ANTI-FASCIST RALLY ON BOXING DAY

The Moscow News
12.23.2010
Evgeniya Chaykovskaya

"Moscow for everyone!" is the battle cry as writer and journalist Viktor Shenderovich organises an anti-fascist rally on Pushkinskaya Ploshchad on Dec. 26 at noon, to show Russia that not everyone agrees with Manezhnaya rioters.

The organisers are hoping to gather more people than were involved in Dec. 11 riots, and several public figures have already promised to turn up.

The slogan is a deliberately inclusive rebuttal of the popular nationalist cries of "Russia for Russians" and "Moscow for Muscovites", which were heard at earlier nationalist riots in the city.

Russia is not racist

The rally was organised in order to demonstrate that people making Nazi salutes are in a minority and do not represent mainstream society.

"Provocateurs and half-wits are trying to dictate their own guidelines to us, but these rules will never become ours," said the press-release for the rally. "There are a lot of normal people of different nationalities, occupations and political views to put them back in their place. All that we have to do is to show will and responsibility. We are calling for Muscovites to come to the defence of normal life and human dignity!", RBC reported.

Glamorous line-up

A string of celebrities have given their support and are expected to attend: surgeon Leo Bokeria, singer Aleksei Kortnev, actor and director Yevgeny Mironov, musician Vladimir Spivakov, actor and director Aleksandr Shirvindt, director Valery Todorovsky, actress Chulpan Khamatova, leader of the movement for Khimki forest Yevgeniya Chirikova, and many others.

1,500 thinking people

Shenderovich argues that it would be more difficult to gather lots of anti-fascists. "To gather thousands of thinking, self-sufficient grown-ups in the street is much more difficult than to get together officious chavs or to ignite thousands of brainless pubescent citizens with violent slogans," he said.

City Hall granted permission for a rally for 1,500 people, but Shenderovich told Noviye Izvestiya in an interview that he was hoping for much bigger numbers and that while the cause was more civil than political, no one would be turned away.

Xenophobia poisons Russia

Shenderovich, who has said Russia is suffering "the strongest dose of xenophobia poisoning," was pleasantly surprised at the authorities' go-ahead.

"Maybe the authorities have really understood the scale of the nationalist threat? At least banning a rally like this after what happened on Manezhnaya would mean direct support for the Nazis. I am glad that it (refusal) did not happen," Shenderovich said.

He hopes police will be able to protect the protesters against provocation or attacks from the nationalists, anything to the contrary would mean "we live in a fascist state."