Opposition, NGO Event Broken Up In Moscow, Dozens Detained

Russian police have stormed a gathering of independent local deputies in the capital and detained dozens of people, reportedly accusing them of taking part in an event organized by an "undesirable" group. A correspondent for RFE/RL's Russian Service said officers arrived at the "Municipal Russia" event about 40 minutes after it began at Moscow's Izmailovo Hotel early on March 13 and started taking people away. The event was organized by the United Democrats project, which is not among the entities on the list of "undesirable" organizations kept by prosecutors. Russia's "undesirable organization" law was adopted in 2015 amid a number of legislative, executive, and other restrictive efforts to curb dissent in the country.