Cossack robbers

Unauthorized protests swept the capital

On the day of the inauguration of the Russian President, the Moscow police received a gift of “Triumphal Square” throughout the city: simultaneously, unauthorized actions broke out at several points. According to various estimates, from 600-700 to three to four thousand people took part in them, that is, much more than in the usual “March of Dissent.” At least two hundred people were detained.

The peaceful spring capital became the backdrop for clashes between the opposition and riot police. True, the next day after the violent march, citizens no longer tried to attack the “cosmonauts,” while law enforcement agencies acted exactly according to the “Triumphal” scenario - they dispersed the crowd and harshly detained the speakers. The game of “Cossacks-robbers” continued all day: small groups of oppositionists ran from one boulevard to another, split up, united again, organized impromptu rallies in squares and even fountains; in general, they did their best to demonstrate dissatisfaction with the return of Vladimir Putin to the presidency of Russia. At the same time, the demonstration of discontent was emphatically peaceful. Although not entirely legal - from the point of view of the police.

The day before, the most active participants in the “March of Millions”, through Twitter and other social networks, agreed to go to Manezhnaya Square on May 7 at 10 am to meet the motorcade of Vladimir Putin, who will go to the Kremlin for his inauguration. Of course, at 10 am, police officers were waiting for them at Manezhnaya. A Lenta.ru correspondent discovered at 10:30 that the exit to the city from the Lenin Library metro station was blocked, and dozens of young supporters of Vladimir Putin were walking around the station with tricolor ribbons in their hands. From the Okhotny Ryad station at that time it was possible to get only to Tverskaya from the State Duma. On the other bank of Tverskaya, near the National Hotel, a group of citizens (no more than a hundred people) were surrounded by riot police, who tried to force them to the Central Telegraph - and successfully coped with this task. As during the “Dissent Marches,” the crowd of “dissenters” consisted half of journalists. Police grabbed people with white ribbons chanting “Russia without Putin” and dragged them into a paddy wagon.

People were pushed into Gazetny Lane. In an effort to block the escape route, the police perched themselves on the McDonald's veranda, pretty much frightening the peaceful, chewing public. As it turned out a little later, the chewing public experienced stress that day not for the last time.

For several minutes, protesters and journalists looked at the chain of riot police blocking Gazetny Lane. Finally, employees of the Kommersant Publishing House suggested that their friends head to Nikitsky Boulevard, where the John Donne and Jean-Jacques establishments are located - permanent gathering places for the capital's liberal journalists. There have already been reports on Twitter that at least 200 people have gathered near “Jean-Jacques” - apparently those who were unable to get to Manezhnaya Square, which was cordoned off on all sides. The growing crowd before our eyes (it was joined by people coming out of the alleys) went to Nikitsky in an almost organized procession, shouting anti-Putin slogans.

Around "Jean-Jacques" there were a lot of "cosmonauts". Riot police dispersed and detained people who had gathered near the cafe, as well as those who were having breakfast on the summer veranda. One part of the citizens ran from the police towards Arbat, the other was cut off from “Jean-Jacques” by a human chain of riot police. was detained on Nikitsky Boris Nemtsov . Many photographs were also taken here, which are the best illustration of the events of May 7 in Moscow: the tables of the John Donne pub, beloved by opposition journalists, were occupied by police officers . The Lenta.ru correspondent envied those who witnessed this amazing spectacle.

Photo by Maria Turchenkova for Lenta.ru
Open the photo gallery "Walk"

Meanwhile, during the “vintilov” on Nikitsky Boulevard (journalists were also detained, but released), several groups of people joined together - and the total number of protesters became truly impressive. A chain of riot police drove five hundred people along Nikitsky Boulevard - snarling, armed with white ribbons and mobile equipment. There was no fear in the eyes of the people at all (and participants in uncoordinated “Dissent Marches” are usually a little scared), but the police chiefs looked, if not confused, then puzzled - they were unable to localize the crowd.

Here, on Nikitsky Boulevard, the protesters were joined by teenagers and young people from among Vladimir Putin’s supporters, some wearing jackets with the appropriate symbols (VV); the same ones from the Lenin Library metro station. They tried to distribute St. George ribbons and tricolor ribbons, got into altercations with oppositionists, and shouted slogans. There were few “pro-Kremlin” people, and they were clearly coordinated by someone from the outside - they tried to stay close to the riot police.

Citizens, urged on by the police, found themselves in a spot at the very beginning of the boulevard. Here the riot police again formed a line and began to look intimidatingly from under their helmets at the oppositionists. At this time, the “pro-Kremlin people” were happily photographing each other against the backdrop of equipped soldiers - they would have something to show at home.

There was laughter: homeless people passing by dropped a bottle of vodka. One of them seemed to cry out of despair...

Fifteen minutes passed, and the riot police suddenly ran back to the “Jean-Jacques” - they whistled at the backs of the “cosmonauts”. Around this time, the police took the poet Lev Rubinstein, a middle-aged classic of modern Russian literature, into the paddy wagon.

