Revolutionary riot police

The police gave scale to the “March of Dissent” in Moscow

On Saturday, an unauthorized “March of Dissent” took place in Moscow, organized by the opposition coalition “The Other Russia”. And the next day the St. Petersburg oppositionists took up the banner of dissent. The main role in the protests was played by riot police, whose numbers were many times greater than the number of “dissenters.” In fact, the abundance of law enforcement forces created the feeling that a global protest event, almost a revolution, was taking place in Moscow.

On the eve of the march, the leaders of the Other Russia wrote an open letter to President Vladimir Putin asking him not to use riot police to suppress peaceful protests, but to limit himself only to ordinary police forces. However, the oppositionists' request was not heard. Already on the eve of the Moscow march, information appeared that riot police from all over the country were being gathered in the capital. In anticipation of almost 30 thousand “dissenters” (in reality, about 1.5 thousand demonstrators took to the streets), additional riot police and internal troops were brought into the capital. About a thousand policemen were sent to look for “dissenters” at metro stations, train stations and entrances to the city. According to the Central Internal Affairs Directorate, order in the center of Moscow was supposed to be maintained by about 9 thousand law enforcement officers. According to representatives of the special services, at a meeting on the eve of the march they were given several tasks at once . Firstly, to prevent the procession itself - to disperse and detain groups of people heading to the gathering place of participants in the “March of Dissent” on Pushkin Square. Secondly, in the event of a dispersal of the march, to prevent possible unrest and provocations, during which people could get hurt, and in this case, the “dissenters” could shift the blame for the bloodshed to the authorities. For this purpose, plainclothes operatives were sent to the site of the march, who were supposed to look for provocateurs and especially active “dissenters”, and then hand them over to the riot police. All magistrates on duty on Saturday were also ordered to remain at their workplaces.

According to the organizers’ plan, the “dissenters” were supposed to gather at 12.00 on Pushkin Square and march to Turgenevskaya, where a rally was scheduled for 13.30, which, unlike the procession, was sanctioned by the Moscow authorities. However, the entire place on Pushkin Square was occupied by police officers. Those who came to march were dispersed or, for greater persuasiveness, detained and put on buses. Some demonstrators took with them the Russian Constitution, which declares the freedom to hold rallies and meetings, and waved it in the face of the riot police. Someone apparently lost the “main document” during the arrest, which gave rise to the image of the “trampled Russian Constitution lying in a puddle,” which was later repeatedly heard in the speeches of speakers at the rally.

At the very beginning of the action , the leader of the United Civil Front, ex-world chess champion Garry Kasparov, was detained. He was accused of shouting anti-government slogans. Mr. Kasparov was fined one thousand rubles “for violating the order of the procession” and was released only late in the evening. They also tried to detain another leader of the “Other Russia” - the former prime minister, leader of the “People's Democratic Union of Russia” Mikhail Kasyanov, who, however, was captured by his own guards.

Representatives of the media were present with Mr. Kasyanov during this incident. The police were not bothered by the presence of the press. The riot police commander gave the order: “Each take two people - journalists, non-journalists, it doesn’t matter.” And indeed, several journalists were immediately detained. The Vremya Novostei correspondent happily evaded the hands of the law several times thanks to comfortable shoes, which made it extremely easy to run away from the riot police.

Then the “surviving” demonstrators near Pushkin Square went along Rozhdestvenka towards Chistye Prudy for an authorized rally. Among them were the National Bolsheviks, who unfurled flags and began chanting slogans “Russia without Putin!” and “Revolution!” Next came the liberals, including the co-chairman of the Republican Party, State Duma deputy Vladimir Ryzhkov and the co-chairman of the People's Democratic Union Ivan Starikov.

The path to the march was blocked by numerous riot police and SOBR officers, who began to detain particularly active National Bolsheviks and disperse the crowd. Not without the use of rubber batons.

Some of the “dissenters” reached Turgenevskaya along side streets. Here, under the supervision of numerous police officers, an authorized rally of the “Other Russia” took place. Mikhail Kasyanov, representatives of the National Bolshevik Party and the Vanguard of Red Youth spoke at the rally. In their speeches, they covered the authorities with shame and advocated for free elections. The satirical writer Viktor Shenderovich unexpectedly brought discord into the camp of the protesters when he addressed the Limonovites standing in the crowd from the podium: “You guys with the flag, today is not your rally. Look how many of you and how many of us there are.” The satirical writer explained his disagreement with the “dissenters” of the National Bolsheviks: “We do not need revolution, but evolution.”

Another incident occurred near the Presnenskoye police station, where Garry Kasparov was taken. A group of citizens came to support the leader of the United Front, which resulted in a scuffle with the police. According to some reports, one of the picketers suffered a broken leg, another suffered a concussion. In total, according to human rights activists, more than a hundred people went to emergency rooms in Moscow on Saturday.

The Central Internal Affairs Directorate refuses to comment on the actions of its subordinates, stating that there were no serious incidents during yesterday’s events. According to the head of the information and public relations department of the Moscow Main Internal Affairs Directorate, Viktor Biryukov, the police managed to stop an attempt to hold an unauthorized march in the city center. “The organizers of the “March of Dissent” tried to carry out a number of provocations against the police, they wanted to start fights, but they failed to achieve their goal. The police officers did not allow the illegal action to take place; they acted harshly, but strictly within the framework of the current legislation,” Biryukov emphasized.

Ksenia VERETENNIKOVA, Alexey IVLEV