According to Stepanov, the activists were unable to obtain sanction from city authorities to hold the rally.

Representatives of the anti-fascist youth movement were divided as to what action to take in response. Part of the group chose to place flowers in memory of Khutorskoy at the eternal flame outside of the Kremlin walls, while others chose to attempt to rally at Patriarshiye Prudy as planned.

A correspondent from Kasparov.ru reports that police temporarily detained a number of the sixty rallying activists.

Executive Director of the For Human Rights movement Lev Ponomarev was present at the rally as a human rights advocate and public observer. Ponomarev aided in negotiations between the activists and police, thanking the activists for finding a compromise with the officers to avoid creating a violent situation.

Ivan Khutorskoy was shot and killed in the entrance to his Moscow apartment building on the evening of November 16. Prior to the murder, four attempts had been made on his life. His death was the latest in the recent rise in crimes against anti-fascist activists in Russia.

Two ultra-nationalist rallies totaling nearly 3000 people were held in Moscow during the November 4 Unity Day celebrations. Many participants carried Nazi flags and placards with racist slurs, and one rally featured a concert by two openly neo-Nazi bands. Both rallies were sanctioned by city authorities.

In Moscow, an estimated one thousand anti-fascist activists gathered on Chistoprudny Boulevard for a rally they called “Russian Patriotism Against Fascism and Xenophobia.” According to speaker Maksim Stepanov, the goal of the demonstration was “to express protest against the neo-Nazi demonstrations” taking place elsewhere in the city that day.

“While they say they’re only fighting against illegal immigrants, there are enough fascist flags at their rallies, and they say their idol is Hitler,” he added.

Stepanov called those gathered to action. “If you see a fascist inscription – paint over it; if you see a person with Nazi insignia – tell him to his face that fascism is not acceptable!”

While the demonstration itself was without incident, Kasparov.ru reports that an eyewitness saw police and men in plain clothes detain several anti-fascist protesters near the Kitai-gorod metro station hours after the event.

In the southeastern outskirts of the city, around two thousand people attended the ultra-nationalist “Russian March.” Many participants brandished flags with swastikas and chanted anti-Semitic and other xenophobic slogans. Detailed instructions on how to acquire firearms were distributed amongst the crowd. Dmitri Demushkin, leader of the Slavic Union, said that soon in Russia “only two things will hold true value – food and ammunition.” The march, sanctioned by city authorities, was held in the Lyublino region of Moscow, where many migrant workers have recently relocated after the closing of a large market complex in June.

Across the river from the Kremlin, an additional concert was held by the ultra-nationalist organization “Russian Image.” The concert, also sanctioned by authorities and attended by approximately 700 people, featured the openly neo-Nazi groups Kolovrat and Khuk Sprava.

The city’s largest rally was held by the radical pro-Kremlin youth group Nashi, often considered Prime Minister Vladimir Putin’s version of the Soviet Komsomol. More than fifteen thousand people gathered for a rally and concert. Leaders of the group preached tolerance to the crowd, chanting “Russia for All.”

The holiday, which traditionally celebrated the liberation of Moscow from foreign occupiers in 1612, was reintroduced by then-President Putin in 2005 after being abandoned in 1917. Most Russians are unaware of the holiday’s historic roots, and it has been largely latched onto by ultranationalist organizations since being reintroduced. Despite condemnation from Russian leaders, nationalistic sentiments are held by a growing percentage of the population as well as many politicians.