Russian police break up protest against rise in car import duties
By Isabel Gorst in Moscow
Published: December 22 2008 02:00 | Last updated: December 22 2008 02:00
Riot police in Vladivostok in the far east of Russia broke up a protest yesterday against a steep rise in car import duties. Witnesses said at least 100 people were detained as police closed in on the unsanctioned rally, beating protesters and reporters who were covering the event.
Motorists staged similar rallies in 30 cities across the country, prompting fears of a surge in social unrest as the country's economic crisis deepens.
Vladimir Ryzhkov, an independent opposition leader, said the authorities had deployed Moscow-based units of the Omon special forces to control the demonstration in Vladivostok 3,750 miles away.
"They are scared. Local forces will not strike their own people," said Mr Ryzhkov.
The rise in duty will add about 50 per cent to the cost of imported vehicles in a move intended to protect the struggling domestic auto industry. The Pacific port of Vladivostok is a hub for imports of used Japanese cars and will be hit particularly hard.
AvtoVaz, Russia's largest independent carmaker, which is 25 per cent-owned by Renault, warned last week that the Russian car market could contract by between 40 per cent and 50 per cent next year.
Vladimir Putin, the prime minister, unveiled a $5bn (£3.3bn, €3.6bn) package of protectionist measures to prop up the auto industry last week including $3bn of cheap credits for buyers of Russian cars and a $2bn bail-out for manufacturers.
Russian railways will transport new cars to the far east of the country free of charge.
Mr Putin said that it was "inadmissible" to import cars while Russian carmakers were struggling.
Mr Ryzhkov said the measures were designed to support Russian oligarchs rather than the people and would fail.
"No one will buy Russian cars because they are bad cars," he said.
The crisis has pitted car buyers against carmakers.
Workers at the idled Gaz truck factory, controlled by Oleg Deripaska, the indebted metals tycoon, demonstrated in favour of the protectionist measures last week.
In Moscow, however, about 300 mainly young people protested against the higher car duty under close watch by the police.
"This is not a political demonstration," said Sergei Kanaev, a lawyer and head of the Association for the Protection of Motorists' Rights.
"We are here to protect our right to buy cars that we like and that are safe."
Until the crisis, Russia had been Europe's fastest growing auto market with cheap credit bringing foreign cars within reach of ordinary people for the first time.
Most of the big foreign carmakers have established local assembly ventures in the past two years to cater for Russians' liking for foreign brands.
Renault and Ford announced production cuts at their Russian assembly plants after car sales there plunged by 15 per cent in November.
However, some dealers in luxury foreign sports utility vehicles said Russian sales have risen since the onset of the crisis, with buyers seeking a safe haven for their cash as stock markets slumped.
Some good old fashioned Russian video of how this happened:
otec
Kremlin has sent a special brigade of Moscow Special forces to break up the protests in Vladivostok.
It's 4000 miles between the cities :eyes:
The17sss
they are going to be extra irratable after a 4000 mile trip to put the smack down on protesters :nervous:
Magnetonium
What Russian police did is absolutely dam retarded without a doubt. They should have done what many European states would - just ignore the protest and let it carry on until the people are too tired to go on and go home - it was a small crowd anyway. Or play it on its state-controlled media and portray it as people not caring about protecting the country's industry, hence the decline in the national automobile industry: government-controlled media outlets are patriotic and broadcast all news in a specific direction and approach, heck, thats a freebie right there.
Besides, they could have watched the whole protest and only acted when some idiots start causing damage or problems to the public or property - and make a good pro-Kremlin story out of it.
Russia needs a leader like me. But on a second thought - I cant stand pleasing the selected oligarchs and other dignitaries to maintain power - corruption in that country is bad enough without even that in consideration. No leader can fix major problems in that country, not in one lifetime I guarantee you.
