MOSCOW,February24 2012(AFP): Over 100,000 people have packed into a Moscow stadium and its grounds to attend a gigantic rally to support Vladimir Putin’s Kremlin bid, police in the Russian capital said in a statement.Around 90,000 people were already inside Moscow’s Luzhniki stadium — which has a capacity in its stands of 80,000 — and 10,000-15,000 were in the surrounding grounds trying to get inside, police said. A festive atmosphere filled the giant venue, with some people dancing and others holding red heart-shaped baloons reading “For Putin” as participants were serenaded by Russian rock singers. Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov, speaking to AFP, refused to confirm or deny if the Russian leader would take part in the rally at Luzhniki stadium, a venue used for Moscow’s biggest football matches and rock concerts. A large blue stage had been erected in the centre of the sports field apperently in expectation of important speeches. The same stadium had earlier this week hosted the Champions League football clash between Spain’s Real Madrid and top Moscow team CSKA. The rally followed a mass march towards the stadium along the Moscow embankment by 30,000 Putin supporters, police said. The event is a riposte to the three mass rallies staged by the opposition since December 4 parliamentary elections which were tarnished by allegations of widespread vote-rigging.
