Chechnya marks Day of Russia without pathos

In Grozny, state servants and students were forced to attend the rally on the occasion of the Day of Russia, but there was no strict attendance control, local residents report.

On June 12, the Day of Russia in Grozny was marked with a festive rally and a concert with the participation of local pop stars. The city authorities reported about 30,000-strong rally; and residents of Chechnya report that they were obliged to attend it.

Lechi, a teacher, has noted that the square in front of the mosque was less than half full. He added that there was no strict control over the attendance thereof.

Chechen authorities are indifferent to the Day of Russia; therefore, they didn't set the goal of gathering the maximum crowd, Ruslan Kutaev, the head of the Assembly of Caucasian Nations, believes.

They began celebrating the Day of Russia on June 12 with the aim to consolidate the country's nations after the collapse of the USSR; but today authorities are trying to restore the Soviet Union, said Khusein Iskhanov, head of the "Ichkeria" Cultural Centre in Vienna.

He treats the festive events on this day as hypocritical. "Take Chechnya: many people are jealous – see, they've built skyscrapers, but there's no development; no new enterprises, educational establishments; and young people are offered to fight or engage in wrestling as a career," Mr Iskhanov has added, concluding that the collapse of the USSR failed to improve the situation in Chechnya.