In Russia, Ultra Nationalists Use Soccer Fan’s Death As Rallying Cry

Riot police were dispatched to Manezh Square, next to Moscow’s Red Square, to break up the rally over the alleged murder. Wearing track suits and T-shirts proclaiming “I am Russian,” the nationalists who gathered stood out from the tourists, making them easy targets for police, who confiscated flares, smokebombs, pistols and metal rods. Some 100 protesters were arrested. Word of the protests spread through social networking sites as organizers said Nail had fled Russia and accused the police of playing down the incident.

Investigators deny there was any racial motive to the murder, arguing that the alleged killer was actually standing up for his friend, a Russian, after an altercation broke out in the line for a disco. They said Nail had been put on a federal and international wanted list and that he was facing charges of murder and attempted homicide.

There have been many calls for another ‘Manezh Square,” which has become the traditional place for ultra-right actions. But until the latest rally, those calls had attracted no more than a couple teenagers. Last December, more than 6,000 football fans and nationalists rioted there, demanding an investigation into the killing of a Spartak Moscow soccer fan who was shot in a dispute with several people from the Caucasus.

Maria Rozalskya, an expert on the ultra-right, said that a repeat of the events of last December was possible. “But for that to happen, there needs to be enough of a reason. The nationalists still need enough of a reason to gather en masse in the way they did last year.”

Read the full article in Russian

Photo –Rob Lee