Yoshkar-Ola - a city without swastikas

On May 9, 2005, the action "Understanding", which started on April 7, ended in Yoshkar-Ola. During the action, the Mari public organizations "Civil Resistance" and "Man and the Law" painted over more than 40 swastikas and nationalist inscriptions that appeared on the walls of houses since a similar event held a year earlier.

The action got its name because the activists wrote this very word over nationalist slogans. In this way, activists are trying to fight the spread of xenophobia in society. However, they themselves note that such cases do not bring great results: new inscriptions appear, on average, once every two days.

Sources

• Already more than 40 swastikas and inscriptions of a nationalist nature that appeared on the walls of houses were painted over by the participants of the "Understanding" action that started a month ago in Yoshkar-Ola // Region 12 (Mari El). 2005. 4 May.
• Human rights activists will clear Yoshkar-Ola of fascist symbols // Mari El OnLine. 2005. April 1st.