Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09VLADIVOSTOK50
2009-04-13 07:34:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Consulate Vladivostok
Cable title:
YOUTHS DANCE, SEVEN PROTESTERS DETAINED AT VLADIVOSTOK
how-toVZCZCXRO8151 RR RUEHCHI RUEHDBU RUEHFK RUEHHM RUEHKSO RUEHLN RUEHNAG RUEHPB RUEHPOD RUEHYG DE RUEHVK #0050 1030734 ZNR UUUUU ZZH R 130734Z APR 09 FM AMCONSUL VLADIVOSTOK TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 1123 INFO RUEHXD/MOSCOW POLITICAL COLLECTIVE RUEHZU/ASIAN PACIFIC ECONOMIC COOPERATION COLLECTIVE RUEHVK/AMCONSUL VLADIVOSTOK 1226
UNCLAS VLADIVOSTOK 000050
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ECON PGOV RS
SUBJECT: YOUTHS DANCE, SEVEN PROTESTERS DETAINED AT VLADIVOSTOK
DEMONSTRATIONS
REF: VLADIVOSTOK 047
Summary: Vladivostok was again the site of anti-government
demonstrations on April 11 and 12. The Vladivostok Union of
Officers joined already-established demonstration leaders to
voice their discontent on economic issues and military cutbacks.
Yedinaya Rossiya sent its youth wing to stage a
counter-demonstration in support of Kremlin policies. Local
OMON detained seven members of the Community of Initiative
Groups of Russia (TIGR).
Round One: Military Officers and Dancing Students
-------------- --------------
About 500 retired military officers took part in a demonstration
in downtown Vladivostok April 11 to protest a proposed military
downsizing and increasingly difficult economic conditions for
active duty and retired military personnel (reftel). During the
demonstration, organizers called for the dismissal of the
Federal government and increased benefits for military members.
Uniformed militia members hindered journalists and attempted to
keep photographers from taking pictures, while others in
plainclothes tried to switch off speakers' microphones. By the
end, two participants received official warnings for "violation
of public order" and participating in an unsanctioned public
demonstration.
At the same time, less than 100 meters away, about 30
representatives of Yedinaya Rossiya's youth wing Molodaya
Gvardia organized a mini dance party adjacent to the city's
World War II memorial. A DJ at that gathering, dubbed by
organizers as "a meeting against extremism and in support of the
federal government," piped dance music through a public address
system and urged older people to leave the area.
Round Two: TIGR and OMON
--------------
The following day, around 200 TIGR members conducted their event
at the same location. They had expected more participants, but
numerous militiamen throughout the downtown area reportedly
turned away motorists attempting to park. Participants held
banners criticizing Primorye Governor Sergey Darkin, President
Dmitriy Medvedev, and PM Vladimir Putin. Organizers released
several dozen orange balloons into the air, saying it was to
mark Space Day and the anniversary of Yuriy Gagarin's launch,
though the color orange was generally taken to be a reference to
Ukraine's Orange Revolution. The OMON troops and militiamen
observing the demonstration then ordered participants to
disperse and detained seven demonstrators. A few hours later, a
Political FSN witnessed militiamen questioning a group of
students carrying an orange balloon.
Molodaya Gvardia's counter-demonstration that day attracted less
than 100 supporters, who spoke out against xenophobia and
criticized the TIGR protest as "extremist activity." One
Molodaya Gvardia member who attempted to break banners and flags
held by TIGR members was detained by the militia. One reporter
at the scene noted in his coverage that the demonstrators, who
were mostly students, showed little interest in the event and
many were unaware of the meaning of the 'xenophobia' which they
spent the day demonstrating against.
Comment
--------------
Authorities were well-prepared for the weekend's set of
demonstrations with numerous militiamen stationed throughout the
downtown area and police buses ready to haul away protesters.
With the addition of disgruntled military officers joining the
mix, the discontent is slowly spreading. However, since
December none of the demonstrations have turned violent and
fortunately authorities appear to have decided to not take a
hard line stance for now. Molodaya Gvardia, the only group as
yet to come out in support of the government, ended up taking a
public relations hit, as having a dance party at the site of a
memorial for war dead was considered by many to be inappropriate.
KOVACSICS
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ECON PGOV RS
SUBJECT: YOUTHS DANCE, SEVEN PROTESTERS DETAINED AT VLADIVOSTOK
DEMONSTRATIONS
REF: VLADIVOSTOK 047
Summary: Vladivostok was again the site of anti-government
demonstrations on April 11 and 12. The Vladivostok Union of
Officers joined already-established demonstration leaders to
voice their discontent on economic issues and military cutbacks.
Yedinaya Rossiya sent its youth wing to stage a
counter-demonstration in support of Kremlin policies. Local
OMON detained seven members of the Community of Initiative
Groups of Russia (TIGR).
Round One: Military Officers and Dancing Students
-------------- --------------
About 500 retired military officers took part in a demonstration
in downtown Vladivostok April 11 to protest a proposed military
downsizing and increasingly difficult economic conditions for
active duty and retired military personnel (reftel). During the
demonstration, organizers called for the dismissal of the
Federal government and increased benefits for military members.
Uniformed militia members hindered journalists and attempted to
keep photographers from taking pictures, while others in
plainclothes tried to switch off speakers' microphones. By the
end, two participants received official warnings for "violation
of public order" and participating in an unsanctioned public
demonstration.
At the same time, less than 100 meters away, about 30
representatives of Yedinaya Rossiya's youth wing Molodaya
Gvardia organized a mini dance party adjacent to the city's
World War II memorial. A DJ at that gathering, dubbed by
organizers as "a meeting against extremism and in support of the
federal government," piped dance music through a public address
system and urged older people to leave the area.
Round Two: TIGR and OMON
--------------
The following day, around 200 TIGR members conducted their event
at the same location. They had expected more participants, but
numerous militiamen throughout the downtown area reportedly
turned away motorists attempting to park. Participants held
banners criticizing Primorye Governor Sergey Darkin, President
Dmitriy Medvedev, and PM Vladimir Putin. Organizers released
several dozen orange balloons into the air, saying it was to
mark Space Day and the anniversary of Yuriy Gagarin's launch,
though the color orange was generally taken to be a reference to
Ukraine's Orange Revolution. The OMON troops and militiamen
observing the demonstration then ordered participants to
disperse and detained seven demonstrators. A few hours later, a
Political FSN witnessed militiamen questioning a group of
students carrying an orange balloon.
Molodaya Gvardia's counter-demonstration that day attracted less
than 100 supporters, who spoke out against xenophobia and
criticized the TIGR protest as "extremist activity." One
Molodaya Gvardia member who attempted to break banners and flags
held by TIGR members was detained by the militia. One reporter
at the scene noted in his coverage that the demonstrators, who
were mostly students, showed little interest in the event and
many were unaware of the meaning of the 'xenophobia' which they
spent the day demonstrating against.
Comment
--------------
Authorities were well-prepared for the weekend's set of
demonstrations with numerous militiamen stationed throughout the
downtown area and police buses ready to haul away protesters.
With the addition of disgruntled military officers joining the
mix, the discontent is slowly spreading. However, since
December none of the demonstrations have turned violent and
fortunately authorities appear to have decided to not take a
hard line stance for now. Molodaya Gvardia, the only group as
yet to come out in support of the government, ended up taking a
public relations hit, as having a dance party at the site of a
memorial for war dead was considered by many to be inappropriate.
KOVACSICS