Moscow women protest against violence in Belarus

Several hundred women gathered in front of the Belarusian Embassy in Moscow on Saturday to protest against the violent crackdown on demonstrators in Belarus after the elections there.

Demonstrators dressed mainly in white, carried flowers, sang songs and read poems.

They held a long white ribbon that they called a "chain of solidarity," mirroring an earlier protest held by women in the Belarusan capital Minsk.

"This event is in solidarity with the women of Belarus who are coming out to protest peacefully with flowers and white clothes against violence. We are also against violence. As you might have noticed, there are many of us," said Masha, a young protester holding the ribbon.

Last Sunday's elections in Belarus saw long-standing President Alexander Lukashenko win over 80 percent of the vote and a sixth consecutive term in office, according to official but contested results.

An estimated 7,000 people were detained in Belarus the first days after the election as large crowds gathered in cities to contest the legitimacy of the vote.

Russian police in Moscow did not intervene to disperse the crowd during the Moscow protest on Saturday, and many cars passing by in traffic honked their horns in support of the protesters.

"I came to this protest of solidarity because throughout this week, I felt so much pain as I watched online (what is happening in Belarus)," said Ilya Silivyostrov, one of the few men in the chain.

"And I relate it to us (in Russia), because when our president loses his elections he will act in the same manner, so I can't stand to the side now," he added.

Many of the protesters compared the situation in Belarus to Russia.

"We see that the same things are happening in Russia and Belarus; we have plenty of political repressions here as well," said Svetlana Shafieva.

"I'm the mother of a political prisoner and I understand the Belarusian people and Belarusian mothers," she added.

Image credits: @steven_pifer/Twitter