Russian Authorities Prepare for Violence

Over the past decade, the Kremlin has organized and funded a Russian nationalist movement that it hopes will consolidate the government's power over the country following the fall of the Soviet Union. Now a force of its own, the movement began clashing with Russian Muslims following the death of a young Russian during a soccer riot Dec. 5. Preparing for more violence at a planned anti-Muslim rally in Moscow on Dec. 15, the Kremlin must prove that it can control and rein in the nationalists as well as other disruptive elements when needed.