Russian Truck Drivers Postpone Protest

Truckers are protesting a new road tax.

Russian truck drivers have postponed a protest against a new road tax that initially had been planned for November 30.

The chairman of the Russian truck drivers' labor union, Aleksandr Kotov, said on November 30 that the mass protest has been moved to December 3 in order to give Russian lawmakers and the government more time to revise and cancel the bill on a new road tax.

Kotov said local authorities in some regions have blocked trucks from traveling to Moscow.

Hundreds of Russian truck drivers drove their vehicles from St. Petersburg toward Moscow on November 30 for a protest on the outskirts of the Russian capital.

For the past three weeks, truckers have been protesting across Russia against the new tax that will increase transportation costs by 15 to 20 percent.

Based on reporting by AP, TASS and Novaya Gazeta