R 230637Z DEC 08
FM AMCONSUL VLADIVOSTOK
TO SECSTATE WASHDC 1061
INFO ASEAN MEMBER COLLECTIVE
EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
AMCONSUL VLADIVOSTOK

UNCLAS VLADIVOSTOK 000139 
 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV ECON RS
SUBJECT: VIOLENCE ERUPTS AT LATEST VLADIVOSTOK DEMONSTRATION 
 
¶1.  Vladivostok citizens' third protest against proposed tariff 
increases on imported used cars turned violent and resulted in 
large-scale detentions.  Though past demonstrations were 
peaceful and ended without incident, it was clear from the 
beginning of this December 21 rally that the Kremlin would be 
taking a firmer stand and present a greatly increased security 
stance.  Local militia was augmented by 180 officers from the 
`Zubr' special police detachment sent in from Moscow. 
 
¶2.  The presence of the more aggressive out-of-town forces lead 
to severe beatings of several protesters and innocent bystanders 
and the detention of about 200 of the over 1,500 people who were 
present on the city's central square.  Even local FSB 
plainclothes officers were reportedly beaten by the 
indiscriminate Moscow Zubr forces. Many of those detained were 
journalists, including a Japanese crew from NHK Broadcasting, 
whose video equipment was damaged during a melee with security 
forces.  Local courts worked into the night after the 
demonstration, issuing dozens of fines and 6-day jail terms for 
six of those arrested.  Some journalists referred to the 
crackdown in Vladivostok as "Bloody Sunday," a reference to the 
violent suppression of striking factory workers in Moscow by 
Czarist security forces in 1905. 
 
¶3.  Some 500 people had gathered at the main city square on the 
previous day as well, displaying banners with slogans such as 
"Putin, fight the oligarchs, not the people!" and playing 
Soviet-era war and revolutionary songs.  Police quickly moved in 
to disband that protest, briefly detaining about 20 participants 
on charges of taking part in an unsanctioned rally.  Peaceful 
but smaller protests took place in over 40 Russian cities, 
including Khabarovsk, Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, Khabarovsk, and 
Blagoveshchensk in the Russian Far East, and Moscow and 
St.Petersburg in Western Russia. 
 
Unusually Strong Government Reaction 
------------------------------------ 
 
¶4.  The latest events showed that the Kremlin does not plan to 
negotiate on the issue and will crack down on Far Easterners' 
attempts, in Putin's words, "to destabilize the country."  The 
use of Special Forces from outside the area indicated not only 
that Moscow would no longer tolerate resistance on the issue, 
but also that it found that local militia forces were too 
sympathetic to demonstrators at past rallies.  In addition, 
locaQauthorities received directives to warn university 
students and employees of local companies in advance not to take 
part in future protests or risk dismissal.  Law enforcement 
officials declared the whole weekend official working days for 
all personnel, who were tasked with preventing people from 
forming crowds.  Consulate contacts indicated that during the 
lead up to the demonstration, FSB officers scrutinized popular 
local internet chat rooms and monitored mobile phone and SMS 
messages of organizers.  Those identified as the most active 
organizers received personal visits from FSB officers, who 
attempted to dissuade them from participating. 
 
Kremlin Makes Minor Concessions 
------------------------------- 
 
¶5.  Just two days before the most recent demonstration, Prime 
Minister Vladimir Putin held a special panel meeting of the 
National Council at a Kamaz truck factory in Naberezhnye Chelny 
devoted to finding ways to support national automobile 
production.  At the session, he said that "it is inadmissible 
for Russians to spend money on imported cars when Russian 
domestic manufacturers are cutting back production."  As a 
concession, Putin offered to provide free rail shipping for 
Russian-built cars to the Far East for one year and to subsidize 
interest on loans used to purchase Russian-made cars costing no 
more than 350,000 Rubles (USD 12,500) during 2009.   The offers 
were ridiculed and dismissed as half-hearted by most Far 
Easterners. 
 
¶6.  The issue of increased tariffs on imported cars has taken on 
a much larger scope to Far Easterners than simply being a 
question of how much their preferred automobiles will cost. 
Residents here consider the question a test of the democratic 
process and free market reforms in the New Russia.  Many here 
assert that the issue highlights the Kremlin's preference taking 
care of the interests of oligarchs over looking after the needs 
of the general population.  Journalists made special note that 
the crackdown was the first time federal forces have attacked 
ethnic Russians since the fall of the Soviet Union.  In a note 
of local dissatisfaction with Moscow, a group of locals beat up 
three off-duty OMON officers outside a downtown cafi at night 
after the demonstration. 
 
 
MILLER