Yesterday in Moscow, a city where peaceful opposition protests are regularly and brutally suppressed, police stood by idly while extreme nationalists called for violence against ethnic minorities, according to a December 10, 2007 article in the national daily Kommersant. The far-right rally was ostensibly a commemoration of a newly inaugurated holiday--the Day of Heroes of Russia, one of two holidays that the Russian government has instituted in recent years that have been essentially taken over by extreme nationalists. Aleksandr Belov, head of the Movement Against Illegal Immigration (DPNI)--an organization indirectly linked to racist violence in Kondopoga and some other cities--made his most bloodthirsty speech yet, directly calling for violence against ethnic minorities.

Ignoring the fact that inciting ethnic hatred is illegal in Russia, as well as the presence of large numbers of police nearby, Mr. Belov reportedly called for ethnic Russians to arm themselves with gas-powered pistols, a common means of self-defense in Russia, which has laws preventing most citizens from owning regular firearms. He then reportedly asked his audience:

"What are you waiting for? Weapons to the people--send the freaks (urody) to prison! It's time to talk about Russian nationalism, [ethnic] Russians need to stop smashing each other's faces in, they need to unite and go and smash someone else's faces!" He promised that if nationalists come to power, anybody who has run afoul of Russia's hate speech laws "will be rehabilitated and recognized as a national hero."

According to the Sova Information-Analytical Center, around 150 people participated in the rally.

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