Xenophobia on Unity Day

Nationalist groups have seized upon a patriotic holiday, staging “Russian Marches” across the country. On November 4th, the National Day of Unity, thousands took to the streets of Moscow, St. Petersburg, Nizhny Novgorod, and a number of other major cities. They were carrying signs and placards, among them: “We are Russians, and God is with us,” “Glory to Russia,” and “Tolerance is AIDS.” Participants were plainly seen signaling the fascist salute to speakers. No significant arrests or disturbances were reported.

President Vladimir Putin initiated the National Day of Unity in 2005 to replace a nearby holiday, the November 7th celebration of the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution. The nascent holiday has its origins back in 1612. During a time of social strife, a volunteer army banded together to unite Russia and push Polish-Lithuanian invaders out of Moscow.

While the holiday was intended to rouse the national spirit and use patriotism to bring Russians together, it has been used by far-right nationalist and Orthodox groups to promote their own agendas. Critics of the Kremlin have motioned that the Government has done too little in response to rising levels of xenophobia and hate crimes. According to the Sova rights group, over 50 people have been killed, and over 400 injured in racially motivated attacks in 2007 alone.

Opposition political groups staged counter-demonstrations, and spoke out against the nationalists. In Moscow, liberal political parties including Yabloko and the United Civil Front joined other organizations in a meeting titled “Against fascism and xenophobia.” Yabloko’s leader, Grigoriy Yavlinsky, noted that “racism, nationalism, xenophobia, hatred of people different from you, and antisemitism are growing in Russia like a cancerous tumor.” He continued that inter-ethnic peace was possible only in a country with an unshakable constitution, where everyone is responsible before the law.

Iskander Gayar, president of the Fund for the Development of Muslim Peoples, stated that “Russia is a bridge between Islam, Christianity, Buddhism, and other cultures and religions.” He also chastised the mass-media for portraying all Muslims as terrorists.

Garry Kasparov, the leader of the United Civil Front, said that the current authorities are playing the nationalist card for their own benefit. He noted that groups like the “Movement Against Illegal Immigration,” which sponsors rallies and riots against immigrants from Central Asia and the Caucasus, are useful to the Kremlin, “because the authorities use the threat of fascism as justification for a war on the opposition.” “Only a Russia without Putin will be a Russia without fascism,” he continued.

Other Russia Canidates Rejected

Other Russia Candidates Rejected

The chairman of Russia’s Central Electoral Commission, Vladimir Churov, has refused to register the Other Russia list of candidates for participation in the upcoming Duma elections. In a letter addressed to Other Russia leaders Garry Kasparov and Eduard Limonov, Churov intoned that only lawfully entitled, and registered parties are allowed to put forth delegates.

The Other Russia Coalition, which brings together opposition political parties from across the spectrum, has previously contested the policies of the Federal Registration Service. The organization has repeatedly and unconstitutionally blocked member parties of the Other Russia Coalition from official registration. Churov shrugged these comments off, writing that the Electoral Commission has no authority in these matters.

Other Russia leaders have vowed to continue their efforts, and to expose the discriminatory practices of the electoral process.

“We continue to press for the registration of our candidate list of deputies to the Federal Duma of the Russian Federation, and are prepared to present, in the shortest time possible, all the information required of the candidates,” a representative explained.

The Electoral Commission’s move came as no surprise, and United Civil Front leader Garry Kasparov had predicted the result, explaining on October 1st that “the answer was determined ahead of time, and it will be a rejection.”

Still, the coalition expressed their unwavering commitment to the democratic process. Eduard Limonov, one of the three leading Other Russia candidates, summed up the sentiment:

“We knew about the rejection ahead of time, and we cast our challenge. We have put doubt into the whole registration system, which operates solely to benefit the parties in power.”

Other Russia Regional Conference Update

Other Russia Regional Conference Update
All over Russia, opposition conferences are selecting delegates for the December parliamentary election slate and voting on an opposition candidate for the March 2008 presidential election. Several of the conferences have been disrupted by authorities with the usual outlandish claims of emergencies and threats. In Kurgan, where a majority voted for Garry Kasparov to be the presidential candidate, both the library chosen as the site and the local Youth House backup site were beset by sudden changes in policy or repair activities in order to deny the Other Russia delegates access.
Other early results: Samara has selected Gennady Zuganov for president while enduring a Nashi rally outside that harassed our delegates. The Ryazan conference chose Mikhail Kasyanov with 56% of the vote. The delegates in Krasnoyarsk and Yaroslavl also selected Kasyanov. The regional winners will contest for the mantle of united opposition candidate at the Other Russia Congress in Moscow in the fall.
Read more in Other Russia Link to this item

Gazprom and the EU

Gazprom and the EU
The Foreign Policy blog takes a critical look at how the Russian state energy goliath Gazprom is exploiting European disunity and weakness.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel, in a 2006 press conference with Tony Blair, said the European Union needed to work towards a common energy policy to limit the influence of Gazprom, the Russian-controlled energy giant. Merkel’s statement came after Russia, unhappy with the Orange Revolution in the Ukraine, turned off that country’s gas in the middle of the winter. Not long after, Merkel pirouetted and signed a unilateral deal with Russia to supply about 90 percent of German energy. Other large countries have signed similar deals (all under different terms). So much for EU solidarity. . . .
Perhaps anticipating this opposition, the Commission also presented a second plan that allows joint ownership as long as an independent operator controls one of the companies. In other words, Russia would have to create a separate company to distribute gas, while Gazprom produces it. This separation is insignificant, as both companies answer to the same master.
So, the Commission’s victory for collectivism appears to be a hollow one. Until more forceful steps are taken towards EU consensus, Russia will keep striking unilateral deals with European countries, making a common energy policy less and less likely.
Read more in News Link to this