MOSCOW: Opponents of the Russian government’s proposal to raise the eligibility ages for state pensions are demonstrating throughout the country.
Several hundred people held an unsanctioned rally in the Pacific port city of Vladivostok. Other authorized rallies took place Sunday in the Far East and Siberia and more were expected in western Russia later in the day.
The Cabinet last month sent parliament a proposal to gradually raise the pension age to 65 for Russian men — up from the current 60 — and from 55 to 63 for women. The average Russian pension is 14,000 rubles ($230) a month.
The issue spans an unusually wide swath of Russian politics, with pension rallies organized by the Communist Party, the liberal Yabloko party and the organization of Alexei Navalny, President Vladimir Putin’s most vehement foe.
