More than 700 members of the pro-Kremlin youth movement Nashi have staged a rally in Moscow. The were protesting against the visa policies of former Soviet state, Estonia.
The young demonstrators are angry at Tallinn's decision to share information with other Shengen states on Russian nationals it banned from the country. Some of the Nashi activists were barred from Estonia for protesting against the removal of the Soviet Red Army war memorial from the capital Tallinn in April last year. Estonia entered the European Shengen visa-free zone along with seven other countries on the first of January. The Nashi protesters say now that the Baltic state shares its black lists with other Shengen states, they will be refused admission to other Shengen countries just because of what they called “Estonian fascism”. Moscow police detained more than 50 rally participants, as the protest was unauthorized. All of them were later released.