Rally in memory of Markelov and Baburova in Moscow: "They'd stop assassinating us only when thousands flood streets"

Several speakers to the rally in memory of Stanislav Markelov and Anastasiya Baburova, held on February 1 in Chistye Prudy in Moscow, called Russians to mass protests against the ruling regime and revelry of neo-Nazis. Despite the frost, four hundred persons came to take part.

The action started with listening to the audio record of Markelov's speech at the rally on November 30, 2008, which was held in the same place. It was then held in response to a series of attacks on public activists - Carine Clement, Director of the "Collective Action" Institute, Mikhail Beketov, editor-in-chief of the "Khimki Pravda" newspaper and others, murder of anti-fascist Fyodor Filatov and Magomed Evloev, owner of the website "Ingushetia.Ru"

"I'm sick and tired of seeing names of my friends in criminal chronicles. It's no longer our work; it's the issue of survival. We need protection against Nazis, protection against mafia of the authorities, even against law enforcers, who very often are mafia's servants. And we perfectly understand that nobody will give us this protection but for ourselves," Stanislav Markelov, a lawyer, human rights activist and supporter of the left-wing movement, said in his speech on November 30.

"Russia has no civil society. The authorities have done it so that murders are profitable. Should we have civil society, dozens would have come instead of one perished. <…> I call you out to the streets. By doing so, we not only bring the city back to us, we save people's lives," said Anna Karetnikova, coordinator of the Anti-War Club.

Historian Yaroslav Leontiev, a member of the Society "Memorial", gave examples from Russian and Italian history and called all the left-wing and liberal forces to unite in their fight against fascists and arbitrariness of the authorities.

Irina Bergalieva spoke to the rally on behalf of the Movement of Moscow Hostels of (MMH). She told about Stanislav Markelov's and Nastya Baburova's participation in the struggle against eviction by the Federal Service of Punishment Enforcement of tenants of the hostel at 19 Yasny Proezd of Moscow out of their rooms. The "Caucasian Knot" wrote then that the most vulnerable category of tenants - families of refugees from Azerbaijan and Abkhazia - were ousted in the first turn.

Alexander Cherkasov, member of the Board of the HRC "Memorial", told about Markelov's work in defence of war crime victims in Chechnya. His colleague Olga Trusevich told how advocate Markelov defended the victims of the poisonous gas used by power agents during the storm of the Dubrovka Theatrical Centre seized by terrorists.

Andrei Demidov, leader of the event and employee of the "Collective Action" Institute, has informed the audience that actions in memory of Markelov and Baburova were already held in 15 cities of Russia, as well as in Kiev, Helsinki, Berlin, and added that at the same time with rally in Moscow, demonstrations in memory of the casualties and against political murders in Russia were held in Paris and Rome.