* Kremlin opponents accused of plotting violent protest
* Trial follows release of Pussy Riot, Khodorkovsky
By Maria Tsvetkova
MOSCOW, Feb 18 (Reuters) – Two Russian opposition activists
accused of plotting violent protests went on trial on Tuesday
and denounced the charges against them as part of a politically
motivated crackdown on opponents of President Vladimir Putin.
Sergei Udaltsov and Leonid Razvozzhayev are charged with
organising violent mass disorder and face up to 10 years in
prison if found guilty.
The accusations against the two men are linked to a protest
on the eve of Putin’s inauguration for a third term as president
in May 2012, when clashes erupted between protesters and police.
The defendants say police provoked the violence. Putin has
emphasised that anyone who attacks police must be punished.
“I categorically reject the accusations against me. I
believe the investigators did nothing more than carry out a
political order aimed at neutralising active opposition
representatives,” Udaltsov said before the judge cut him off.
A veteran street protester with a shaven head, Udaltsov, 37,
helped organise a series of earlier demonstrations that shook
the Kremlin after a December 2011 parliamentary election marred
by widespread allegations of fraud in favour of Putin’s party.
He and Razvozzhayev were prosecuted after a pro-Kremlin
television channel aired allegations that Udaltsov had received
money and orders to cause unrest in Russia from an ally of
Georgia’s then-president Mikheil Saakashvili, a foe of Putin.
AMNESTY
Eight people tried on charges of violence against police at
the May 6, 2012, protest are to hear their verdict on Friday.
Several others accused in connection with the protest have been
cleared under an amnesty Putin engineered in December.
The amnesty also led to the release of two members of
protest punk band Pussy Riot. Separately, Putin pardoned former
oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky, who spent more than a decade in
jail on tax evasion charges but was widely seen in the West as a
political prisoner.
Many observers said the amnesty and Khodorkovsky’s release
were aimed at improving Russia’s image before the 2014 Winter
Olympics this month in Sochi, a major prestige project for Putin
that will help shape his legacy after 14 years in power.
Razvozzhayev has said he was tortured after being abducted
in Ukraine, where he was seeking asylum. Russian authorities
deny they abducted him. Razvozzhayev faces an additional charge
of illegally crossing a state border.
(Writing by Steve Gutterman; Editing by Gareth Jones)
