Moscow - Several football fans were injured in Moscow on Saturday in clashes with Interior Ministry troops that broke out during a rally in memory of a Spartak Moscow supporter killed a week ago.
A number of passers-by, who appeared to be members of ethnic minorities from the Caucasus, were also injured after being attacked by the fans, a Reuters witness said.
Thousands of young men gathered at an unsanctioned rally on Manezh Square near the Kremlin in memory of Yegor Sviridov, 28, shot dead during a fight in north-west Moscow on Sunday night.
Several suspects, believed to be from the Caucasus, have been detained in the murder case.
The protesters chanted nationalist slogans such as “Moscow is a Russian city” while facing troops wearing body armour and carrying batons.
Small-scale political protests are relatively common in Moscow, but a gathering on this scale so close to the seat of Russian power is highly unusual. There was no immediate comment from authorities.
More than 1 000 Spartak Moscow fans gathered earlier on Saturday at the bus stop where Sviridov was killed. They laid scarves with the phrase “Spartak Ultras Moscow” next to candles at a makeshift memorial on a bus stop bench.
Russian media have said Sviridov was a member of the Spartak Ultras, a group linked to fan violence in the past. - Reuters