Makhachkala/Maikop – The Russian administration nominated November 1 as the ‘Day of National Unity’ for celebration in Southern Federal Regions, including the North Caucasus; however, because it did not earn enough public approval, it was rather the public officers who were bound willy-nilly to celebrate it. And sheer ‘displeasure’ was evident in what the political parties chose to celebrate it.
In Dagestan, where the United Russian Party is in power, several groups of artists took to the stage and joined concert performances in a series of special programmes delivered jointly by the Ministry of Youth and the Ministry of Education.
Students, teachers, representatives of non-governmental organizations, pensioners, veterans and state officials came together in the Square of People’s Friendship in Vladikavkaz, capital of North Ossetia, to join the celebrations of the ‘Day of National Unity.’
Representatives of some civilian and political organizations in the Krasnodar Kray city of Slavyansk-na-Kuban joined a public protest among those who sang the Russian National Anthem outside the local administration office and demanded that they should be given pay rises and priority should go to satisfying the needs of Russian people.
The United Russian party officials arranged a meeting with the public in the theatrical square of the Rostov city of Rostov-na-Donu. Placards and banners with slogans of support for Russia were carried during the meeting.
In Adygea, members of the Slavic Unity were supported jointly by the Communist Party and the Liberal Party to arrange ‘a meeting of silence’ to protest on the ‘Day of National Unity’ against the imposition of governmental restrictions on the freedom of expression. As many as 100 protesters joined the meeting after the official celebrations were complete.
In central Maikop, slogans were chanted to protest the government for not agreeing to allocate money for those who are really needy while it spent millions of roubles to build water jets unnecessarily. The protesters also demanded that the idle factories should be run as soon as possible.
KU/ÖZ/FT
