The March of the Nesoglasniki

I observed the march against the political status quo this afternoon (a 'nesoglasnik' is literally 'one who does not agree'). Garry Kasparov, the former chess champion, was there in his capacity as leader of the United Civil Front. In the foreign press he's the face of the opposition, though he reality (and among the Russians who care) he shares this role with a small group that includes former members of the Yeltsin administration and at least one former Putinist. In the video, you see the procession (chanting here "We are not slaves!"), then about seventeen seconds in you'll notice a bunch of guys marching hand-in-hand in a circle. They're protecting two of the leaders of the Other Russia movement: Edward Limonov (a communist and well-known novelist), and Kasparov, who is on the far left in the leather cap. A bystander calls out his name (literally "Garry, son of Kimov" in formal Russian style), Kasparov turns, and the man shouts "spacibo!"––"thank you!".



I had mixed feelings about going to the protest (mostly security related) but now I'm glad I went. It was uplifting to see such a diverse group standing up to the Russian government, though the irony is that diversity is Other Russia's main weakness; the only thing that unites them is their distaste for Putin. I was also relieved that there was no head-cracking as there was at the simultaneous march in Moscow (in part because that march wasn't officially sanctioned).