By Megan Davies and Thomas Grove
February 26, 2012 12:11 PM EST
(Reuters) - Thousands of Russians joined hands to form a human chain around the Moscow city center Sunday in protest against Vladimir Putin's likely return as president in the election next week.
Thousands of Russians Ring Moscow to Protest Putin Watch Video
The protesters stood side by side around the wide 10-mile Moscow Garden Ring Road in gently falling snow, many of them wearing the white ribbons that symbolize the biggest opposition protests since Putin rose to power 12 years ago.
The mood was festive as protesters, some chanting "Russia without Putin," waved at cars which hooted back in support. Some held blown-up condoms - mocking Putin for saying he mistook the white ribbons they pin to their coats for contraceptives.
"There is no way that Putin can win honestly," said Yevgeniya Chirikova, a leading opposition campaigner.
"You see how many people are out here now. If we can prove that there is falsification in the presidential election, then there will be a very strong reaction (from the people)," she said.
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Putin is all but certain to win the presidential election on March 4, and return to the post he held from 2000 until 2008, after a campaign portraying him as a strong leader who oversaw an economic boom and rebuilt Russia as a powerful nation.
But the protests point to growing dissatisfaction among relatively well-off voters in big cities with a political system dominated by one man, widespread corruption and a lack of transparency.
Putin has remained Russia's dominant leader despite stepping aside to become prime minister in 2008 because of constitutional limits, and protesters are alarmed that could win two more terms and rule the world's biggest country until 2024.
"I don't know that there will be any result (from the protest) but I've come to show the government that there are many of us and that there are many people together," said Nikolai Chekalin, a 66-year-old scientist.
"I would like transparency, an honest court and conditions for business to develop. Putin has been lucky, the price of oil has helped him. Without that he's nothing," he said, referring to the surge in global oil prices that fuelled Russia's economic boom during Putin's previous presidency.
DEMANDS FOR CHANGE
The organizers said they needed 34,000 people to complete the circle around Moscow's historic center, which includes the Kremlin. They put the number of protesters at 40,000. Police said 11,0000 had taken part.
The opposition protests began after allegations of fraud in a parliamentary election won by Putin's party on Dec. 4. The Kremlin has offered token electoral reforms but not met any of the protesters' main demands, including a rerun of the election.
The protesters acknowledge that Putin, who has a tight grip on the media, is sure to reclaim the presidency but they want to show their discontent in the hope that it might undermine him or encourage him to make policy changes.
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