Absurdist ‘Monstration’ rally sweeps through Russian city
- 6 years ago
The annual May Day “Monstration” rally marched through the Siberian city of Novosibirsk on Tuesday (May 2).
People wielded signs bearing nonsensical statements such as “tasty text”, and “do not conceal Tahiti!”
The main slogan, printed on a large green banner this year was “North of Korea”.
The strange event has taken place every May Day since 2004 in Russia’s third-largest city as a surreal parody of regular protests, organised by local performance artist Artyom Loskutov.
Thousands usually participate.
Despite its apolitical nature, the “Monstration” often encounters problems from police and local authorities.
In 2015, Loskotov was arrested, and in 2016 he also ended up in court. Placards usually rely on entertaining wordplay and political in-jokes which lose some of their rhythm in translation.
Over the years, they have proclaimed “Keep calm and call Lenin”, “forward to the dark past” and “ I demand comprehensible slogans!”
This year, some banners bore implicit references to politician Leonid Slutsky, who has been accused of harassing female journalists.
In recent years the rally has acquired a slightly tongue-in cheek political slant; in 2014 banners read "Ad Nash" ("Hell is Ours") as a nod to the proclamation "Krym Nash" ("Crimea is Ours") in the wake of its annexation.
Offshoots of the “Monstration” now exist in the Ural city of Ekaterinburg, the Far East city of Vladivostok, and in Moscow too.
This year, they largely occurred peacefully.
In 2017, it started to acquire a global presence, with rallies taking place in Estonia, the Czech Republic and Ukraine.
People wielded signs bearing nonsensical statements such as “tasty text”, and “do not conceal Tahiti!”
The main slogan, printed on a large green banner this year was “North of Korea”.
The strange event has taken place every May Day since 2004 in Russia’s third-largest city as a surreal parody of regular protests, organised by local performance artist Artyom Loskutov.
Thousands usually participate.
Despite its apolitical nature, the “Monstration” often encounters problems from police and local authorities.
In 2015, Loskotov was arrested, and in 2016 he also ended up in court. Placards usually rely on entertaining wordplay and political in-jokes which lose some of their rhythm in translation.
Over the years, they have proclaimed “Keep calm and call Lenin”, “forward to the dark past” and “ I demand comprehensible slogans!”
This year, some banners bore implicit references to politician Leonid Slutsky, who has been accused of harassing female journalists.
In recent years the rally has acquired a slightly tongue-in cheek political slant; in 2014 banners read "Ad Nash" ("Hell is Ours") as a nod to the proclamation "Krym Nash" ("Crimea is Ours") in the wake of its annexation.
Offshoots of the “Monstration” now exist in the Ural city of Ekaterinburg, the Far East city of Vladivostok, and in Moscow too.
This year, they largely occurred peacefully.
In 2017, it started to acquire a global presence, with rallies taking place in Estonia, the Czech Republic and Ukraine.