A Trip to Nizhniy Novgorod

   At the last week-end the federal stage of the march “Anticapitalism-2005” organized by AKM(TR) [Vanguard of Red Youth (Labour Russia)], RKSM(b) [Revolutionary Communist Youth League (bolsheviks)] and SKM [Youth Communist League] took place in Nizhniy Novgorod region. On Saturday red youth had marches and meetings in the cities of Dzerzhinsk and Bor, an action in the centre of Nizhniy Novgorod was planned for Sunday. However, let’s tell everything step by step.

   We didn’t face any obstacles in Dzerzhinsk and Bor in spite of that the march in Dzerzhinsk had been forbidden. The only surprising thing was the amount of policemen. There were several thousands of them from all over the region and maybe even some nearest regions – for less than a hundred of participants. Till the end of the meeting in Dzerzhinsk their amount decreased considerably. In both cities we succeeded to march in a column with red banners by a rather long route and to hold meetings attracting local people. That’s inspite of that Bor citizens had been frightened by a “fascist march” that would be taking place in the city, all the shops and schools were closed on the day of the action. But for a small city a youth communist march is a remarkable event. Especially I’d like to mention children of 12-13 in Bor who were vividly interested in us and our literature. Well, in a few years they will grow up and I hope this meeting will not come for nothing.

   Our adventures have begun after the meeting in Bor. A regular bus had been brought for us to go to Nizhniy Novgorod for night. There was a conductress in the bus who began taking 14 roubles per person for travel. There also were policemen in the bus, however, they backed those participants of the march who refused to pay for travel. At the entrance to Nizhniy Novgorod (Kanavino district) the bus was stopped and an attempt was taken to make a list of our names and passport numbers under pretence of the hepatitis quarantine since no quarantine was proclaimed in the city and in the morning nobody put obstacles on our way to the city by different transport. We had to squabble near an hour and a half. Afterwards, names of several comrades were written down from spoken words without papers, and we were allowed to go.

   On Sunday morning we were followed by just from the RKRP [Russian Communist Workers’ Party headquarters, an attempt to detain us was taken at Sverdlov square (on our way to destination) but we succeeded in two groups to reach Gorky square where our meeting had been proclaimed. The square was encircled by police, later we were let inside, and the first secretary of the RKRP city committee comrade Tipakov started negotiations in order to hold a meeting. In 10 minutes OMON appeared and began to push everybody in the buses with their truncheons. P.M.Tipakov was injured seriously, his arm was broken. The majority of us was brought to the police department of Nizhegorodsky district. Some comrades were brought to other polce departments.

   We were detained at 12 a.m. At the police department all of us have undergone drawing up police reports, listing of our names, taking fingerprints, photo and video shooting and afterwards they drove us to a police bus where we spend 2 hours. At the same time the State Duma deputies comrades Tyulkin and Benediktov arrived and assisted in our liberation.

   At 17-30 most of us were brought to Moscow railway station, we were not allowed to take our luggage from the RKRP headquarters. Comrades from Nizhniy Novgorod were liberated. Comrades from other cities were delivered up to transport police and driven to the waiting-room at the 2nd floor of the railway station. Those who had tickets to Moscow or Leningrad for the 18-20 train were driven to the train, their comrades hardly managed to bring their luggage which they had had to throw from the windows of the 2nd floor because the only person who had had a key of the headquarters had been detained comrade Tipakov. At the same time a group of 15-20 young people, perhaps skinheads, attacked the RKRP headquarters. They were throwing stones, several communists were injured. We learned it from comrades who called us by cell phones while we were sitting in the police bus. We applied to policemen but they ignored it. They were busy with more important things – they were guarding terrible extremists! So we had to call 02 [central police number in Russia] being inside the police bus! It is also interesting to notice that before turning young communists out from the city by force the police had taken from them obligations to appear at the police department on the next day at 10.00 a.m.

   The other comrades who had tickets for later trains were liberated at 19-30 p.m. The policemen offered several comrades to go to a cafe at the same floor, they followed the advice, and when they returned to the waiting-hall there were no policemen. So it was a trip to the hospitable city of Nizhniy Novgorod. If the authorities are breaking up peaceful demonstrations with OMON – they are afraid. But it won’t help when not dozens but thousands come into streets. It will happen once, the people’s patience is not endless. The revolution is coming!

   Maria Donchenko