LIVE UPDATES: The march to commemorate slain opposition leader Boris Nemtsov has started in Moscow.
Welcome to our column, Russia Update, where we will be closely following day-to-day developments in Russia, including the Russian government’s foreign and domestic policies.
The previous issue is here.
Recent Translations:
–The Non-Hybrid War
–Kashin Explains His ‘Letter to Leaders’ on ‘Fontanka Office’
–TV Rain Interviews Volunteer Fighter Back from Donbass
–‘I Was on Active Duty’: Interview with Captured GRU Officer Aleksandrov
Live video feed from the Nemtsov memorial march in Moscow provided by RFE/RL:
UPDATES BELOW
From all accounts, the march to commemorate the assassination of opposition leader Boris Nemtsov proceeded without incident in Moscow. Police relented and let some supporters walk past the site of Nemtsov’s murder on the bridge by the Kremlin.
There were police at the ready in case the opposition didn’t disperse.
But similar events in other Russian cities did not fare so well.
In Voronezh, the Nemtsov march had to be moved due to a bomb scare, Novaya Gazeta reported, citing Interfax. Police said a bomb-sniffing dog reacted to a car. The march was moved to a new location.
About 150 people took part in the action in Voronezh. Anti-opposition activists threw eggs, flour, and zelyonka (indelible green disinfectant) at them.
In Krasnoyarsk, the planned march was disrupted when the organizer, Yevgeny Baburin was kidnapped by unknown persons. They held him in a car for several hours and then let him go. Police wouldn’t let the march proceed without the organizer present.
Earlier, Baburin had found a threatening note in his garage with the number “27” crossed out.
In Kemero, six demonstrators were detained. When 15 people showed up to mark Nemtsov’s murder, police warned them that they had not obtained permission from the city administration.
Yesterday, a local Parnas leader said the organizer of the march in Chelyabinsk, Vyacheslav Kislitsin, city leader of the Democratic Coalition was severely beaten, OVDInfo reported. He was hospitalized with broken ribs and numerous cuts and bruises and was said to suffer a heart attack. Kislitsin said he recognized members of the local FSB Center for Anti-Extremism among his attackers.
As often is the case with such opposition events, there has been a debate about how many people actually turned out for the march today in memory of slain opposition leader Boris Nemtsov.
Blogger Ilya Varlamov was told by police earlier that there were “7,500”. The police number is not necessarily trustworthy, given antipathy they have shown to liberal opposition marchers in the past.
An AP reporter said “several dozen thousands”:
Radio Liberty/Radio Free Europe (RFE/RL) estimated 25,000 participants in its coverage:
Russia Marks One Year Since Nemtsov Killing
Supporters of slain Kremlin critic Boris Nemtsov are preparing to march through Moscow to mark the first anniversary of his killing. Nemtsov, a former deputy prime minister and vocal critic of President Vladimir Putin, was shot dead on a bridge overlooking the Kremlin on February 27 last year.
Translation: the estimate of the number in the Nemtsov march of 8,000, just like 50,000 is a lie. I saw the beginning and the end; it seems to me the optimal number is 20,000.
The independent online newspaper Vedomosti reported that volunteers from an organization that counts demonstrators called “White Counter” ticked off those passing through metal detectors and said the number was 22,800. Vedomosti also noted that Interfax gave the number of 7,500, provided by the Moscow police.
Translation: Procession in memory of Nemtsov with the slogan “Kadyrov is the Disgrace of Russia.”
— Catherine A. Fitzpatrick
The march in memory of Boris Nemtsov is winding down — the organizers may have kept the route deliberately short to avoid problems with police.
Ilya Varlamov uploaded this photo by Anton Belitsky from Moslenta and wrote:
“The column has stretched out a good long way. Some are still on Rozhdestvensky Street, and some are already on Sakharov Avenue – Silver Rain.”
Marches were also held in other cities including in Nizhny Novgorod; Nemtsov was once the governor of Nizhegorodsky Region.
Translation: Pavlensky along the march.
The image is of a painting of Pyotr Pavlensky, another political performance artist who was jailed for burning the doors of the FSB on Lubyanka Square. Police spray-painted the images over last week.
Translation: Thanks to all who came to the March in Memory of Nemtsov. You are real citizens of your country! Good job!
— Catherine A. Fitzpatrick
Translation: Already 14,356 people are taking part in the march in memory of #Nemtsov . It’s too bad that this is some sort of show.
It is not known how this figure was arrived at, but possibly the number of people who went through metal detectors was counted, as has been done with past marches.
Translation: “Heroes do not die!” #NemtsovMarch #Boris ‘ [Fight!]
The name “Boris” is nearly the same as the word “Fight!” in Russian (it just has a soft sign on the end), so the opposition often uses this term on posters.
“Heroes don’t die!” is a Ukrainian expression used by the Maidan participants after their fellow demonstrators were killed by snipers on the square.
The Moscow mayor’s office did not grant a permit for the march to go to the site of Nemtsov’s assassination on Bolshoi Moskvoretsky Bridge, just steps from the Kremlin. But some marchers have taken this route anyway, apparently so far without incident.
Translation: A farce instead of a commemoration… #NemtsovMarch
The clip has demonstrators changing “Heroes never die!” “Glory to Nemtsov!”
The Ukrainian saying popularized with the Maidan demonstrations was “Glory to Ukraine! Glory to Heroes!” so this chant is a variation on the Ukrainian sayings which annoys some Russians.
Translation: #NemtsovMarch
The man’s sign says “You can’t kill everyone.” He is carrying an avos’ka, a “just-in-case bag,” the hallmark of the Soviet era when people never knew when a line might suddenly form for something in short supply.
— Catherine A. Fitzpatrick
“To speak honestly, I have been getting things done, and it has worked for me up to this day. In order that my name not be used against my people, I believe that another person has to be found for the leadership of the government. I am saying that my time has passed. I have many heirs in my team, there are good specialists.”
Kadyrov’s term as leader ends in March, as he was appointed March 5, 2011.
— Catherine A. Fitzpatrick