“Freedom for the 6 May prisoners”
This is a strange story to find — but a man in Moscow at an anti-Putin rally has been killed by a “column of sound equipment” that fell off of the stage. From the Associated Press:
MOSCOW – Moscow police say a man helping construct the stage for a major protest rally has died after a column of sound equipment collapsed.
The accident at midday Monday came just a few hours before opponents of President Vladimir Putin were to gather for a demonstration. The rally marks the one-year anniversary of a protest on the eve of Putin’s inauguration that ended in clashes between police and demonstrators.
About two dozen people face charges stemming from the clashes; most remain in jail a year after the protest.
The Interfax news agency said the man killed Monday was a 25-year-old opposition supporter.
A city safety official was quoted by the RIA Novosti news agency as saying investigators were inspecting the accident site at Bolotnaya Square, on an island near the Kremlin.
I’ve seen some of the rigs that get approved by officiants at these protests — it’s amazing that these stories aren’t more frequent.
To all entertainment professionals out there working political events across the world: Keep your wits about you at these things. You’ve seen what happens when people get stampede-minded at a concert, shit absolutely hits the fan and things get destroyed, and people get killed. The world isn’t in a great state of calm and peace right now, everyone is pissed more or less in a majority of the countries on this planet. These political events can get really hot and really violent very very quickly. If you work for a company that does a lot of these events, just please — watch yourself. Watch for things out of the ordinary, and I know that’s a stretch for our business, but you know what I’m talking about. Just be careful. Consoles and equipment are not worth your safety or your life — don’t defend the gear, just haul your rear out of the situation if things get dicey.
This is a breaking story, check back for developments.
