Russian truckers take on authorities in mass protest

AFP, MOSCOW: Russian truckers indignant at a new tax have caused huge tailbacks across the country, as they block roads in a rare mass protest rattling the authorities under President Vladimir Putin.
Long lines of lorries halted traffic on highways in some 20 regions to demonstrate against the levies introduced on November 15 -- and the son of a close Putin ally responsible for collecting them. “They have to live and feed their children,” Igor Pasynkov, the head the country’s long-distance truckers association, said of the drivers involved in the demonstrations. “That’s why they are protesting.”
In the volatile North Caucasian republic of Dagestan, more than 1,000 truck drivers reportedly took part in the protest movement.
Trucks were parked up for tens of kilometres on the road heading to Azerbaijan, independent newspaper Novaya Gazeta reported. Dagestan’s disgruntled truck drivers have threatened to block the roads leading to Moscow on November 30 if the tax is not annulled, a call that had been echoed in other regions.
But while the protest has caused major disruptions across the country it has received little coverage in Russia’s tightly controlled state media and has only just begun garnering official attention. “We called TV stations. They refused to come and the police were called on us,” a truck driver who identified himself as Dibir told Novaya Gazeta.
That may be explained by the target of many of the protesters’ ire—the son of billionaire Arkady Rotenberg, a long-time friend and judo partner of Putin. Rotenberg junior, Igor, part owns the company that scooped the lucrative contract to collect the transportation tax.

Russian truckers take on authorities in mass protest

AFP, MOSCOW: Russian truckers indignant at a new tax have caused huge tailbacks across the country, as they block roads in a rare mass protest rattling the authorities under President Vladimir Putin. Long lines of lorries halted traffic on highways in some 20 regions to demonstrate against the levies introduced on November 15 -- and the son of a close Putin ally responsible for collecting them. They have to live and feed their children, Igor Pasynkov, the head the countrys long-distance truckers association, said of the drivers involved in the demonstrations. Thats why they are protesting. In the volatile North Caucasian republic of Dagestan, more than 1,000 truck drivers reportedly took part in the protest movement. Trucks were parked up for tens of kilometres on the road heading to Azerbaijan, independent newspaper Novaya Gazeta reported. Dagestans disgruntled truck drivers have threatened to block the roads leading to Moscow on November 30 if the tax is not annulled, a call that had been echoed in other regions. But while the protest has caused major disruptions across the country it has received little coverage in Russias tightly controlled state media and has only just begun garnering official attention. We called TV stations. They refused to come and the police were called on us, a truck driver who identified himself as Dibir told Novaya Gazeta. That may be explained by the target of many of the protesters irethe son of billionaire Arkady Rotenberg, a long-time friend and judo partner of Putin. Rotenberg junior, Igor, part owns the company that scooped the lucrative contract to collect the transportation tax.