The Nizhny Novgorod Civic Movement (NGD) is a Nizhny Novgorod public and political organization that unites participants in the protest movement and opponents of the existing political regime. It has been active since at least the early 2010s.[1]
Goals and Membership
According to the organization's own description, the NGD "unites active opponents of the existing political regime and participants in the Nizhny Novgorod protest movement." Its stated main goal is the creation of a genuine civil society. The organization presents itself as a non-partisan platform: differences in the views of its members are considered surmountable provided there is mutual respect and participation in real activity.[1] On VKontakte, the group had 586 members.[1]
Activities
The NGD took part in joint actions with other organizations — the "Left Front," "Autonomous Action," and "Other Russia." At an NGD meeting on June 12, members were presented with a proposal to hold an action on July 31 as part of "Strategy-31," directed against the head of Nizhny Novgorod, Oleg Sorokin, and summing up "all the accumulated negativity at the city level"; it was proposed to come out with the slogan "Restore Elections to City Self-Government."[2] In particular, in July a picket was held on Freedom Square in Nizhny Novgorod in defense of those detained during the events of May 6 in Moscow; about 50 people from several organizations took part, including representatives of the NGD.
In October 2013, the NGD issued a statement in connection with the attack on civic video documentarian Mikhail Karyakin, who was beaten on October 6 near a supermarket on Fruktovaya Street: he suffered a traumatic brain injury and a double fracture of the jaw. The movement linked the attack to Karyakin's public activity, as he filmed documentaries about protest actions in the city, and pointed to its similarity to a number of other attacks on Nizhny Novgorod activists. The NGD announced the start of a campaign for the international civil (non-governmental) recognition of the so-called "Centers for Combating Extremism" (Centers "E") as criminal organizations, regarding hopes for an investigation by Russian state bodies as hopeless.
In October 2022, the NGD publicly marked the second anniversary of the death of Nizhny Novgorod journalist Slavina Irina: activists brought flowers to the place where she died.[1] In the same month, the movement covered the trial in the case of Natalya Rezontova.[1]
Sources
- Pro Gorod Nizhny Novgorod — At an NGD meeting on June 12, members were presented with a proposal to hold an action on July 31 as part of "Strategy-31," directed against the head of Nizhny Novgorod, Ole
- NIA "Nizhny Novgorod" — The Nizhny Novgorod Civic Movement has again organized round-the-clock vigils near building No. 126 on Ilyinskaya Street in Nizhny Novgorod. Nizhny Novgorod News