Translated material
Flag in hand
Parties actively used the state symbol for advertising purposes
Celebrations to mark National Flag Day, which has been celebrated in Russia since 1994, took place across the country on Wednesday, with parties seizing the opportunity to showcase themselves to future voters. The Union of Right Forces held a traditional rally in memory of the defenders of the White House on New Arbat, and United Russia honored the Russian flag at the Olympic rowing canal in Krylatskoye.At most three hundred people gathered on Gorbaty Bridge near the government building on Wednesday. Moreover, a significant part of the protesters were non-party youth, that is, simply put, ordinary Moscow schoolchildren. Next to them, activists in their fifties complained to each other that the party leadership was not paying them their salaries, citing the fact that the Union of Right Forces “received only three percent” in the last elections. “Are we to blame for this?” - they were indignant. Before the start of the event, party members brought balloons in the colors of the Russian flag, which the youth immediately snatched up, almost getting into a fight. When the final preparations were made, the protesters moved. As it turned out, the reason for the delay in the procession was the lateness of Boris Nemtsov. When the call of the organizers “Boris Efimovich! Where are you? There were no responses, party chairman Nikita Belykh suggested not waiting for a potential member of the federal troika of the Union of Right Forces in the upcoming Duma elections.
They led the crowd with a banner “Let's preserve freedom for our descendants! “Together with Mr. Belykh, co-chairman of the liquidated Republican Party, State Duma deputy Vladimir Ryzhkov, member of the federal political council of the Union of Right Forces Boris Nadezhdin and State Duma deputy Anatoly Ermolin. Boris Nemtsov nevertheless joined his colleagues in Bolshoi Devyatinsky Lane, and to the sounds of the orchestra, the protesters approached Novy Arbat. It seemed that what was happening had nothing to do with the Russian flag. And even the triple “hurray” that should have followed the phrase “Long live the Russian flag - the most tricolor flag in the world!” sounded somehow quietly - the youth walking behind the party leaders clearly did not hear the call of the organizers. Nevertheless, through the joint efforts of the organizers, they managed to stretch the Russian flag, which, according to the right, was 30 meters in length.
In addition to the official leaders of the right, the leader of the youth movement “Democratic Alternative” (“YES!”) Maria Gaidar and the chairman of the Moscow Helsinki Group, the legendary human rights activist Lyudmila Alekseeva, spoke from the podium. Mrs. Gaidar promised that “people whom the authorities consider powerless cattle will definitely take to the streets.”
After the rally, the Union of Right Forces organized a cultural program for those sympathizing with the ideas of the party - a boat ride on the Moscow River. Old women in caps with party symbols sang songs to the accordion and pushed aside other guests, trying to get on board, while a woman stood alone on the embankment with a poster “Those who hate Putin go against the truth.”
“We believe in Russia! We believe in ourselves!” - such posters could be seen on the territory of the Olympic rowing canal in Krylatskoye. Here, "United Russia" decided to please potential voters with fireworks, a concert with the participation of Lev Leshchenko, the groups "Factory" and "Korni", as well as the raising of the largest, according to the organizers, flag in the history of Russia (its area was 384 square meters). It was custom-made by a private company from three strips of silk and weighed 25 kg. Thus, the SPS flag turned out to be longer, but smaller in area, although Boris Nadezhdin defended the party’s right to primacy. True, the leader of A Just Russia, Sergei Mironov, surpassed his political competitors - in Irkutsk, the Social Revolutionaries unfurled a flag as much as 850 meters long.
Meanwhile, the leader of United Russia, Boris Gryzlov, wearing a blue T-shirt with the symbols of the party (journalists were promised his appearance “in a sporting way”) walked around the basketball courts and roller skating rink, tried to score an exhibition goal against the Young Guard activists (and at first the score was clearly not in favor of Mr. Gryzlov), and also talked with extreme cyclists. Frightened by the attention of the press, the young people answered all the party leader’s questions in monosyllables, but clearly tried to make a favorable impression on the head of United Russia.
On stage, the party leader, together with the head of the central executive committee of United Russia Andrei Vorobyov, Olympic champions Vladislav Tretyak, Irina Rodnina and the head of the Olympic Committee Vyacheslav Fetisov, recalled the recent installation of the Russian flag in the Arctic by United Russia member Artur Chilingarov and the upcoming Olympics in Sochi.
United Russia used large-scale celebrations in honor of National Flag Day as an unofficial start to the campaign. Moreover, the tricolor is part of the emblem of the party in power.
True, in the evening metro cars there was not a single person holding a Russian flag, which once again proves that the holiday has not yet caught on. According to United Russia member Vorobyov, even some public organizations hang the flag incorrectly in their headquarters - with the red stripe at the top.