Duma deputies and the presidential administration agreed upon a final version of amendments to the federal law “On gatherings, rallies, demonstrations, marches and pickets” on Wednesday. As was expected, a provision that banned individuals or groups from organizing public events for one year if they had been convicted of administrative offenses – a category that includes petty traffic violations – was stripped from the final text.

A letter earlier in the month from the president to state deputies explained that it was precisely this provision that prompted him to veto the amended legislation, despite the fact that both houses of parliament had passed the measure earlier this year without any indication that it would be vetoed.

The amendments were originally introduced in April by deputies from Prime Minister Vladimir Putin’s United Russia party, as well as from the Kremlin-loyal A Just Russia and Liberal Democratic Party of Russia. Oppositionists and civil rights spoke out vocally against the proposal.

Aside from the text about administrative offenses, the original legislation also sought to regulate demonstrations by transportation-based organizations such as the Blue Bucket Society, whose members stage protest parades with their cars. The legislation would have required these groups not only to apply with local authorities for official sanction, but also document all vehicles that would be used in the event ahead of time – a measure critics said would virtually cripple these demonstrations.

In his letter, President Medvedev said that he agreed with deputies that transportation-based protests needed to be regulated.

Right after the veto, a source in the State Duma told Gazeta.ru that the basis of revisions to the document would be the removal of the the regulation on administrative offenses. “We’ll remove the regulation, and the document will be passed,” said the source.

The Federation Council and the president still have to accept the legislation before it is passed into law.

The initiative was authored by legislative deputies from the Kremlin-backed United Russia party, a Just Russia, and Liberal Democratic Party of Russia. It was passed by both houses of parliament in late October. If signed by the president, the amendment would have put a stipulation into the current legislation governing demonstrations, rallies, and other public gatherings to ban anyone previously convicted of even minor administrative offenses from organizing such a gathering for a year. It also imposed restrictions on demonstrations using cars, a move apparently targeted at protesters in the recently-created Blue Bucket Society.

Medvedev laid out his grievances with the proposed amendment in an open letter to State Duma Speaker Boris Gryzlov and Federation Council Chairman Sergei Mironov. In it, the president states that the amendment “contains proposals that complicate the ability of citizens to freely realize their constitutional right to hold gatherings, rallies, demonstrations, marches, and pickets.” It would also limit citizens’ right to participate in the management of state affairs and freely express their personal opinions, he said.

After the amendment was passed by the State Duma and Federation Council, a group of prominent Russian rights activists sent President Medvedev an open letter that decried the amendment as unconstitutional and asked him to turn it down. Signatories to the letter included Lyudmila Alexeyeva, Lev Ponomarev, Yelena Bonner, Oleg Orlov and Svetlana Gannushkina.

Medvedev’s decision to veto the amendment – which, according to the Novy Region news agency, is the first time he has used it ever – may have been a result of those calls.

“How could I call the president’s decision irrational? He came to a compromise with public opinion, which was critical [of the proposal],” United Russia deputy Sergei Markov told the newspaper Kommersant.

In a statement posted on United Russia’s website, senior party member Andrei Vorobyov said that while the veto is rarely used in Russia, the president fully has this right and “there is nothing extraordinary in the current situation.” He said his party was willing to revamp the amendment, but did not specify what this might entail.

“We will act in the logic of the president’s decision,” he said.

Oppositionists were shocked at the president’s announcement.

Sergei Kanaev, head of the Moscow branch of the Federation of Automobile Owners of Russia, told Kasparov.ru that his organization was grateful to Medvedev.

“In principal, the president showed willpower and responsibility; his step deserves respect,” Kanaev said.

“For me, this was a surprise,” said Left Front leader Sergei Udaltsov, who explained that the whole process of getting the amendment passed by the parliament made it look as if the president was sure to sign it.

While Udaltsov praised the president’s decision, he noted that current legislation governing demonstrations and rallies is severely flawed and demands revision.

The coming days “will show how strong the president’s desire is to deal with this situation, or if it was a tactical move,” said the opposition leader.

Other Russia party leader Eduard Limonov was less than thrilled with the veto.

“We have hundreds of repressive laws, and this is not a cause for a great amount of joy,” he said. “Medvedev has displayed some common sense, but also, probably, cowardice, because he understands that the boiler is going to burst.”