The story
Novosibirsk Monstration in Novosibirsk
Monstration is an absurdist street march held every May 1st in Novosibirsk, begun in 2004 by artist Artyom Loskutov as a parody of Soviet-style May Day demonstrations. Participants carry placards with nonsensical or ironic slogans rather than political demands, turning the traditional workers' march into a piece of collective street performance art.
May 1st demonstrations were a fixture of Soviet civic life for decades: mandatory workplace columns marching behind banners praising labor and the state, a ritual that persisted in diminished form even after the Soviet Union's collapse.