Russian liberals march for tolerance in St. Petersburg
LI News, November 7, 2013
LI’s Russian full member party, Yabloko, has organized its tenth march against hatred in St. Petersburg, attended by hundreds of supporters under the slogan “for Russia without pogroms.”
Explaining the significance of the march LI Vice President and St. Petersburg’s Human Rights Ombudsman Alexander Shishlov said: “We see that aggressive and intolerant moods grow in our society. It’s easier for many people to find the explanation for problems and blame those who look and think differently. 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.”
“History teaches us that hatred is a way to national catastrophe” – St. Petersburg’s Ombudsman Alexander Shishlov
The participants of the action paid tribute to the memory of Nikolai Girenko, a Russian scientist murdered by neo-Nazis in 2004, and proposed to start collecting signatures to open a memorial by the building where he lived and was murdered. More than 300 hundred people participated in the march.
Yabloko have followed up the march with a series of events aimed at tackling xecnophobia in Russia. Speaking in a forum recently Yabloko leader, Sergei Mitrokhin, told supporters: “although inter-ethnic policy is extremely complicated, we do not have a full migration policy. We want to appeal to both the authorities: By flirting with xenophobia and nationalism, you are flirting with the devil.”
Following the march Mitrokhin spoke on the forum against Xenophobia, where he stressed that Russia can exist only under conditions of lasting, civil and ethnic peace.
Russia has been heavily criticized for its anti-gay legislation which prohibits “gay propaganda” among minors. This was at the centre of a recent outcry in the international LGBT community in light of the fact that Russia is going to host the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi. The LI LGBT Rights Working Group has launched a global campaign calling on governments participating in the 2014 Winter Olympics to show solidarity with LGBTI (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex) persons in Russia.
Posted: November 7th, 2013 under YABLOKO and the International Liberal Family.