A series of mass manifestations against the party of power
took place in Saratov 20 years ago, in February 1990.
On February 11 the first meetings of the citizens took place
and public organisation The Committee of February 11 was organised.
On February 24 thousands of people marched through the streets
of the city, broke the police cordons and gathered on a rally
at the Revolution Square (the Theatre Square at present) under
the slogans “Out with Dogmatists, Bureaucrats and Conservatives!”,
“The CPSU Brakes Perestroika!”, “For the Soviets without Communists!”
and “The USSR Is Prison of Nations”. The citizens demanded
social justice and free elections into representatives bodies
of power – the Soviets of People’s Deputies – so that to break
away with the political monopoly of the ruling party (the
communist party then) and negligence of the bureaucrats leading
the country to the collapse.
Detailed memoirs and assessments of those developments are
published in the Bogatei newspaper by Alexander
Klimov and Yuri
Chernishoyv.
We express our gratitude to Alexander Nikitin from the Solidarity
human rights centre for granting us photographs from his personal
archive.
Press Service of the Saratov branch of YABLOKO
“Out with Dogmatists, Bureaucrats and Conservatives!”
Saratov People's Front
The Committee of February 11
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