Residents of Chechnya complain about forcing to take part in celebrations

The today's festivities in Grozny were attended by budget-funded servants and students from all over the republic.

"Unlike us, all normal people have a day off today, and they have a rest; but we – state servants – are permanently forced to make all sort of events massive," said a woman-employee of one of state-run institutions of the Oktiabrsky District of Grozny.

Students had been warned in advance of the mandatory attendance of the event, said Mukhamed, a student of the Chechen State Pedagogical University. According to his story, in spite of coercion, students, who do not wish to participate in such actions, may do so without any consequences.

The concert, organized by the authorities in Grozny, was held it the square in front of the mosque named the Heart of Chechnya. The concert programme was performed by local pop artists; while officials made reports.

Djambulat Umarov, the Minister for National Policy, Press and Information of Chechnya, made an excursion into Russian history. In his speech, he narrated the prominent role of Ivan the Terrible in Russian history and called him the "national leader" of those times. At the end of the speech Umarov stressed the need to help "the Russian people in search of their identity."

Full text of the article is available on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’.