Mass march planned against Putin

MOSCOW, March 15 (UPI) -- An opposition leader in Moscow called for a million-man march in Moscow two days before Vladimir Putin is to be sworn into office as president.

Sergei Udaltsov, a left-leaning opponent of Prime Minister Putin, said demonstrations against Putin's political dominance would culminate in a mass May 5 protest.

"Let's come out to one of Moscow squares and not leave if we're numerous enough," he was quoted by Russia's state-run news agency RIA Novosti as saying. "If the authorities have ignored a rally of a 100,000, we need to bring out more."

Udaltsov was sentenced to 10 days in jail Thursday following his arrest during a weekend demonstration.

Human Rights Watch had said that while the Kremlin was tolerant of dissent during the campaign season, activists were roughed up by authorities after the election.

Putin secured a third non-consecutive term as president in an early March election. The Russian Central Election Commission certified Putin's 46-percentage-point victory over his closet rival, Communist leader Gennady Zyuganov.

Opposition groups had said they wouldn't recognize Putin's victory. He's to be sworn in May 7.