Thousands of Russians Marched in Moscow For Peace This Weekend

If you thought Russians were bloodthirsty lunatics bent on starting World War III, you would be wrong. On Saturday tens of thousand of Moscow liberals lined up to pass through metal detectors and march down a police and metal barrier lined route to convince President Vladimir Putin to give peace a chance in the Ukraine. With 200,000 Russian troops squaring up on the Russian border with Ukraine and 20,000 having executed a low key invasion of Crimea in the build up to yesterday's referendum, it seemed a little late, but I guess it's good to make your voice heard anyway.

In fact, expressing your opinion is becoming a bit difficult in Russia at the moment. The march followed a crackdown that has seen opposition leader Alexey Navalny placed under house arrest and cut off from the internet and press, and much of Russia’s opposition and independent media shut down, or brought to heel. A similar peace protest last week resulted in dozens of people being dragged off by the police, with only elderly ladies getting away with yelling at cops, thanks to the niceties of local gender politics. This weekend's protests were less dramatic and passed off without any disorder. I decided to pick the brains of some Muscovite peaceniks.

Sign reads:

No war! No violence!
Russia! Wake up from your sleep!
A gang of thieves is scared of Navalny!
How much has been stolen from the people?
The Tatars have done well!
They said no to fascism and no to stupidity

VICE: Punchy sign. Why did you come out today?
Valaeriy Landin, 70: I have been alive for a long time. I lived under Stalin and suffered through a lot and I don’t want things to slide back. I want peace because I remember all the veterans when I was young who were missing limbs from fighting in the Great Patriotic War.

Crimea has a very special meaning for Russians. My wife is from there and we have family graves there we still visit. But we don’t want it like this. My friends warned me not to come today. They said bad things would happen to me. But I am a disabled veteran. It can’t get much worse. The Crimean Tatars have it right. They are standing up to Putin. They are good people. Muslims. They don’t even drink.

What are you holding?
Galina Bronina: It is a depiction of war.

What message are you trying to convey?
I don’t want any bloodshed. I have a son who is thirty and a daughter who is 15. My husband in Ukrainian. I want Ukraine to stay Ukraine and Russia to stay out.

Why are you here today?
Man and woman in white coats: Our patient escaped from the psych ward. He is schizophrenic and very dangerous. If you find him please let us know.

Why did you come out?
Mikhail Agafonov, 36: Putin is a threat to the world and our country. I want him to face justice.

What does that mean?
Yuliya, 34: Everything that happens in the world also places restrictions on each of our personal inner worlds. Our government and everything else that happens is a part of us. It affects us and it can’t be ignored.

Photo by Jan Matiwijkow