Happy Labor Day

The main event of Labor Day is a parade, where members of almost every political party in Russia come out to march in support of their party. (Unfortunately, they don't hand out any candy, to the disappointment of some students.) We left the hostel before ten in the morning in order to join the crowd that was forming outside of the metro station. Police lined up along the parade route, to ensure that no one caused any trouble.

We began to see the balloons several blocks away from the metro station, rising into the clear blue sky. As we made our final turn, we began to see people clutching bunches of the balloons, our first sign that something exciting was happening.

People were still forming columns with their parties when we arrived at the starting point. The officially recognized parties marched in front, beginning with the President's party, followed by the more controversial groups. We watched from the sidelines as various groups came to join the parade. A workers' party arrived with giant blue balloons more than a meter in diameter. They handed out orange and black ribbons, to be used for Victory Day next week in memory of those who died in the Seige of Leningrad. About a dozen young women with drums came to march, and another group of girls with metallic pompoms. Finally, the parade began.

The beginning of the parade was dominated by a party that had taken for its mascot a polar bear, much as our major political parties have adopted the donkey and the elephant. Among their supporters came a line of people dressed in full-body polar bear suits, one of whom was dancing to a small band behind them, and a miniature locomotive. Following them came a few more official parties, each accompanied by a police escort, and then it was time for the fringe groups.

We were not content to remain on the sidelines. The largest group, the Communists, had almost finished passing when we left the curb and slipped in to join them. Despite our obvious natures as tourists (with three of us wearing bright "CCCP" shirts bought at souvenir stalls), everyone was fairly welcoming. A few people spoke to us, and were surprised to discover that we weren't Russian.

The original plan had been to march with the Communists for only a short distance, and then slip out as we had come to watch the rest of the parade. However, the security along the parade route had been tightened since last year, and the place Heather normally snuck out was blocked off. We continued marching for several more blocks after that, until a very persistent Russian man a few meters ahead of us inadvertently provided a distraction, as his argument with the police drew their attention long enough for us to slip onto a side street.

Returning to the sidewalk as onlookers, we watched the last of the fringe groups marching by. These included the tsarists, who sought to restore the monarchy, the nationalists, who wanted all non-ethnic Russians to leave the country, and people from Kosovo. The Nazis were not allowed to participate in the parade after their behavior last year. Behind the parade came a fleet of street sweepers, and Nevskij Prospekt was returned to normal in a half an hour.

We then went to have a lunch of blini, thin pancakes (much like French crepes) with a variety of fillings. By the time we had finished eating, it was too late for any more official activities, so we were given the afternoon off and all went their separate ways.