Moscow grants demonstration permit to Russian nationalists

Moscow city officials will allow a Russian nationalist organization to hold a march on May 1, says Dmitry Demushkin, leader of the controversial group Russkie. This year’s route through Moscow will reportedly be the same one the nationalists took in 2014.

Demushkin promises to do everything he can to keep provocateurs and radicals from giving the police any excuse to make arrests.

The main slogan for this year’s march, which appears to embrace a rather multicultural philosophy, is “For the rights and freedoms of the Russian people and the indigenous peoples of Russia!” 

“We’ve received permission for our demonstration,” Demushkin said, noting that his organization only had to make a few small changes to its plans.

Demushkin’s group applied in mid-April for a permit to demonstrate on May Day. At the time, he said he requested a permit for as many as 3,000 demonstrators.

On April 20, police detained Demushkin and several dozen others at a private meeting of "knife-fighting" enthusiasts. The news agency LifeNews later reported that the men had gathered in secret to celebrate Adolf Hitler’s birthday. Demushkin denies this accusation.