Huge Pro-Kremlin Rally, Smaller Far Right Demo Staged in Moscow
Tens of thousands of supporters of President Vladimir Putin and a smaller group of ultra-nationalists marched through Moscow on Tuesday to mark Russia's Unity Day.
The huge, highly organized rally of Putin backers through the center of the capital showcased the Kremlin's patriotic agenda at a time of growing international tension over the war in neighboring Ukraine.
It also -- deliberately, analysts say -- eclipsed the more modest gathering of hardline nationalists on Moscow's outskirts.
National Unity Day was introduced under Putin to mark the 1612 expulsion of Polish occupiers and has grown in importance, alongside a rise in both state-sponsored nationalism and the less controlled far-right version.
Police estimated turnout for the pro-Kremlin rally at 75,000, although they are often accused of exaggerating support for the authorities.
With music blaring through the streets, thousands of Russians, including representatives of all main political parties, marched through Moscow's main Tverskaya Street in a carefully choreographed show that harked back to Soviet times.
Camouflage-clad children were seen among the participants.
"Together we are a force," read one banner, while another proclaimed: "We trust in Putin."
Many expressed support for pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine, where Western governments accuse Russia of stirring up a war to bring West-leaning Ukraine to its knees.
"We are united with our brothers in Novorossiya (New Russia)," said Sergei Mironov, leader of the pro-Kremlin A Just Russia party, referring to Moscow's name for the separatist-held regions.
"This is a year of trials when our strength gets tested," said a commentator on state-controlled television broadcasting the event.
Analysts say the Kremlin has actively stirred ultra-patriotic sentiment to support its annexation of the Ukraine's Crimea region and political backing for the separatists in the country's east.
But some analysts warn that the nationalism card, with its increasingly militaristic overtones, risks backfiring on Putin.
The Kremlin's desire to keep nationalist passions under its control was visible in the high profile given to the official Unity Day march mixed with the attempt to push the ultra-nationalists into obscurity.
Police estimated that only about 2,000 turned up to that march, far below the 10,000 to 20,000 organizers had been hoping to attract -- a result, they said, of pressure from the authorities.
Putin, who has put restoring military pride and a sense of Russia's swagger at the center of his rule, clearly sees nationalism as one of his most potent political weapons.
"The biggest nationalist in Russia is me," Putin said last month during a speech to foreign analysts and journalists.
Source: Agence France Presse
| Copyright © 2012 Naharnet.com. All Rights Reserved. | https://cdn.naharnet.com/stories/en/153910 |