Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin has replaced the official in charge of examining applications to hold demonstrations in the city, a source at city hall told RIA Novosti.
Sobyanin appointed his assistant, Alexei Mayorov, to replace Valery Kadatsky as head of the municipal department of regional security, which issues permits for public events, the source said, citing an order signed on January 24.
The mayor's office declined to comment on the report.
The opposition is currently negotiating permission to hold a massive march and demonstration in Moscow on February 4, exactly one month before presidential elections. The application has already been submitted but the authorities have not agreed the route of the march yet. The organizers have proposed a route along the Garden Ring in downtown Moscow.