(http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/MSNBC/Components/Photo/_new/130113-adopt-hmed-2p.photoblog600.jpg)Kirill Kudryavtsev / AFP - Getty ImagesAt least 20,000 people rallied Sunday on the Boulevard Ring in Moscow to oppose Vladimir Putin's law banning American adoptions of Russian children. By Lynn Berry, The Associated PressThousands of people marched through Moscow on Sunday to protest Russia's new law banning Americans from adopting Russian children, a far bigger number than expected in a sign that outrage over the ban has breathed some life into the dispirited anti-Kremlin opposition movement.
Follow @NBCNewsWorld (https://twitter.com/NBCNewsWorld) Shouting "shame on the scum," protesters carried posters of President Vladimir Putin and members of Russia's parliament who overwhelmingly voted for the law last month. Up to 20,000 took part in the demonstration on a frigid, gray afternoon.
The adoption ban has stoked the anger of the same middle-class, urban professionals who swelled the protest ranks last winter, when more than 100,000 people turned out for rallies to demand free elections and an end to Putin's 12 years in power. Since Putin began a third presidential term in May, the protests have flagged as the opposition leaders have struggled to provide direction and capitalize on the broad discontent.
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