Democracy in Putin's Russia

The contrast between the protests at the G8 in Edinburgh 2005 and in St Petersburg 2006 could not be more stark. Last year we saw New Labour government ministers turning up at Live8 protests and concerts. This year 1billion Euro has been spent on all aspect of the G8 conference including a very significant security budget.

Protests have been banned. People attending the counter summit have been blockaded into the Kirov Stadium isolated in the west section of the city. Possibly out of spite on the part of authorities, protesters were not able to bring any drink to their own event and all bars in a two mile radius were closed.

Opposition activists had made epic journeys to attend the event from all parts of Russia. I met with the secretary of the Irish Socialist Party's sister organisation at Moscow railway station in St Petersburg. The member he had been travelling with had been called in for questioning. The Russian Social Forum was blockaded into the 50,000 capacity Kirov stadium on the shores of the Gulf of Finland.

Participants had to walk through metal detactor checkpoint to enter the crumbling stadium. There were at least ten police at the checkpoint at all times and others at various points surrounding the stadium. They were armed with cuffs, batons, guns and even grenades. Also on 24 hour patrol at the stadium were the riot police Oxrana who mingled with what were obviously plainclothes police.

Meanwhile, helicopters swooped over the city's glittering domes and spires and frogmen in camouflage dove below boats and hydrofoils plying the nearby Gulf of Finland. Cruises on the city's winding canals and rivers — a popular tourist activity — are banned for the duration of the summit, and the airport was closed to commercial flights for the same period. Even the park where the stadium lies is under tight rein. A complex of amusement rides was shut down through Monday and nearby kiosks and game booths were idle.

St. Petersburg Mayor Valentina Matviyenko made an unexpected visit to the stadium Friday, and characterized the decision to make it available to protesters as a sign of "hospitality." However all marches and demonstrations were banned. No water was available to purchase within two miles as all bars and kiosks were closed.

Ten members of the Socialist Party's sister organisation who had attempted to make the journey to the Social Forum were stopped various points in their journey. Sergie Kozlovski eventually made it from the city of Yaroslavl, 250km north of Moscow, after being arrested five times. Police called to his house before the event and warned him not to go to St Petersburg. Noting his determination they order him off the train and last Wednesday after one hour of discussion. They told him if he stayed on the train the police at the other end would have 'something on him' indicating their willingness to plant offending articles with him.

He got off the train and once he was out of sight he bought a bus ticket to the city of Tver. At Tver he took another chance to get a train ticket as there was a train due. Having successfully boarded the train he sent and SMS message to his comrades declaring he had made it. At the next station he was hauled off the train again. This is an indication that his mobile phone was tapped and his SMS messages monitored.

Another young female member of the Yaroslavl branch was not attending and had no intention of heading to St Petersburg. Nevertheless she was also called in for questioning and in the course of discussion told 'not to do anything wrong'. After that she went to visit her boyfriend in Moscow. Waking up the next day in the boyfriends flat, she found a policeman standing in the kitchen. Obviously used to this sort of surveillance she made him breakfast and he complained that his boss had phoned him at 4am ordering him to go to Moscow to make sure 'she did not do anything wrong'.

Victoria Gromova and Natalia Zvyagina (members from Voronezh) were observing, in their capacity as legal advisers, a demonstration against nuclear waste dumping were arrested and have court cases pending. Several other members of the organisation and dozens more from other organisations including the Other Russia forum convened by Garry Kasparov were harrassed by state forces in the run up to and during G8.

About 800 did register at the Russian Social Forum overall including a number of foreign nationals. They included car workers from Lada and Ford in Samara and Moscow who intend to organise an independent trade union in the plants which employ over 100,000 workers. Also there in significant numbers were organisers of various housing campaigns from Moscow, St Petersburg, Yaroslavl and Perm, which is in the Urals. Under the former Soviet Union, large hostels were built to accommodate workers waiting for accommodation. Now with accommodation being in private ownership the hostel rooms have become home. The developers want to sell them off without making provision for alternative accommodation for thousands of potentially homeless people.

Activists faced further harrassment on the way to their home towns. I spoke to a young doctor from the Ural city of Kirov was forced to pay St Petersburg police a bribe in order to get released before making his 22 hour train journey home. Doctors and other professionals in Russia are paid on average $400 a month. While only 800 attended the forum, police harrassment of activists affected the attendence.