Thousands of far-right Nazi-saluting nationalists marched in Moscow today in a 'Take Back Russia' protest at Muslim migrants.Resentment is growing over the migrants from Russia's Caucasus and the money the Kremlin sends to those troubled regions.
Chanting 'Russia for Russians' and 'Migrants today, occupiers tomorrow,' about 5,000 demonstrators, mostly young men, marched through a working-class neighbourhood on the outskirts of the capital.
Police stood shoulder-to-shoulder along the street, which was blocked to traffic.
Violently xenophobic groups have flourished in Russia over the past two decades, killing and beating non-Slavs and anti-racism activists, and crudely denouncing the influx of immigrants from the Caucasus and from central Asian countries that were once part of the Soviet Union.
They have drawn moral support from nationalism that has been encouraged by Vladimir Putin's rule as part of the Kremlin's attempts to rebuild a strong Russian state. Read More
