Thursday, December 21, 2017

Russian Socialists Unfurl Banner in St. Petersburg in Support of Long Haul Truckers' Strike



Paul Goble

            Staunton, December 21 – The long-haul truckers’ strike continues despite an almost complete media blackout with the most widely reported development of the last 24 hours being the Russian Socialist Movement’s display on a bridge in St. Petersburg of a banner of solidarity reading “Putin and Plato – Get Out!” (dp.ru/a/2017/12/20/Na_mostu_Slavi_v_Peterbur).

            The Kremlin’s push for only good news as the election season starts and the holiday season are probably the two most important reasons why there has been so little news; but a third one is that the authorities have kept Andrey Bazhutin, the leader of the United Carriers Union, in detention after he failed to appear at the call of the justice ministry.

            Bazhutin in the course of earlier strikes proved himself quite adept in getting news about the activities of his men. Because he remains behind bars, no one seems yet ready to take his place. The strike itself is currently scheduled to last through December 25. It is likely that it has already produced local shortages and price rises.

No comments:

Post a Comment