A Dispute Over Land Rights in the Republic of Kabardino-Balkaria Has Added Color to the Moscow Protest Scene
Since July a small group of men from the Republic of Kabardino-Balkaria have been protesting by camping out on the Manezhnaya Square in central Moscow. The ethnic Balkars sit in front of the Kremlin, keeping an eye on the State Duma and waiting for a response from Russian President Dmitry Medvedev to the petition they lodged on land rights. While authorities have given the protestors little credence, their discontent raises new questions about governance in the mountainous North Caucasus republic.
“It’s the most prestigious hotel in Moscow – look at our view of the Kremlin,” said Muradin Rahayev, the director of the Balkar protest, referring to the bench his group occupies on the Manezhnaya Square. Of the 12 protestors who first came to occupy
... Читать дальше »
