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Russian Officers' Wives Demonstrate To Demand Housing


A protester stands outside the Defense Ministry in Moscow on March 8.
A protester stands outside the Defense Ministry in Moscow on March 8.
MOSCOW -- Wives of retired Russian military officers have marked International Women's Day by staging a protest outside the Defense Ministry in Moscow to demand better housing for their families.

Close to 30 women joined in the March 8 protest, holding placards and announcing a hunger strike to protest what they see as government neglect.

The move is similar to a protest and a wave of hunger strikes by retired army officers last month.

The exact number of people who remain on hunger strike is not clear.

A retired officer attending the wives' protest told RFE/RL that it was the responsibility of the country's new president-elect, Vladimir Putin, to take care of the problem.

The Defense Ministry officially promises free housing to all military officers when they retire.

RFE/RL has been declared an "undesirable organization" by the Russian government.

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