Scenes from anti-war and pro-government rallies in Moscow (and a smaller rally in St. Petersburg)
15.03.2014, 12:46
«Make salo - not war»
В субботу в Москве прошли массовые акции, посвященные событиям на Украине. На оппозиционный \«Марш мира\»...
http://www.gazeta.ru/social/2014/03/14/5950773.shtml
Today, Gazeta.ru live-blogged about the peace/opposition and pro-government marches/rallies unfolding in Moscow and other Russian cities. If you are a Russian speaker, you can just click on the link above. But for those of you who aren't... There's no way I'm translating the whole thing, but I wanted to at least cover the highlights.
Overall, the events in Moscow went peacefully. According to government sources, 3,000 people attended the opposition march, while 15,000 people attended pro-government rallies. Opposition sources say there were 50,000 people, while BBC gives "tens of thousands" figure, both of which seems a bit too high based on the photos I've seen. But the photos suggest that government estimates were too low. The 5,000-7,000 figure from some opposition resources seems plausible.
While there were some arrests, they were few and far and between. And while there was some shouting between two sides, police intervened before it could escalate.
The Opposition March in Moscow
Officially known as the March for Peace, it was assembled as much to protest Russian actions in Crimea as to voice opposition to Putin's government in general. Pretty much all major left-leaning opposition groups participated, as did anarchists and LGBT rights activists. The more right-leaning nationalists who participated in the opposition events in the past were noticeably absent.
A panorama of the March for Peace:
Очередь к рамкам pic.twitter.com/ncC8lF7thg
- Георгий Албуров (@alburov) March 15, 2014
A lot of marchers carried Russian and Ukrainian flags. Gazeta.ru comments that the march saw more Russian flags than any other opposition event in memory. Chants of "Russia, get up!" are heard throughout
"For Russia and Ukraine Without Putin!"
The sign says "Forgive us, Ukraine"
Another look at the march, just to give you a sense of scale
To quote Gazeta.ru "what sort of march would it be without members of Pussy Riot"
Пришли Толокно и Алехина. Пресса сожрала #МаршМира pic.twitter.com/TxcTEmS46o
- Philipp Kireev (@mynameisphilipp) March 15, 2014
This man is protesting against the recently passed online censorship laws. "The text of this poster has been blocked on the territory of Russian Federation."
Anarchist marchers. "Putin, bring the troops to Russia. We are being oppressed here, too."
"May there always be sun, may there always be sky"
Pretty self-explanatory
The Pro-Government March in Moscow
The pro-government, pro-referendum march was billed as "the March for Brotherhood." It was organized by Essence of Time Party, a which calls for the return of Soviet Union under "new principles," while avoiding past mistakes. Several pro-Putin parties joined in as well. Like the opposition march, it wasn't just about Crimea, or even Ukraine. Essence of Time Party head Sergey Kurginyan urged the crowd not to let Maidan happen in Russia.
The sign in the background says - "Crimea, we're with you"
Signs in the photo below include "Fascism won't triumph," "We won't abandon our own - Sevastopol is a Russian city," "Crimea, We're With You" and "Maidan Won't Succeed in Moscow"
The United Russia party, the country's ruling party, was one of the parties that participated. The banner two of its members are carrying says: "Putin's Ratings are at 100%. Crimea's Future is With Russia. United Russia - Our Country"
"We believe in Putin" banner
The march also attracted... supporters of Syrian president Bashar Al-Assad. Go figure
Kurginyan spoke on the stage wearing a red jacket, with a painting depicting the defense of Sevastopol during World War II. Can you tell that he used to be a TV host?
A larger view of Essence of Time Party marchers.
And a closer view
pic.twitter.com/v5UqQDA0MM
- Ilya Varlamov (@varlamov) March 15, 2014
And closer still
There is a also a rather colorful sign that says "We shit on your sanctions, we survived worse - hands off Crimea!" Unfortunately, it stubbornly refuses to embed, so you'll just have to click here.
Opposition Rally in St Petersburg
According to Gazeta.ru, there were planned anti-war rallies in St. Petersburg, Samara and Yekaterinburg. Unlike the Moscow "March for Peace," they were unsanctioned. The online newspaper only reported on the St. Petersburg rally.
They assembled in front of Kazanski Cathedral.
Питер, сейчас. Народный сход #маршмира pic.twitter.com/jenXayPlSg
- Tatiana Marshanova (@nevex_tv) March 15, 2014
About 300 people showed up, and the more pro-government people hung a bit further back, jeering and making sarcastic comments. Unlike in Moscow, the war of words escalated into a scuffle when one pro-government man tried to tear a Ukrainian flag out of a peace protestor's hand.
The poster says "I'm for peace, respectful inter-personal relations, honestly, abiding by democratic..." and the rest isn't clear enough to make out.
pic.twitter.com/ffVbIKwRlJ
- moepero (@moepero) March 15, 2014
Gazeta.ru said about 15-20 Ukrainians took part in the rally
pic.twitter.com/Kmn3DlSlBO
- moepero (@moepero) March 15, 2014
In the end, 3 people were arrested. Everybody else disbursed peacefully.
Once again, all materials came from the Gazeta.ru liveblog. And honestly, I'm so so glad that, for the most part, it went peacefully. Especially with the clashes between pro-Ukrainian and pro-Russian rallies all over Ukraine.