Moscow Mayor claims responsibility for any possible repetition of pogrom

World Cup matches will still be aired in Moscow publicly. The screens are still there, and nobody is going to dismantle them. This decision was made today at the special session of the Moscow government. Security measures will be toughened in Moscow in order to avoid any opportunity for the recent pogrom to be repeated.

The speaker of the Russian State Duma, Gennady Seleznyov, claimed in an interview to the television program Itogy that the organizers of the action as well as the Moscow government were guilty of the mess. Seleznyov also said that the screens should be removed. Several Moscow senior officials supported Seleznyov.

Spokespeople for the Russian Home Ministry said that the airing of the World Cup matches should be restricted in Moscow’s streets. First, deputy Home Minister Vladimir Vasilyev stressed that the Manezhnaya Square was not meant for watching football. He added that it was impossible to filter the viewers there and to not allow them them bring vodka and beer.

However, Moscow Mayor Yury Luzhkov has another opinion of the subject. He stated that the events of June 9 in Moscow should be good lesson to learn from for Moscow's law-enforcement bodies: “We will not follow the example of those hooligans who wanted to prevent an opportunity for communication, which was is an indication of a modern civilized country and of a modern civilized city.”

The Moscow government will not stop publicly airing the matches; the officials will simply “learn the lesson of Sunday” and work closer with law-enforcement bodies. In addition, the decision pertaining to the cessation of street broadcasts has already been made by the governments of several Japanese cities due to frequent conflicts between football fans and police officers.

Sergey Yugov PRAVDA.Ru

Translated by Dmitry Sudakov