Russian nationalists rally 'against tolerance' and immigrants in Moscow

People take part in a march held under the slogan 'For belief, tsar and fatherland' in Moscow. The march organized on the National Unity Day is devoted to the 400-year anniversary of Romanov imperial house (EPA)

Several thousand nationalists rallied in Moscow on Monday, protesting against the migrants they accuse of pushing up the crime rate and taking their jobs.

The protest took place on Unity Day, a national holiday established in 2005 to replace commemorations of the Bolshevik Revolution.

Many demonstrators carried Russian imperial flags. One group displayed a banner reading “Young People Against Tolerance”.

Animosity against migrants from the former Soviet Central Asian republics and non-Slavs from the largely Muslim Russian Caucasus region is strong among nationalists. Migrants are widely employed in construction and low-paid jobs that Russians are not eager to do.

AP