Patriarch Kirill of Moscow in 1997. In his 2002 interview with "Izvestia", Metropolitan Kirill called the allegations about his profiteering a political campaign against him. Alexander Pochinok who was the minister of taxes and levies (1999-2000), said in 2009 that Kirill had no involvement in the violations. Three female members of the feminist group Pussy Riot were arrested in March 2012 for performing a song in the Christ the Saviour Cathedral in Moscow during which they called on the Virgin Mary to "chase Putin out". The women were arrested for hooliganism and were later sentenced to two years' imprisonment. The song contained swear words
Opposition to Vladimir Putin in Russia Russians supported the rallies and that 67 percent held Putin personally responsible for high-level corruption." From July 2018, almost every weekend, protest rallies and demonstrations were organized against the planned retirement age hike. Such events occurred in nearly all major cities countrywide including Novosibirsk, St.-Petersburg and Moscow. These events were coordinated by all opposition parties with the leading role of the communists. Also trade unions and some individual politicians (among whom Navalny) functioned as organizers of the public actions. An intention to hike the retirement age has drastically downed the rating of the President Vladimir Putin and Prime Minister Dmitry