Authorities in Moscow have said they will not force schoolchildren to sit for tests during the next anti-government demonstration next month.
Olga Gorodets, Moscow’s deputy mayor in charge of public health and education, said on Friday there would be no tests on February 4, when the next demonstration against alleged cheating in last month’s parliamentary election is due.
There was an outcry last month when high schoolers were ordered to come to school and sit for tests during the previous protests. Tutors were also advised to hold "discussions on how to behave safely in town." The city government's education department said at the time the move was not linked to the "political events."
The pro-Kremlin United Russia party won a narrow majority in the vote, but pro-democracy activists reported hundreds of instances of ballot stuffing.
