Thread: Who were demonstrating in Moscow last weekend?

Originally Posted by Hanna

• According to the BBC the demonstrators were pro-democracy and anti-Putin and "fair elections".

• According to Russia Today, the demonstrators were pro-Putin, communists and in favour of fair elections.

Who is right?

Did anyone attend the demonstration?

(myself, I ended up in an anti internet monitoring demonstration on the same day. To my surprise, I found that it was covered on Russia Today. I just ran into the demonstration while I was making an errand....)

They both right. There were 4 meetings on Saturday. One was anti-Putin (Putin, go away), the second was pro-Putin (We have things to lose), the third was held by Zhirinovsky (I really don't know what they wanted) and the fourth was also anti-Putin but held by those who were awkward in the presence of their political opponents from the first oppositional meeting.

The first group was the most numerous (I think) and it consited of assorted oppositional movements. In reality they'd rather jump on each other's throats, but they for once have a common cause this time (Putin - go away). It scares me to think what would happen if they succeed and start bickering for power. They are just too different (nazis and communists, pro-western 'creative class', etc). They have a common foe, but once he's gone they will start fighting each other and draw the rest of the country into the fight.

The second group is represented by the people who see the danger of the first group and support Putin. Not because they like them very much, but because they think that Putin is better alternative to that first group. They say that they have something to lose and thus - they're against any revolutional changes.

The third meeting was organized by Zhirinovsky, I think it's a part of his electional campaign.

And the fourth group is a bunch of clowns, great fans of Valeriya Novodvorskaya - a crazy old woman with enormous feeling of self-importance who thinks that there are people who still listen to her ravings except those few who came with her that day.

Originally Posted by Ramil

They both right. There were 4 meetings on Saturday. One was anti-Putin (Putin, go away), the second was pro-Putin (We have things to lose), the third was held by Zhirinovsky (I really don't know what they wanted) and the fourth was also anti-Putin but held by those who were awkward in the presence of their political opponents from the first oppositional meeting.

The first group was the most numerous (I think) and it consited of assorted oppositional movements. In reality they'd rather jump on each other's throats, but they for once have a common cause this time (Putin - go away). It scares me to think what would happen if they succeed and start bickering for power. They are just too different (nazis and communists, pro-western 'creative class', etc). They have a common foe, but once he's gone they will start fighting each other and draw the rest of the country into the fight.

The second group is represented by the people who see the danger of the first group and support Putin. Not because they like them very much, but because they think that Putin is better alternative to that first group. They say that they have something to lose and thus - they're against any revolutional changes.

The third meeting was organized by Zhirinovsky, I think it's a part of his electional campaign.

And the fourth group is a bunch of clowns, great fans of Valeriya Novodvorskaya - a crazy old woman with enormous feeling of self-importance who thinks that there are people who still listen to her ravings except those few who came with her that day.

Thanks for the informative response, Ramil!

I don't reallly understand what Zhirinovsky's agenda is either, but I have not looked into it very much. Unless I am mixing him up with Zhuganov, he is the one who is playing the clown quite a bit on TV etc - I don't approve of that type of style in political leadership.

Saw some really crazy claims about him, that he was a spy, he is "planted" by Edinaya Rossia to pretend that there is a viable opposition party etc. Don't know if there is any truth to it, or if it is made up.

Originally Posted by Hanna

Thanks for the informative response, Ramil!

I don't reallly understand what Zhirinovsky's agenda is either, but I have not looked into it very much. Unless I am mixing him up with Zhuganov, he is the one who is playing the clown quite a bit on TV etc - I don't approve of that type of style in political leadership.

Zhirinovsky is a clown (the leader of "liberals")
Zuganov is the leader of the "communist" party