Moscow Protests Not a Sign Russia’s in Crisis, Kremlin Says

(Bloomberg) -- The Kremlin said protests in Moscow that drew as many as 60,000 people on Saturday don’t represent a political crisis for the country.

“We don’t agree with those that are labeling this a political crisis,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Tuesday on a conference call with reporters. “We cannot and should not be guided by emotions. The use of phases like ‘unlawful use of force,’ ‘unlawful exclusion from elections,’ ‘unlawful arrests’ and what-not should be used only after an internal review or court ruling.”

Saturday’s rally was the best attended opposition demonstration since 2011, according to an independent monitoring organization White Counter. The weekly protests, which began last month over the refusal to put opposition candidates on the ballot for Moscow city council elections in September, have gained popularity after a violent police crackdown on protesters.

To contact the reporters on this story: Jake Rudnitsky in Moscow at jrudnitsky@bloomberg.net;Ilya Arkhipov in Moscow at iarkhipov@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Torrey Clark at tclark8@bloomberg.net, Tony Halpin, Gregory L. White

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