PUGACHYOV, Russia -- About 600 residents of the town of Pugachyov in Saratov Oblast of Russia's Volga region have taken part in a protest and demanded that people native to the North Caucasus be forced out of the region.
The July 8 protest was prompted by a deadly scuffle in a cafe in which a Chechen teenager stabbed and killed a former paratrooper, Ruslan Marzhanov.
The situation in the town has been tense since the incident occurred on July 6.
The deputy governor of Saratov Oblast, Denis Fadeyev, traveled to Pugachyov and regional authorities have sent additional police forces.
Law enforcement officials have set up checkpoints on all roads leading to the town.
Protesters said on July 8 that they plan to block one of the main regional highways if North Caucasus natives remain in the town.
The July 8 protest was prompted by a deadly scuffle in a cafe in which a Chechen teenager stabbed and killed a former paratrooper, Ruslan Marzhanov.
The situation in the town has been tense since the incident occurred on July 6.
The deputy governor of Saratov Oblast, Denis Fadeyev, traveled to Pugachyov and regional authorities have sent additional police forces.
Law enforcement officials have set up checkpoints on all roads leading to the town.
Protesters said on July 8 that they plan to block one of the main regional highways if North Caucasus natives remain in the town.
!["[The local authorities] don't look favorably on me. I know all these people's tricks," says Bulgarian journalist Ivan Atanasov. (file photo)](https://gdb.rferl.org/01000000-c0a8-0242-3538-08db25627f77_cx0_cy6_cw0_w100_r1.jpg)
!["[The local authorities] don't look favorably on me. I know all these people's tricks," says Bulgarian journalist Ivan Atanasov. (file photo)](https://gdb.rferl.org/01000000-c0a8-0242-3538-08db25627f77_cx0_cy6_cw0_w33_r1.jpg)
