Vladimir Putin the Russian opposition and by international observers from the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe for procedural irregularities. Anti-Putin protests took place during and directly after the presidential campaign. The most notorious protest was the Pussy Riot performance on 21 February, and subsequent trial. An estimated 8,000–20,000 protesters gathered in Moscow on 6 May, when eighty people were injured in confrontations with police, and 450 were arrested, with another 120 arrests taking place the following day. A counter-protest of Putin supporters occurred which culminated in a gathering of an estimated 130,000 supporters at the Luzhniki Stadium, Russia's largest stadium.
Valdai speech of Vladimir Putin Valdai speech of Vladimir Putin The Valdai speech of Vladimir Putin is a press-coined name for the speech that the Russian President Vladimir Putin delivered at the Valdai International Discussion Club XI session on 24 October 2014, in Sochi City. The overall meeting's theme was ""The World Order: New Rules or a Game without Rules?"" The controversial speech focused on modern global politics. Many analysts considered it a follow-up to Putin's 2007 Munich speech, where he began to outline his views on world order. The initial 40-minute speech was followed by a lengthy press-conference, where Putin answered questions, and made