MOSCOW, February 27 (RIA Novosti) – The Moscow authorities gave permission on Wednesday for an opposition rally to take place in the city center on Saturday.

The march, under the banner “For the Rights of Muscovites,” has been announced by the leader of the Left Front movement Sergei Udaltsov.

The event, sanctioned for up to 5,000 demonstrators, aims to highlight the social problems of the capital's residents, including housing and utilities, and environmental and transport issues. After the march, opposition activists plan to hold a forum to choose candidates for the 2014 City Hall elections.

The approved march route will start in downtown Strastnoi Boulevard at 2 p.m. and end at Prospect Akademika Sakharova, the city's security head Aleksei Mayorov said on Wednesday.

Another rally will be held in Moscow on Saturday by pro-Kremlin opponents of foreign adoptions under the banner “In Defense of Children.” Russia imposed a ban on January 1 on adoptions of Russian minors by US families.