Moscow protest against Putin win sees drop in support.

Ria Novosti - Thousands of people critical of the political system led by Prime Minister Vladimir Putin rallied peacefully on Saturday in central Moscow, asserting that the Russian leader’s recent victory in presidential elections was not fair and demanding reform.
Police said around 10,000 people turned out – organizers put the number at 25,000 – for the authorized protest along a central Moscow avenue and participants vowed to press ahead in the future with their demonstrations whether they received permission or not.
The size of the crowd however was far smaller than the mass opposition demonstrations that shook Russia earlier this winter, the mood of participants was more subdued and key protest leaders like blogger Alexei Navalny stood quietly in the crowd and did not address the rally.
“I’m not sure what’s going to happen with the protest movement,” said Anton Yezhov, a middle-aged lawyer who works in a law office nearby the protest site. “I don’t rule out that Russia will return to totalitarianism. But it’s my civic duty to come out and show that I don’t agree with the way the elections were stolen,” Yezhov said.
Putin, 59, won the March 4 presidential election with 63.6 percent of the vote, according to the Central Election Commission, ensuring his return to the Kremlin after a four-year hiatus during which he has occupied the post of prime minister.
Putin’s opponents and some international observers said the vote was biased in Putin’s favor and claim his support was probably much lower. Putin himself acknowledged violations but said these were not of sufficient magnitude to have altered the official results significantly.