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Nationalists mark November 4 with "Russian Marches"

In Moscow nationalists clashed with anti-fascists

Some 84,000 people took part in "Russian Marches" staged by nationalists on November 4, which is marked in the country as Day of People's Unity. Some cities reported attempts to hold unsanctioned events. In Moscow, nationalists clashed with anti-fascists, while lawmakers from the ruling United Russia Party demanded punishment for the Russian March organizers.

Nationalists voiced their demands at a rally in Moscow in front of the Central House of Artist, the Komsomolskaya Pravda writes. These include a visa regime with Central Asian countries, the cancelation of the "extremist" articles of the penal code and giving the titular status to the Russian people. In Suvorov Square, anti-fascists rallied in defense of the arrested activists of their organization. Prior to the meeting, they were attacked in the entrance hall of the Dostoyevsky subway station. Shouting "Glory to Russia," nationalists began to beat them.

According to Moscow police, the Russian March on Sunday gathered about 6,000 participants, the Kommersant writes. An hour after the beginning of the march, it was oblivious that the action had not gathered 10,000 participants, as the organizers had declared. "In the Lyublino district, rather many residents joined the Russian March, who are well aware of problems with migrants. The main body in this neighborhood is comprised by persons who are members of nationalist organizations, which are not open, and, in a certain sense, are sects," a Russian March participant explained. This time, Alexei Navalny, a politician of moderate nationalist views, did not take part in the action, breaking his three-year record of participation.

This year, the area where Russian Marches were held, has expanded considerably. In some areas, such as Chuvashia, the nationalists held their action for the first time. Some 100 of them, chanting "Glory to Russia," marched through the central streets of Cheboksary and held a rally in Red Square.

The newspaper underlines that State Duma deputies from the United Russia faction demanded that the organizers of the Russian March in Moscow be punished. City authorities had coordinated the action in the center of the city for the first time in several years; but as deputy speaker of the State Duma Sergei Zheleznyak pointed out, this did not make nationalists pay more attention to the law. Zheleznyak asked the Interior Ministry to hold the action organizers responsible for violating the law on rallies: contrary to the ban, many participants had worn masks. Members of the Russian March organizing committee might become the first to face 300,000-rouble fines for masked participants.