Russia's bold left stands up to Kremlin
Eduard Limonov's leftist National Bolshevik Party leads protests and spurs controversy.
from the July 6, 2007 edition
Page 2 of 3
Opposition splintering ahead of elections
One reason for the coalition's crisis may be its political diversity, which was hailed just a year ago as its greatest source of strength. Mr. Kasparov brought together liberals, moderate nationalists, and neocommunists who all had a stake in fighting for free elections. "[The Other Russia] has shown our citizens that completely different political forces ... can unite in defense of constitutional principles," Kasyanov said as he was leaving the movement this week.
Limonov's prison-hardened NBP activists have been the largest, and most fearless, contingent at the Other Russia's pro-democracy rallies over recent months. The group's name and symbol – a black hammer and sickle on a red field – seem to evoke some kind of fusion between Nazism and Communism. Its penchant for guerrilla street actions, such as occupying government offices and hanging anti-Putin banners from buildings, has won it more police attention than any other political group in Russia.
"Over 150 of our members have been through the school of prison and labor camps by now," says Limonov, who recently spent two years in jail for what he calls trumped-up charges of illegal weapons possession. "Through that experience, they have become unafraid. That's why the authorities consider us the most dangerous, because we are more courageous and we do what the others won't."
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