Members of different political parties and movements in Russia joined efforts this week to express their strong disapproval of the military actions of the Georgian government against South Ossetia.

Picket rallies and protests started on August 8, the day that war broke out. The first meetings, far from being numerous, acted as an example for future rallies. Ossetians unveiled  posters and placards next to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs building, while members of Evraziysky Soyuz Molodezhi ("Eurasia Youth Union"), youth organizations Nashi ("Ours") and Rossiya Molodaya ("Young Russia") protested at the Ministry of Defense. Despite the fact that these meetings were not sanctioned by the Moscow government, the police was quite liberal and made no attempt to stop the protestors, even allowing them to shout and display their banners. The slogans included "Defend Tskhinvali!" and "Russia, rebuff Georgia!," while words like "Yankees, go home!" were shouted at the U.S. Embassy, where some of the protestors headed after the main meeting.

Members of the Ossetian diaspora found another way to include more people in this fight against the Georgian aggression. They gave out ribbons with the colors of Ossetian flag to all those who wanted to express their solidarity with the people of South Ossetia. 700 ribbons were given out over the weekend, with several thousand ribbons dispersed throughout Moscow during the week.

Monday marked the beginning of the second wave of meetings. This time rallies were better organized and far more numerous. Several thousand people, mostly members of youth organizations, picketed the Georgian Embassy in a protest action that lasted from Monday through Wednesday, when peace in South Ossetia was finally restored. Members of Nashi and Molodaya Guardia ("Young Guards," another youth organization) demanded immediate cease fire in South Ossetia and even handed in a petition to the Georgian government stating that military action must be stopped. Protestors stayed in the grounds of the Georgian Embassy day and night, with placards raised and candles lit to commemorate the victims of the war.

Meanwhile the Communist Party of the Russian Federation sanctioned its representatives to picket at the U.S. Embassy. Members of the party protested against the U.S. government's actions concerning the war in Georgia. The main slogan of the protest action read "No patronage of the murderous regime of Saakashvili." At the same time, other political parties that share the views of the present Russian government gathered in Novopushkinsky Park and outside the Georgian Embassy urging the assembly of an international tribunal and to bring Saakashvili to justice. 

By Katya Vinogradova