It's nice to be wrong in the right direction. At the meeting about the rally, I estimated today's march would draw 400 to 1,200 people. That estimate was based on the fact that 1,500 people had joined the Facebook group for picketing the State Duma on the day of the vote on the "Law of Scoundrels" (a critical nickname for Russia's law banning U.S. adoptions of Russian children), but in reality only about 25 of the hardiest actually showed up. I'm glad I was wrong.
Apparently, the voting procedure itself was so disgusting that people were impressed enough to take to the streets: even cowardly crooks who didn't participate in the vote at all suddenly started being treated like heroes ("Oh, so-and-so didn't vote. What a great guy!" As if he would obviously have been shot if he had voted "against").
Listening to all that nonsense about a "response to the Americans" was simply unbearable. A NATO transit hub was opened in Ulyanovsk. Nobody even squeaked about that.
They didn't impose a formal retaliatory visa ban on a single American.
Not a single one. Too scary, apparently: what if they don't let them into Aspen for a skiing holiday?
Disabled orphans whom Russian adoptive parents had refused to take in—that's the worthy enemy Putin's patriots chose in their bold and valiant war against the U.S. Congress.
The marmot and I decided to join right at the very end, just so we could walk calmly like normal citizens instead of marching surrounded by 30 cameras from "German television" and endlessly answering questions like "what is the future of the protest movement," "what will become of Russia," and "do you like borscht and balalaikas?" So I'm probably the only one who can boast exclusive photos with a completely empty boulevard behind me.
To end up at the back of the march, you have to set out an hour after it starts.
In short, it was inspiring.
Places