Press Release, November 2, 2013

The tenth march against hatred was conducted in St.Petersburg on November 2. It took pace under the slogan “Russia without pogroms”.

St.Petersburg Ombudsman Alexander Shishlov opened the rally at Sakharov Square and said that the march was of particular importance that year.

“We see that aggressive and intolerant moods grow in our society. It’s easier for many people to find the explanation of the problems on the side and to blame those who look and think differently”, said Alexander Shishlov.

“The slogan of the march is “For Russia without pogroms”. Actually it means “For Russia”, as pogroms will lead Russia to distraction. Today we make the choice concerning Russia’s future. The history teaches us that hatred is a way to national catastrophe”, explained Shishlov.

“At the end of the nineteenth century all the European languages borrowed the Russian word “pogrom”. It’s one of the infamous chapters of our history”, said Doctor of Philology, deputy at the Legislative Assembly of St. Petersburg Alexander Korbinsky.

“Hatred on the grounds of religion or nationality doesn’t come from nowhere. The authorities, mass media and other organisations arouse it. The worse the economic situation and the standard of living in the country, the more the authorities try to shift the blame on the “others”.

“It’s disappointing that part of well-educated and intelligent people believe that xenophobia is expectable. They won’t go and destroy markets, but will say that nationalistic parties become popular in Europe. Our intellectuals mustn’t remain under illusions as the western nationalists consider the Russians to be the people of second-rate quality. You start the chain reaction by calling at least one nation the people of second quality”, said a film director Andrei Nekrasov.

The participants of the action paid tribute to the memory of Nikolai Girenko, the scientist murdered by neo-Nazis in 2004. According to the law, the memory of the murdered person can be perpetuated ten years after the murder took place. The activists proposed to start collecting signatures to open a memorial by the building where scientist Girenko lived and was murdered.
More than 300 hundred people participated in the march. Representatives of the “Democratic Petersburg” coalition were present. Grigory Yavlinsky, head of YABLOKO faction in the Legislative Assembly of St.Petersburg, sent a greeting to the participants of the march. YABLOKO opened a stand at Sakharov Square where the people could write a letter of support to political prisoners including the prisoners of the Bolotnaya Square Case.