Grozny residents report forced participation in rally in honour of Crimea

An action in Grozny, dated to the anniversary of annexation of the Crimea by Russia, was held today under reinforced security measures and, according to the Mayoralty, brought together ten thousand people. The interviewed participants said that they had been obliged to be present at this action.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on March 18, 2014, Vladimir Putin signed an agreement on the accession of the Crimea and the city of Sevastopol to Russia, as a result of the referendum held on the peninsula.

The rally in honour of the second anniversary of the annexation of the Crimea by Russia took place today in Grozny on the territory of the memorial complex "Alley of Fame".

The residents of Grozny, interviewed by the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent, confirmed the fact that budget-paid state servants and students were forced to take part in the rally.

"It was a sort of voluntarily, but in a forced way. We were forced to stay after lectures and brought to the central city to the rally in support of the Crimea We were all warned about it a few days ago," said Islam, one of the participants of the rally and a student of the Chechen State University.

The participants of the action have been already warned that they should also come to the next rally, organized by the authorities – it will take place on March 23, on the anniversary of adoption of the Constitution of Chechnya, another student named Musa told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

"As usual, we have played the role in the crowd in the play staged by the authorities. On Wednesday, we'll again have to come to the rally, this time in honour of the Day of Chechen Constitution. The appearance is strictly mandatory, otherwise, the absentees are promised to face serious problems," he said.

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