Thousands Rally Against Demolition of 4,500 Soviet-Era Buildings in Moscow

More than 10,000 people streamed onto Moscow’s Sakharov Avenue in a state-sanctioned rally against plans to demolish 4,500 Soviet-era buildings to make way for modern apartment blocks.Supporters say the project will replace inadequate housing with higher quality homes, but protesters fear being forced to move from their neighborhoods or that their properties would drop in value, and corruption would take hold.Among the crowd was opposition leader Aleksei Navalny, who was blocked by police when trying to take to the stage. While Navalny was in attendance, the protest was the product of a large-scale grassroots movement not organized by the political opposition.