Instead of dispersing, the oppositionists began to gather again on Nikitsky - there were more and more of them. Citizens surrounded a small group of "pro-Kremlin" teenagers shouting "Putin loves everyone" and began yelling at them threateningly. "Russia without Putin!" - the dissenters chanted. "Russia is for Putin!" - responded the president's supporters. Several times the crowd was on the verge of hand-to-hand combat - perhaps the riot police who had stepped aside were counting on this, but who knows - but the clashes did not develop into a fight.

At this very moment, Vladimir Putin officially became the President of Russia.

"Let's go to Manezhnaya!" - some punks with real mohawks shouted. And the crowd walked along Tverskoy Boulevard - at a fast pace, in an organized column, and the “pro-Kremlin people” dejectedly trudged behind it. The citizens, chanting “Putin, skis, Magadan,” moved very energetically - a little more energetically than if they were just walking. It seemed to the Lenta.ru correspondent that 600-700 people took part in this procession. All the way to Pushkin Square, not a single police officer was visible. And only when the crowd had almost reached Tverskaya, paddy wagons rushed up the boulevard - and from Pushkin Square a chain of “cosmonauts” advanced towards the dissenters, followed by another. The riot police turned the citizens around and drove them through the square in the opposite direction - towards another group of policemen. Here the oppositionists were caught in a pincer movement; some managed to jump over the fence and rush into Bogoslovsky Lane. The police began a “vintage” search, as usual, catching those in the crowd who were distinguished by a white ribbon. Several dozen people went into the paddy wagon. A Lenta.ru correspondent saw one girl asking the police to arrest the “nashists” because they had started an unauthorized rally. The girl was immediately detained. In general, riot police constantly covered the “pro-Kremlin” people: either they took them into a circle, protecting them from the crowd, or they led them out of the cordon in a trickle.

Tverskoy Boulevard was cleaned up efficiently. In small groups, citizens and journalists went in different directions - some again to Nikitsky, the rest - to Pushkinskaya Square. Another party of “pro-Kremlin people” was wandering around the square - with the symbols of the long-forgotten “Local” movement. Riot police, for some reason armed with fire extinguishers, hurried to the square. The Lenta.ru correspondent also got to Tverskaya and found a completely empty street: police trucks and buses were parked on the side of the road. Watering machines drove past them, snorting solemnly.

After lunch, the opposition began to gather at Chistye Prudy. Citizens occupied a working (that is, filled with water) fountain near the monument to Abai Kunanbayev. The police did not respond immediately. Within about an hour, two dozen paddy wagons arrived at the metro. As soon as the necessary preparations were made, riot police attacked the crowd. The “cosmonauts” acted according to a well-established scenario: a human chain presses, separate groups “clean up” - they snatch citizens and drag them onto the bus. Journalists suffered several times: law enforcement officers pushed them and detained them, regardless of their press cards.

“Vintage” on Chistye Prudy was much more violent than on Tverskoy Boulevard: they arrested everyone shouting slogans, everyone who had white ribbons, journalists, and seemingly random passers-by. Dozens of people were detained. Among them, municipal deputy Konstantin Jankauskas was detained (but soon released), who demanded that the police officers show their badges.

Journalists, at the same time, did not leave the empty boulevard. Employees of the Russia Today TV channel quietly chanted “We want to sleep, we want to eat.” A group of people surrounded the editor-in-chief of Russian GQ, Mikhail Idov, who came to Chistye with his team. A light rain began to fall. Brave and not completely dispersed citizens scolded the uniformed officers, who looked like leaders: “When we are gone, you will be gone too.” A little to the side from them, the superior police officer swore through his teeth at his subordinate police officer: “If you want to debate, get out of this job.” The Lenta.ru correspondent, not believing his ears, tried to come closer to those sorting things out, but the police chief demanded that he leave: “If you cover it, then cover it.”

Journalists walking around the monument to Griboedov discussed that a march to Manezhnaya Square was planned at 18:00. Nevertheless, by the indicated time there were still several dozen people near the monument who clearly did not understand what to do next. Occasionally, riot police snatched people with white ribbons from the crowd, reluctantly explaining their choice by saying that the “white ribbon people” were suspected of organizing yesterday’s riots on Bolotnaya Square. Kremlin men stood at a distance in white T-shirts with the inscription “Putin is our president.” The riot police did not touch them.

At about half past seven, the remaining oppositionists walked along Chistoprudny Boulevard, turned onto Pokrovka and headed towards Kitay-Gorod. When the crowd reached the monument to the heroes of Plevna, the square was quickly cordoned off by the police. Then nothing happened for quite a long time: the police could not distinguish the press from the opposition, and the opposition, in turn, did not shout any slogans. After some time, document checks began and arrests followed. One of the police officers shouted into a megaphone that the rally was illegal. By half past seven only the police and journalists remained in the square. Everyone else, even those who had passports, was taken to paddy wagons. Several well-known bloggers were among those detained, including Norwegian Forester.

It took the Moscow police the whole day to defeat the protesters. True, this victory turned out to be imaginary: when this note was being written, there were reports that another opposition rally had begun in the Kitay-Gorod area.

Ivan Kolpakov, Alexander Polivanov

Lenta.ru: Politics: Cossacks-robbers