The White House did not drown in the White Sea

The opposition has a reverent attitude towards the monument to the fallen defenders of the White House at the intersection of New Arbat and the Garden Ring. Dmitry Komar, Vladimir Usov and Ilya Krichevsky became symbols of democratic values ​​for the civil movement, for which they died in August 1991. Therefore, back in the days of the “occupiers,” activists washed a monument forgotten by public utilities (read: authorities) under the guns of cameras, and therefore the laying of white flowers was supposed to be a demonstration of unity. “We will all bring white flowers - we will gather a real white sea. For our and your freedom. For the people with whom the struggle began, which has not yet ended,” the action was announced on Facebook . The “White Sea,” or rather the slide, reached the middle of the pedestal on which the memorial plaque was installed in the evening.

The police warned over the loudspeaker if someone stood at the monument for too long that it was necessary “to cross to the other side of the street after laying flowers.” There, in the “Daily Bread” cafe, some of the activists, including the coordinator of the “Russia for All” movement Maria Baronova and the Moscow “War” activist Pyotr Verzilov, gathered to while away the time before the rally.

Small groups of oppositionists flocked to the White House: some walked confidently and not for the first time, and there were those who were interested in the route.

However, it was not possible to demonstrate unity in full force: no more than a thousand people came to the government house. The overwhelming majority were direct participants in the events of 1991. They recalled the past and drew historical parallels. Young activists, familiar from previous rallies on Bolotnaya and Sakharov and rallies in support of Pussy Riot, discussed their detentions at the Tagansky court on the day of the sentencing of Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, Maria Alekhina and Ekaterina Samutsevich and the upcoming fines for participating in an uncoordinated action.

The rally began with a minute of silence.

Three key topics could be identified on the action agenda: the case of the May 6 prisoners, the Pussy Riot verdict, and “condemnation of the regime of Vladimir Putin.”

“When I was young and curly-haired,” recalled Boris Nemtsov, “I believed that if you only defeated the State Emergency Committee, happiness and prosperity would come.” Early hopes, according to the former Nizhny Novgorod governor and deputy prime minister, did not come true: “Now the heirs of the State Emergency Committee are in power.” The listeners clapped approvingly, but another saying of Nemtsov found a response in the hearts of the protesters: “In 1991, we were proud of Garry Kasparov as a great chess player, and now the Putin regime accuses him of brutally beating a riot policeman and biting him.” The crowd began chanting "Shame!" and clap loudly.

Nemtsov's fellow party members Mikhail Kasyanov and Vladimir Ryzhkov also remembered their youth and the State Emergency Committee. The presenter of "Echo of Moscow" Natella Boltyanskaya, accompanied by a guitar, entertained the audience tired of speeches with her "Ballad of the Tsar's Decree" (album "Restoration", 2003), the performance of which was dedicated to Pussy Riot. According to the plot of the song, the Tsar releases a slave who has already been sentenced for spitting on the Tsar’s portrait. The public was also amused by the promise of Dmitry Gudkov, who campaigned to come to the “March of Millions” on September 15, to “knock on the authorities” - for clarity, the deputy threatened the invisible authorities with his crutches, on which he moves after a broken leg.

But the highlight of the program was the speech of one of the organizers of the White House defense, Lev Shimaev: “Since last year, you have been engaged in political masturbation on the Internet and collected money for all sorts of shameful actions, but no one came up with the idea of ​​​​donating even a chervonets to the relatives of Komar, Usov and Krichevsky, who need help. You are just stupid rams and sheep, why did you come here? To listen to loudmouths and political blackmail? What kind of power do you want? In response, they started chanting “We are the power here” and shouting “You are a fool.” The rally ended with the Russian anthem of the 90s - “Patriotic Song” by Mikhail Glinka (known as “Glory!”).

After the rally, a small line lined up for a girl sitting on the grass stamping banknotes with slogans for Pussy Riot on the Constitution for everyone who wanted them. Then all participants moved to the Gorbaty Bridge, which, according to old-timers of the August 19 protests, was blocked for the first time. Several dozen paddy wagons were on duty on Konyushkovskaya Street. The FSB officer explained that they were afraid that the protesters might stay overnight: “One already spent the night here in a sleeping bag yesterday.”