Moscow authorities have rejected opposition leader Aleksei Navalny's request to hold an anticorruption march and rally in the heart of Moscow on June 12.
City security department chief Vladimir Chernikov said on May 31 that instead of Tverskaya and Okhotny Ryad, major streets near the Kremlin, the mayor's office is proposing that Navalny hold the demonstration at one of two locations further from the city center.
Chernikov told journalists that if held on the central streets where Navalny had sought permission to stage them, the march and rally might disrupt events connected to Russia Day holiday celebrations.
Navalny has said earlier that activists in 212 cities across Russia plan to hold demonstrations on June 12 regardless of whether permission is granted, citing what he said was the right of citizens to demonstrate on Russia Day.
The Kremlin foe and anticorruption crusader is seeking to build on momentum after organizing nationwide anticorruption protests on March 26 that drew unexpectedly large crowds.
Navalny is trying to get on the ballot for a March 2018 election in which President Vladimir Putin is widely expected to seek and secure a new six-year term.
