Moscow authorities have identified two test sites designed to accommodate London's Hyde Park analogues. In these places, everyone can freely express their personal opinion or take part in discussions on political topics.
To equip such sites selected parks named after Gorky and Sokolniki. Territories will be able to accommodate about two thousand people, they will not occupy the entire area of parks.
As authorities promise, Moscow’s guide sites will be operational by the end of 2012. In September, the mayor of the capital will get acquainted with architectural projects and proposals for the regulation of the functioning of these parks.
Metropolitan officials have been talking about creating analogues of London Hyde Park for more than a year. Former President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Medvedev was one of the first to make such a proposal after his visit to London in 2009.
In 2012, Vladimir Putin approved the idea of organizing speaker corners, after which a working group was created to develop and implement this project. According to experts, in Moscow there will not be enough two sites, at least there should be about fifty. This is explained by the increased activity of citizens and the mass registration of various parties. Nevertheless, the Moscow authorities so far decided to confine themselves to two objects. If the experiment is successful, the number of sites will increase.
The need to create public speaking sites causes a mixed opinion in society. Oppositionists have already suggested that the authorities simply want to remove those who disagree with the actions of the current leadership of the country away from people's eyes, giving them the opportunity to rally where few people see them. On the other hand, officials insist that rallies should be held where they will not interfere with the townspeople. In addition, among the advantages of creating analogues of Hyde Park is the absence of the need to obtain permission to hold a rally at this place.
It is not known how many public speaking venues will eventually be created in the capital, but the opposition has already warned officials in the capital that no one will be able to drive her into the ghetto. And if they expect that they will no longer hear the cries of protesters under the windows of their offices, then they are deeply mistaken.
