TODAY: Thousands of protesters take to the streets all across Russia in widespread dissent; United Russia holds 30-minute pro-Kremlin rallies; Patriarch Kirill enthroned; gearing up for Russia-US meetings; Russians turn to internet for objective news.

Russia saw its largest demonstration of public discontentment in years over the weekend, as thousands of people gathered in cities across the country, denouncing the Kremlin, Dmitry Medvedev, and Vladimir Putin with ‘largely subdued, but pointed criticism’.  Reuters counts ‘a dozen rallies’, with motives ranging from car tariff hikes and unemployment, to the murder of Stanislav Markelov and dissatisfaction with ‘Putin’s Plan’.  The BBC has footage of one protest.  ‘The anti-government rallies were largely ignored by state television, which instead covered United Russia’s pro-government rallies in Moscow and several other cities.’  Moscow’s counter-rally lasted 30 minutes, with tea being distributed by the military to the participants, who held signs saying ‘We trust!’  Is Putinism on the wane?, wonders Radio Free Europe.  ‘The Kremlin’s rule is beginning to look much shakier than at any time since Vladimir Putin came to power,’ notes The Independent.