The U.S.S.R. had been allowing only certain individuals out of the country such as a Jewish couple who sought medical help for their ailing baby and top scientist Venjamin Levich and his wife who wanted to immigrate to Israel. American senators were meeting in Moscow to get the Soviets to allow 200 Jews to immigrate to Israel.

About seventy thousand young people held a rally to honor the war veterans who defended Moscow in December 1941. The rally received coverage on a number of TV channels, and was named one of the major events of the year by some of them. It was well covered by the print and electronic media. Police and the security service were deployed, although many of the participants were dressed as Dyet Moroz, the Russian Santa Claus. Another rally was held to remember reporters killed in Russia from 1993-2006. About two hundred and fifty reporters from across Russia were killed over this period, and most of their cases are still unsolved. Moscow refused to officially sanction this demonstration, and denied permission to the activists to march on Tverskaya Street.