MOSCOW. Aug 2 (Interfax) - An Interior Forces soldier was injured by an opposition activist during a police-dispersed opposition rally on a central square in Moscow on Saturday evening, the public relations chief of the city police authority said.
The soldier, one of the troops who were guarding Triumfalnaya Square during the rally, was pushed by a woman opposition activist, "fell to the ground and cut his face with a piece of glass," Viktor Biryukov told Interfax. The soldier was hospitalized.
About 200 people tried to hold a rally on Triumfalnaya Square on Saturday to protest alleged violations of Article 31 of the Russian Constitution, which proclaims freedom of assemblies and processions. Biryukov said 35 [people had been arrested.
There have been regular attempts to hold rallies in Moscow in defense of Article 31 on the 31st day of every 31-day month but none of the events had been permitted by the authorities, practically all of them being dispersed by police with numerous arrests made.