World press on nationalistic movement in Russia (November 7, 2012)

The International Herald Tribune has recently published an article by Russian-American journalist Masha Gessen devoted to the nationalistic movement in Russia. The article was headlined 'Who’s Afraid of Russian Nationalists?' In this article, Gessen argues that nationalism is a natural stage of any political system's development and explains why the public approach to the matter has changed since December 2011.

"Every November 4 for the last eight years thousands of people have walked the streets of Moscow under the slogan “Russia For the Russians” in what they call the Russian March. Some of the participants wear Nazi regalia, including full military uniforms. Those of us who are not ethnic Russians have generally kept our families out of the city on this day. With their easy appeal and apparently growing clout, the marchers are perceived as both an immediate physical danger to anyone who might not fit their idea of Russianness and a future political danger for the country," the article begins.

"This year, leading up to Nov. 4, there was little apprehension. The reason was simple: Over the last 11 months, the nationalists had become part of the protest movement. The large-scale marches and rallies in Moscow and other cities have included groups of nationalists, alongside many other anti-Putin crowds from gays and lesbians to libertarians, anarchists and royalists. Although there have been skirmishes among these groups, in general the very diverse factions of the opposition have learned to walk and even work together," Gessen writes.

"But on Sunday, as news came that 25 people in Nazi uniforms were arrested on the streets of Moscow, some of us, talking to each other in our kitchens or on our blogs, wondered whether our lack of fear might be foolhardy," she says.

" At the same time, some of my acquaintances pointed out, the nationalists shouldn’t be demonized too much. Every year the march in Moscow draws about 10,000 people, and Sunday’s was no exception. A year ago, that number might have seemed impressive and frightening, but since protest demonstrations started drawing upward of 100,000 people late last year, it pales in comparison," she believes.

"Perhaps we have the luxury of tolerating the Russian March only as long as the nationalists are as powerless as any other part of the opposition," Gessen concludes.