Parade a break in a Russian winter

Chris Stephen on the peculiarities of parading on St Patrick's Day in a freezing Moscow.

The little old lady was the very picture of a babushka, the Russian grandmothers famous for their gritty stoicism, as she stood, wrapped in thick coat and hat against the winter snow, watching one of Moscow's first St Patrick's day parades 13 years ago.

The fact that the St Patrick's Day parade has no political overtones, in a country where protest and turmoil is never far from the surface, is one of the reasons why it has become such a fixture in the Russian calendar. It is the only foreign parade given marching permission by city hall and is welcomed by Russians as a rare break in the long six months of winter.

"It's become a focal point," says O'Dolan, one of the organizers for this year's pageant "There's real interest in Celtic culture out here."

Gaelic clubs, folk bands and poetry societies have all sprung up in Moscow in recent years, attracted by the romance and myth of Irish lore.

Rich Russians from the Irish Wolfhound society will be showing off their mutts and Irish verse will be read by students from the newly opened Gaelic Studies course opened at Moscow State University.

A booming economy means the organizers have sponsors with deep pockets: Pepsi are providing trucks for the floats and Aer Rianta, which runs Moscow's airport shops, is providing sponsorship cash. The Irish embassy has been promoting Irish business in Russia and several firms are decking out floats.

This is just as well because, committed as they may be to Celtic culture, none of the Russian bands and societies would come on the parade without being paid. "That's the way it goes out here," says O'Dolan. "If you want to get bands to play you have to pay for it."

The real concern of the organizers is the weather: Last year's parade took place in temperatures of minus 12, with numbers well down on the thousands who have turned out for earlier events.

A media blitz on local radio is being organized to bring in the crowds, while organizers watch the skies hoping the record-breaking cold snap earlier this year does not return.

City Hall has refused to let the parade be held on the day itself, fearing that an already congested city centre would become paralysed. Instead it is held on Sunday March 19th. But this is less a problem than an opportunity, with the Irish community here gearing-up for a three day celebration starting with parties on Friday night and moving on to a ball on Saturday.

Dances, poetry readings and theatrical events will stud the weekend and extra Guiness has been shipped to the five nearby Irish bars. "The Russians love an excuse for a party," says Steve Conway, owner of Silvers Irish Pub, one of Moscow's oldest bars.

But it is not just cultural niceties that draw in the locals. "Irish people and Russian people are alike in terms of the amount of drinking, it is vast," says photography student Irina Kalashnikova. "That's why it is an obligation for us to celebrate."

The parade began in 1992 when more than 500 Irish citizens worked in Moscow, and they simply staged a march down the pavement of New Arbat, a big wide thoroughfare that cuts through the downtown.

Among the expatriates there is concern about the venue: Arbat is a motorway of a street, and many want the march held in a narrower road where cafes and bars could throw open their doors and provide a better atmosphere.

Another fact of life will be the presence of machine-gun wielding police, a precaution against terrorist attack with the war in Chechnya now grinding into its seventh year.

The embassy sees it as a major chance to promote all things Irish, and the Attorney General Rory Brady is flying in for the occasion. "For a small country like ours, this parade has a high value for us," says embassy press officer Brian McElduff.

Chris Stephen