Support The Moscow Times!

For Some, Holiday Means Marching for Darth Vader and a Porn Star (Video)


Krasnoyarsk marchers chanting, "Hey, hey, hey, we're being visited by Sasha Grey," in reference to the U.S. porn actress. +18

While scores of people marched for and against President Vladimir Putin on May Day, several found the public holiday a reason to march for no particular reason other than to have fun.

More than 4,000 people rallied in the Siberian city of Novosibirsk with signs reading, "You are here," "Will you smoke here?" and Don't look at me that way," the Sibinfo news site reported.

The mood was carnival-like, with people playing musical instruments, singing and periodically shouting out, "Happy New Year!" and "Boobs!" according to the site, which carried a live blog of what has now become an annual event.

But organizer Artyom Loskutov had to regularly urge demonstrators to remove their masks to avoid problems with the police.

A tough law on public rallies passed last year forbids demonstrators from covering their faces.

No problems were reported at the Novosibirsk rally.

Marchers in Krasnoyarsk were a little less fortunate.

The one-hour march of 50 people took place peacefully with the exception of an overly diligent police officer who asked one demonstrator dressed as Darth Vader from "Star Wars" to remove his mask, news reports said.

The Krasnoyarsk demonstrators carried banners reading, "Who wants Botox? We'll give you some" and "Want to dance? Then dance. Don't want to dance? Then walk" and chanted, "Hey, hey, hey, we're being visited by Sasha Grey."

Sasha Grey is the stage name of a former U.S. porn actress who is wildly popular in the former Soviet Union.

People chanting, "We're going, we're going!" at the Krasnoyarsk march. About 50 people took part.

Among the other signs held at the march were "We want borshch" and "Peace, labor, meow" — a play on the Soviet-era May 1 slogan "Peace, labor, May."

Similar rallies, known as "monstratsiya," a takeoff of the word "monsters," were also held in Tyumen, Vladivostok, Yaroslavl, Yekaterinburg and Omsk as well as Kiev and two other Ukrainian cities.

Sign up for our free weekly newsletter

Our weekly newsletter contains a hand-picked selection of news, features, analysiss and more from The Moscow Times. You will receive it in your mailbox every Friday. Never miss the latest news from Russia. Preview
Subscribers agree to the Privacy Policy

A Message from The Moscow Times:

Dear readers,

We are facing unprecedented challenges. Russia's Prosecutor General's Office has designated The Moscow Times as an "undesirable" organization, criminalizing our work and putting our staff at risk of prosecution. This follows our earlier unjust labeling as a "foreign agent."

These actions are direct attempts to silence independent journalism in Russia. The authorities claim our work "discredits the decisions of the Russian leadership." We see things differently: we strive to provide accurate, unbiased reporting on Russia.

We, the journalists of The Moscow Times, refuse to be silenced. But to continue our work, we need your help.

Your support, no matter how small, makes a world of difference. If you can, please support us monthly starting from just $2. It's quick to set up, and every contribution makes a significant impact.

By supporting The Moscow Times, you're defending open, independent journalism in the face of repression. Thank you for standing with us.

Once
Monthly
Annual
Continue
paiment methods
Not ready to support today?
Remind me later.

Read more