Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has approved of actions taken by police to cut short riots staged by radical nationalist groups in Moscow and St. Petersburg on Saturday, the Kremlin press office said on Sunday.
An unsanctioned rally to demand an investigation into the death of 28-year-old Spartak Moscow fan Yegor Sviridov, killed earlier this week in a fight between football fans and internal migrants from the North Caucasus, gathered about 5,000 people on central Moscow's Manezh Square on Saturday.
The rally turned violent after the fans were joined by radical youths who chanted nationalist slogans and burned firecrackers and flares. The police had to use batons to disperse the crowd. Over 30 people were injured in the clashes, including five anti-riot police officers.
Similar clashes with police were also reported in St. Petersburg, Russia's second largest city.
Medvedev instructed the Interior Ministry to continue taking all necessary measures to ensure law and order in the country. He said law-enforcement agencies had the right to use all means permitted by law to cut short such incidents in the future, the press office reported.
MOSCOW, December 12 (RIA Novosti)
