RUSSIA/ For or Against Putin? The hard work of reconstructing life

Saturday, February 4 seemed to be a historic day here in Moscow, the kind that leaves a mark. Two major demonstrations occurred simultaneously with great movement of the masses: one in Victory Park, along the Kutuzovskij Prospekt, and the other in Bolotnaya Square, after a march along Bolshaya Yakimanka Street. The first was in favor of Putin ("Putin is our president!" the banners said), and the latter against him ("Russia without Putin!" the people yelled). We went to see it directly, if only to see who was there, and what the atmosphere was like.

At noon, in the subway, a large crowd was channeled towards the Victory Park stop. The subway cars were full, many middle-aged people in groups. The atmosphere was cheerful, jovial, here and there someone repeated “comrades, don’t push”. Perhaps some were thinking of the days of the big rallies of the past. Everyone seems happy and satisfied, what else is there to say? Perhaps they believe that something draws them toward a strong power that still gives them a sense of belonging.

But as luck would have it, all of a sudden a lady next to us pulled some papers from her bag and tried, in the crowd, to take roll call, even telephoning those that were missing. The crowd grew. When we arrived, the path from the subway car to the road (two corridors and an escalator) took 40 minutes, an impressive mass of people swarmed into the big square where the stage was. We could see many identical flags, slogans printed in a series. There were the Cossacks ("Cossacks are the prop of Russia"), the Union of Orthodox Citizens with icons, and, here and there, some banners against the U.S. and the "Orange Revolution". It was all very calm. It would have seemed like a picnic it had not been 20 degrees below zero. Some people were drinking vodka, but the atmosphere among the people contrasted with the tone and the words of the speaker on the stage, who spouted threatening phrases against the America that wants to be mistress in another house, and against orange, a disgusting color that looks like "dog pee in the snow". It was heavy style, from another era. While the speaker thundered: "Some say that you were sent here by force!", the ladies in front of us laughed and nodded: "Yeah, that's it."

To extricate ourselves quickly from the crowd (which already at 1.30 was swarming toward home) we stopped a car. Inside, there was another girl who asked us why we went to the demonstration. “To see it”, we said, “and you?” “I had to; I’m a state employee”.