Paratroops Take Gorky Park by Storm
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MOSCOW — Cafe managers in Moscow’s Gorky Park had to clean up debris Saturday after soldiers smashed windows, damaged cars and fought pitched battles with outnumbered police.
The soldiers had been celebrating the 61st anniversary Friday of the creation of the Soviet paratrooper service.
As in previous years they gathered in the park, their traditional meeting place, with plenty of vodka.
“We knew they would be celebrating, so we removed everything beforehand,” said one man hammering together wooden slabs on a food stand shown on Russian television.
Many kiosks and stands had remained shut Friday in anticipation of the melees, which have become an annual event in the park.
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