RUSSIA:

NAZIS ATTEMPTED TO BOMB A FESTIVAL IN ST. PETERSBURG:

FROM AVTONOM:

With the disintegration of the Soviet Empire neo-fascist groups have proliferated in the ex-colonies and in Russia itself. The following is a report from the Russian anarchist website, Avtonom, about the most recent attack on anarchist-connected events in Russia by neo-Nazis. It has been slightly edited for clarity.

"On October 13th a bomb of 200 grams trotyle equivalent failed to detonate at the 'Music of the Streets' festival organized in the Roks Club of St. Petersburg. Groups due to perform at the festival included Spitfire (St. petersburg), Blisterhead (Gothenburg, Sweden), Rejected (Lappeenranta, Finland), Turbo Lax (Tolyatti), Mister X (Grodna, Belarus), and Mass Murder (St. Petersburg). During the concert, while Blisterhead was performing, the audience noticed a strange bag smoking in the hall which was passed to the scene. Security quickly moved it to the yard where it was covered with water. The anti-bomb squad found a bomb, 200 grams in trotyle equivalent, covered with 800 grams of bolts and other ripping objects. The concert was halted and people were evicted heavy handedly from the premises. OMON riot police beat some people who were on their way out.

There is little doubt that this bomb was set up by nazis, who have a long history of attempted attacks against Spitfire. Five concert goers were also ambushed by 15-20 nazis armed with iron bars and bottles. One girl was hospitalized after being beaten in the head with an iron bar, but she has already been released from hospital".

Molly Notes: A couple of things stand out in this report. The obvious one is the attitude of the police. Riot squads are not the usual way to evacuate a building. They might be useful if they were held back until the fights actually started between the anarchists and the nazis, but it seems their only purpose was to intimidate the concert goers. The other thing that struck Molly was the phrase that the suspicious package was "passed to the scene". I hope that this is merely a mistranslation. I have this vision of some very "bright" individual who on seeing a suspicious package thinks that the best thing to do is to bring it into a crowded room. Wow.