MOSCOW (AP) — A wave of demonstrations in Moscow this summer has pushed a 31-year-old activist to the forefront of the Russian political opposition.

Lawyer and activist Lyubov Sobol went on a hunger strike for a month to protest the refusal by officials to put her and other independent candidates on the ballot for a city council election in the capital.

In an interview with The Associated Press, she says the Kremlin won't be able to stop rising public anger as more Russians lose trust in the authorities.

Sobol says: "I'm not afraid of telling people to their face what I think of them."