St. Petersburg Protest Footage

A reader points us toward this BBC footage of the multitudinous protest march that took place in St. Petersburg this past weekend, ending in violent clashes with the police. From the New York Times report on the protest:

“This is our first real victory,” Mr. Kasparov, speaking over a bullhorn, told the crowd on the muddy street, surrounded by rows of police. “I congratulate you for overcoming your fear. We will have victory when we get our Russia back. We have 364 days before the election in 2008.” Minutes after Mr. Kasparov spoke and left the area, the police broke up the crowd, first arresting the speaker who had taken Mr. Kasparov’s place. Mr. Kasparov had handed the bullhorn to Sergey V. Gulayev, a member of an opposition faction in the local legislature in St. Petersburg. “The government is afraid of the slightest wind,” Mr. Gulayev he told the crowd. “The government is fragile, and afraid, and will collapse with one push.” As he spoke, riot police shoved through the crowd and grabbed the bullhorn from his hands, smashing it against the wall of a building. A policeman put Mr. Gulayev, grimacing, in a headlock and dragged him into a police vehicle as members of the crowd yelled “Shame! Shame!” A wedge of police officers swinging nightsticks then divided the crowd and pushed it toward the sidewalks. Some protesters fought back and a melee erupted, lasting about a minute. At one point, a black plastic riot helmet torn from a police officer was flung into the air and clanged onto the muddy pavement, as news photographers and other protesters scrambled away from the swirling fight.