Gari Kasparov was overblown.

And I really can't decide who's doing more of this - the US media or BBC. Probably a revenge for Russia's getting out of debt.