Police attack anti-capitalist march in Moscow
Communist and other leftist youth in Moscow had planned to hold their annual “Anticapitalism-2017” march on Sept. 23, highlighting the crisis conditions for young workers since the restoration of capitalism in Russia a quarter-century ago. This year’s event held special significance for many, as it fell during the 100-year anniversary of Russia’s 1917 socialist revolution.
However, Moscow city officials denied the usual authorization for the march. In violation of the law, the mayor’s office first delayed its response to the organizers, then did not offer an alternative march route, and finally ignored the organizers’ offer of an alternative.
Believing they were well within their rights, activists came out Sept. 23, declaring they would hold a “people’s festival.” But police were waiting. They stopped and arrested many before they could reach the gathering site, including Left Front coordinator and former political prisoner Sergey Udaltsov and United Communist Party First Secretary Vladimir Lakeev.
Those activists who were able to gather unfurled a banner and began to march, determined not to be intimidated. But police roughly broke up the demonstration, throwing people to the ground and arresting about 40 in all.
Workers World spoke with Sergey Chekrygin, secretary of the Central Committee of the Union of Communist Youth, who was among those arrested on Sept. 23, about the action and what was behind the police crackdown in Moscow.
