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[Elena Ostrovskaya]

Dear Anna,

Космонавты, as Thalia has just mentioned is a recent nickname for
OMON, which appeared during the protests, if I am not mistaken.

Жиды has never changed its meaning, even though your correspondent is
right in saying there is a possibility of such a use, but connotation
is there, of course. In your quote it has nothing to do with greed and
everything with the enemies of the Russian, whom that 'other part of
OMON' sees in the protestants (жиды) and the speaker himself in the
authorities  (the genocede of the Russian people). Here the argument
itself is really interesting; apparently agreeing with the general
concept of the enemy, the speaker chooses not to discuss the Jews at
all (it is not clear whether he believes them to be enemies or not),
sunstituting them by the real, or just a worse enemy.

To your last question. The important feature of the protests was that
they brought together different political forces, nationalists
included. At the moment the protests seem not exactly to be turning
anywhere, but kind of falling apart, which means different parts they
consist of - nationalists being most active or the most active - come
loose and start acting on their own but in the name of the bigger
movement. On the other hand, the Coordination Council did pass that
strange resolution on migration, which suggests there are some
attempts to channel the protests into nationalism and xenophobia.

Hope it helps
Elena

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