Russian March participants in custody in Moscow, November 4, 2006
Photo: Valery Melnikov
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Russians March Any Way
// City couldn't stop them
In spite of a ban by Moscow authorities, nationalists were able to hold the “Russian March” Saturday, National Unity Day. About 3000 people participated in the March, shouting “Kondopoga,” which is a city in Karelia that was recently rocked by ethnic conflict. Security measures were unprecedented. A helicopter patrolled the sky and almost 10,000 police were on duty. They took more than 500 people into custody.
A year ago, the ultra-rightist event attracted 4000 people, who marched through downtown Moscow chanting “the Russians are coming,” “Russia for the Russians” and “Heil Hitler.” City authorities feigned complete surprise at the event, but promised not to let it happen this year. Moscow Mayor Yury Luzhkov reiterated that promise on October 31. This year's march, while somewhat less well-attended, was no less radical.
There were more police than civilians on the streets on the morning of November 4. Around the Park kultury Metro station, 30 busses full of special forces troops, mainly from Tver Region, were ready. The cold soldiers stood around drinking tea from plastic cups. Zubovsky Boulevard was closed at Komsomolsky Prospekt by ten trucks and a water tanker. There were about 100 police in the Komsomolsky circle line Metro station, where the marchers were supposed to meet. There were two or three police in every Metro car. Young men with shaved heads, high boots and tight jeans began to gather.
Around 9:30, Duma members Viktor Alksnis, Andrey Savelyev and Nikolay Kuryanov (in a Cossack hat) and Movement against Illegal Immigration leader Alexander Belov arrived and told the marchers to board trains and proceed to Park kultury station. Alksnis had announced a day earlier that the Russian March public council had decided to join the authorized meeting of the People's Will Party at Devichye Field.
At about 10:00, commuters were surprised by the sight of the Duma members, their bodyguards and a horde of photographers boarding trains already full of skinhead to travel to the next station. Duma member Dmitry Rogozin boarded at Belorussky station.
Marchers obediently opened their jackets at Park kultury station to be frisked by police. About 100 people were taken away to waiting police vans at that point. At least ten passersby were taken into custody. They were taken to various police stations and released a few hours later after being issued citations for crossing Zubovsky Boulevard outside the crosswalk.
Those who made it through the search assembled along the Garden Ring. They were kept art from pedestrians by internal forces soldiers. “Russians forward!” shouted Belov, and the column set off, shouting “Kondopoga! Kondopoga!” and “Death to the occupants!”
By 11:30, the marchers were reaching the monument to Lev Tolstoy on Devichye Field, where the People's Will members were assembled. A police helicopter hovered overhead. The meeting began. People's Will leader Sergey Baburin addressed the crowd from a truck. Alksnis tried to attract attention his way talking about a “national-liberation revolution,” but he had little success. The culmination of the meeting was Belov's address, much of which was obscenities. Sound technicians turned on loud music as he was speaking. He shouted louder, but soon stepped down.
The nationalists were cold, and decided to warm themselves with a visit to the anti-fascist meeting on Bolotnaya Square. On the way to the Metro, they overturned garbage cans and shouted “Russian order on Russian land!”
About 1000 people had assembled on Bolotnaya Square by 2:30. They were being protected by an approximately equal number of police, special forces troops and soldiers, who were brought in in 30 trucks. “They thought up this holiday and forgot to say why,” commented Nikolay Belykh, the only opposition party leader in attendance. “So here we are at a meeting-antimeeting.”
The atmosphere at that meeting was tense, as skinhead websites had published plans for disruptions. About 150 skinheads did gather on nearby Kadashevskaya Embankment. They gave the Nazi salute and shouted “Glory to Russia,” in response to which special forces troops descended on them from Luzhkov Bridge. They forced about half of the skinheads into Malaya Tolmachevsky Lane, where they were pushed up against the walls, face in, to wait to be hauled away.
While that perked up spirits at the anti-fascist meeting, organizers nonetheless urged those present to leave the meeting in groups, and the troops asked them to remove their “We'll stop fascism” buttons.
Russian Orthodox Christians gathered on Slavyanskaya Square on November 4 for prayers. Leader of the Union of Orthodox Standard Bearers Leonid Simonovich blessed the crowd. Speakers talked about the “great Russian people” and said that “We are the most powerful political force in Russia.”
A total of 560 people were taken into custody in Moscow on National Unity Day. The press service of the Main Department of Internal Affairs (the police) told Kommersant that all Russian March participants were released the same day. “Mainly we detained those whose behavior at the meeting did not correspond to its theme,” a spokesman explained.
Ekaterina Savina, Andrey Kozenko, Pavel Korobov
All the Article in Russian as of Nov. 07, 2006
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