Thousands hold protests to demand better wages October 17, 2002 Posted: 14:45 Moscow time (10:45 GMT)
MOSCOW - Thousands of Russians gathered in central Moscow on Thursday to demand better wages and living conditions in a protest timed to draw the attention of lawmakers as they consider next year's state budget.
About 12,000 people - from young men in uniform to elderly women - formed a human chain stretching about 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) through central Moscow. Under gray skies, the protesters called on the government to pay back wages and increase salaries. No violence was reported.
The protests, which were organized by trade unions and expected to be held throughout the country, came on the eve of the second reading of the 2003 budget in the State Duma, Russia's lower house of parliament.
The draft budget sets expenses at US$73 billion and revenues at US$76 billion, and proposes spending increases for the defense and law enforcement sectors. More money is also slated to go toward schools, and to boost science and technology.
While Russia's economy has improved in recent years largely due to high world oil prices, much of the prosperity has not filtered down to ordinary Russians, particularly those living in remote areas of the country. Wages are still routinely not paid on time, and cash-strapped municipalities struggle to supply basic necessities - such as heat and hot water - to their residents.
"The unions are demanding, above all, higher wages, the payment of back wages," said Mikhail Shmakov, chairman of the Federation of Independent Trade Unions, according to Interfax news agency.
In Russia's Pacific Ocean port of Vladivostok, some 4,000 people gathered to demand "decent wages and social guarantees," ITAR-Tass news agency reported.
State Duma speaker Gennady Seleznyov said that the protesters demands were fair, particularly their calls for improved housing. Most Russians continue to live in crumbling Soviet-era housing blocks. Seleznyov told ITAR-Tass news agency that many lawmakers had joined the protest lines.
The State Duma, which approved the proposed budget in its first reading last month, will hold a second reading Friday. After passing the Duma, the budget must go to the upper house of parliament and be signed by the president. The Associated Press
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