MOSCOW/UDOMLYA, June 8 (RIA Novosti) – Hundreds of people chanting pro-nationalist slogans gathered in a small town in central Russia on Saturday to hold an unsanctioned rally called up by far right activists following a local brawl.
The provincial town of Udomlya in the Tver Region has become well known in Russian blogosphere this week after a June 1 shooting incident between a group of locals and residents from southern Russia that left several injured.
A video of the shooting was released online drawing discontent of far right activists in social networks who called for revenge and proclaimed Saturday as “Day of Rage” in the town. Local news portals reported that the town’s streets were deserted in the afternoon as many residents feared mass brawls.
The police estimated that some 400 people took part in the action, including those from other towns and cities; while the local authorities put the number at around 100. At least three people were detained. No one was reported as injured.
The demonstrators marched in Udomlya’s downtown chanting “Russia! Russia!” In the country, where mass protests concentrate mostly in big cities, a rally of hundreds is unusual for a small regional town.
The incident is another sign of growing nationalist sentiments in the country against residents from Russia’s the Caucasus regions and migrants from the Central Asia.