Thousands of protesters chant anti-Putin slogans at rally against retirement-age plan

Thousands of people protested in centralMoscow on Sunday against a proposed increase to the retirementage and the crowd chanted slogans critical of Russian President VladimirPutin,whose approval ratings have been dented by the bill.

Demonstrators at the rally, organized by the opposition Libertarian Party, chanted "Putin is a thief" and "Away with the czar," slogans that are common at anti-Putin and anti-government protests.

The proposal to raise the retirement age, to 65 from 60 formen and to 63 from 55 for women, is part of an unpopular budgetpackage designed to shore up government finances thatis backedby lawmakers.

The retirement age proposal is politically sensitive forPutin, who was re-elected in March, because it has prompted a series of protests across Russia since it was announced on June14, the day Russia played the first match of its soccer WorldCup.

Around 90 per cent of the population oppose the bill,according to a recent opinion poll, and a petition against it has attracted threemillion signatures online.

More than 6,000 people came to Sunday's rally, which took placeabout 2.4kilometres from the Kremlin, according to White Counter, an NGO that counts participants at rallies using metaldetector frames. Police put the number at around 2,500.

'Stop stealing our future'

People held placards with slogans against the higherretirement age and one read: "Stop stealing our future." Authorities detained two protest organizers, according to Vladimir Milov, aformer deputy energy minister who isnow an opposition campaigner.

Putin, who once promised not to raise the retirement age,has tried to distance himself from the pension plan.

He said earlier this month that he did not like any of the proposals. Hesaid Russia could avoid raising the retirement age for years,though a decision would have to be made eventually.

"We have to proceed not from emotions, but from the realassessment of economic conditions and prospects of its development and [the development of] the social sphere," Putinsaid.

On Saturday, more than 12,000 peoplerallied on the samestreet in Moscow, according to the White Counter data.

The changes to the retirement age would be introducedgradually, starting in 2019, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev saidwhen presenting the plan. Officials said the measure should helpto raise an average pension in Russia, now at around $300 Cdn a month.