Russian protests leaders seek to emulate ‘color uprisings’ - public figure

PanARMENIAN.Net - The leaders of recent “For Fair Elections” protests in Russia are foreign-backed revolutionaries seeking to emulate the so-called color uprisings that rocked former Soviet republics in the 2000s, the organizer of an upcoming Anti-Orange rally said.

“They don’t need honest elections any longer and will not recognize the results of the March 4 presidential polls in any case,” rally organizer and TV anchor, Armenian-born Sergei Kurginyan told a news conference. “They are threatening to bring thousands of people out on to the streets and paralyze Moscow.”

Kurginyan has gained prominence of late as a conservative figurehead and was one of the main speakers at a January 4 mass rally in Moscow by supporters of Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.

“They already say if you don’t want an Orange Revolution, then you’ll get a bloody one,” he said, RIA Novosti reported.

The Orange Revolution was a peaceful uprising triggered by suspicions of vote-rigging in favor of pro-Russian candidate Viktor Yanukovych at presidential elections in Ukraine in 2004. The revolt led to new polls and the election of Western-leaning Viktor Yushchenko.