Addressing the gathering, Gennady Zyuganov, leader of the Russian Communists, singled out as two top priorities the consolidation of the party ranks and preparations for a national referendum on the ownership of subsoil wealth.
There was a lot of anti-government rhetoric at today's rally, as well as traditional Bolshevik slogans denouncing "opportunism, revisionism and left radicalism." Activists of the officially banned Party of National Sovereignty took to the streets to march alongside the Communists. Their slogans were mostly anti-Semitic.
A flea market has been arranged on Teatralnaya Square today, with left-wing and ultranationalist periodicals and Soviet memorabilia readily available for sale. The demand, however, is not as brisk this year as it was before.
