May Day marches were also banned, but some communists defied the ban. Marchers were arrested and fined. Prohibitions on gatherings are justified on security grounds.
Traditional holidays are celebrated selectively in modern Russia. Victory Day on May 9 is a major event celebrating the victory of the Soviet Union in World War II. May Day marches, on the other hand, were banned this year, citing safety and the “difficult situation”.
Senior researcher Margarita Zavadskaya The Foreign Policy Institute is not surprised that May Day marches were banned. Gatherings are restricted and demonstrations are banned in Russia, it is a general tendency. He considers that banning even May Day marches is minimizing the risks.
– The country’s leadership feels that it is in danger. Vapu demonstrations and Victory Day events can provoke opposition sentiment or attacks on the leadership. I believe that the country’s leadership is afraid of its own citizens, and they are afraid of each other.
Zavadskaja says that banning and canceling May Day and Victory Day events shows that the Kremlin is terrified.
– It is fear and there is no belief that they are widely supported in Russia.
– I don’t see a difference between celebrating May Day and Victory Day, but it is a general tendency to reduce the number of public events and mass gatherings.
According to him, Putin and the Russian rulers see threats almost everywhere.
– The management is afraid of its own shadow and tries to reduce risks by all possible means.
Some marched despite the ban
Communists and trade unions obediently canceled their May Day march due to the ban.
However, some activists broke the ban on May 1 in various cities in Russia. According to media reports, the police arrested those who participated in May Day marches.
In Murmansk, a small number of local communists defied the ban and marched on May Day, according to Nettimedia Severpost from Murmansk. Two people got into trouble with the authorities. The act is considered an administrative violation. It usually means a fine, community service, or 3 to 30 days in pretrial detention.
Defying the ban, a group of communists went on a march in Murmansk after toppling the statue of Lenin. Then the group organized a demonstration in the square in the center, reports online newspaper Severpost.
The Union of Trade Unions of the Murmansk region organized a meeting with the governor of the region, a quiz and a training seminar around May Day. The reason for the change in the event concept was stated in the press release as “difficult situation”. The union’s press release did not mention anything about the cancellation of the traditional May Day parade.
According to the Severpost news site, the leader of the Muurmanni communists Artur Popov is upset about the cancellation of May Day marches in Russia. He said that the May Day demonstration was highly anticipated for two corona years. Now, according to him, the “special military operation”, i.e. Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, has left its mark on long traditions.
In Russia, the attack on Ukraine is called a “special military operation” and calling it an attack or a war is generally considered to denigrate the Russian armed forces and is illegal.
Demonstrators fined and charged with dishonoring the army
People who were protesting on May Day are accused of dishonoring the Russian armed forces. In St. Petersburg, a man was arrested holding a placard with the traditional May Day slogan “Peace! Job! May!” and on top of it in red the date of the major attack 24.2.2022.
Individual women were arrested in Yekaterinburg and Kazan, accused of defaming the Russian armed forces. They held the traditional “Peace to the world” text in their hands. The police claim that one of the arrested women said: “Russia is bombing Ukraine”, reports Radio Svoboda.
In the city of Tshita in Siberia, the May Day demonstration of the communists was allowed, but instead of the city center, a more remote small village was designated as the location. Earlier, it was announced that 200 marchers would come to the May Day parade, but due to the ban, most of them did not come. However, according to media reports, 33 people participated in the May Day demonstration in Tshita. Those who defied the ban protested Putin, the governor of the region, and Russia’s war against Ukraine.
There were two Communist May Day events in the city of Novosibirsk. The largest event of about 200 people defended Russia’s attack on Ukraine. In a smaller demonstration of about 50 people, one of the slogans was “No other war than class war”.
Used as sources e.g. Russian media: Radio Svoboda, Bumaga, Severpost, GTRK Murman.
Radio Svoboda’s news (in Russian) (you will switch to another service)
News from Severpost online media (in Russian) (you are moving to another service)
A post on Bumaga-media’s Telegram (in Russian (you will switch to another service))
Human rights in Russia – “The options are to be silent, hide, talk about real things with trusted people in the kitchen or leave the country”