Thousands join major anti-Putin protest in Russia's second city

Описание: (15 Sep 2012)
1. Wide of police in riot gear standing over a puddle
2. Wide of protesters marching in St. Petersburg
3. Mid of a protester holding up a poster with Russian President Vladimir Putin dressed in religious garb, a criticism of the close relationship between church and state in Russia
4. Mid of protesters marching with a banner and chanting (Russian) "We won't forget, we won't forgive!"
5. Various of march
6. SOUNDBITE (Russian) Viktoriya Ponomareva, a member of the Communist party:
"Well if laws are being written, let them be fulfilled, and let them (the government) stop spitting on the people. Let the people live a decent life, and work a decent job. To live normally and receive those services that they should be getting from the government - I'm sorry, but if we pay taxes we should probably be living like human beings."
7. SOUNDBITE (Russian) Dmitri Sukhofruktov, member of the National Democratic party:
"And our goal is for this clan of thieves is that they should not remain in the Kremlin, that there should be an honest, representative, legitimate government of the people, our governmen!"
8. Protesters holding signs that read (Russian) "Put Putin on trial!"
9. Wide of protest

STORYLINE
Thousands of chanting protesters marched through the streets of St Petersburg on Saturday in the first major anti-Putin protest in three months.
According to estimates, approximately 3,000 people took part in the demonstrations.
Among the participants were members of the Communist Party of Russia, left-of-centre Fair Russia party, and Yabloko.
The demonstration, along with a larger one in Moscow on Saturday, showed that opposition sentiment has remained strong, despite the government's efforts to stem the protest movement which had led to more than 100,000 people taking to the streets last winter in a series of massive protests against Putin's election to a third presidential term.
"Let them (the government) stop spitting on the people," said Viktoriya Ponomareva, a member of the Communist party. "I'm sorry, but if we pay taxes we should probably be living like human beings."
Russian President Vladimir Putin has taken a tougher stance against the opposition since his inauguration in May with a series of new repressive laws, arrests and interrogation of activists.
In August, a court handed two-year prison sentences to three members of the punk band Pussy Riot for performing an anti-Putin song inside Moscow's main cathedral.

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