To be or not to be?

Kaliningrad opposition coalition had refused to conduct a protest rally on March 20. This announcement was made today, the leader of the NGO “Justice” Konstantin Doroshok.
According Doroshok, Kaliningrad Governor Georgy Boos promised that “the demands of the opposition formed a single list, which will be submitted to the government the next few days, will be resolved within a specific timeframe.” The leader of “Justice” explained that it concerns the issues of excessive utility tariffs, public health, land administration, the situation with the elections and some others. “Today we get a , which appeared on previous protests. We heard, we are addressing specific issues. But if the promises will remain empty words, we will again hold a mass protest “, – emphasized Doroshok.
He added that the authorities did everything to disrupt the rally. For example, Kaliningrad is not allowed to hold a rally in the city center, and offered to organize it in remote areas of the city. “The options endanger the life, health, and, most importantly, the safety of all its members” – said Doroshok.
He noted that holding a meeting “for the city” could become a “public flogging”. At the same time, the leader of the Communist Party offices Igor Revin stated that ” on behalf of the parties to refrain from the idea to abandon the rally. He added: “If we knew that the” Justice “can so easily believe the authorities and to succumb to its pressure, we would have applied themselves to hold a meeting on March 20″.

The region’s reviled governor, the Kremlin-appointed Georgy Boos met with the local opposition leaders in his office for four and half hours, and at the same time, in the city’s stadium four hundred yards away, two battalions of riot police were practicing how to bust heads and arrest people. The opposition got the message. They called off their demonstration.

“There are suspicions … that the government is preparing to make an example out of us, to beat the protesting mood out of the people,” said an opposition member of the city council, Solomon Ginzburg. “We can’t subject our citizens to fire houses and rubber bullets.”

What they got in exchange for quiet were ridiculous promises. Boos said he would break the political monopoly of Putin’s party in Kaliningrad, he would lower utility prices and taxes, he would create jobs and housing and better health care. He might as well have promised to turn the region into Switzerland. But the people believed him, or are at least pretending to. The point is they still aren’t ready for a fight, and having seen the way OMON riot cops break up protests in Moscow, I don’t really blame them. But it’s sad. I thought it may have been the start of something.

But me personally, I`m going with my friends and members of Baltic Republican Party on 20th of March to support rally and we do not care about Kremlin`s riot police. Freedom has it`s price.