“We almost in the pants”: the Russians told about the pogroms in Barcelona

According to eyewitnesses, what happened Saturday night looked more like chaos than a peaceful protest. Crowds of young men in masks ran through the streets, police helicopters flew over the city center, owners of bars and restaurants rushed to close establishments.

- I’ve only lived here for two years, but I’ve never seen it before, a Russian-speaking resident of the city said. Most of these guys who took part in the pogroms, in appearance, no more than sixteen. One young man! I saw them crashing bicycles. I just have one question, what are you protesting against?

Another woman said she watched teenagers smash shops and rejoice: “In Barcelona, something unimaginable was happening!” In front of my eyes, minors set fires, smashed tents with souvenirs, beat windows, bus stops. They broke up the Pandora jewelry store, took out the goods. Destroyed Starbucks. I don't know why they did it. We got to the optics store, where the doors were kicked out and ran inside. They tried to break into Vodafone. They slurred, whistled, then the joyous ran away. I look at them, and these are ordinary schoolchildren aged 15-16.”.

Some tourists were blocked in the establishments. One Russian-speaking woman said she was pushed into a bar when clashes broke out nearby: “It was impossible to understand what was happening.” Just chaos! They pushed me into a bar and closed the door. Visitors were not allowed out and no one was allowed in from the street. There was a lot of police around, but it didn't help much. Restaurants quickly cleaned the terraces, bars closed, put security in front of the entrance. When we went outside, teenagers ran past us with sneakers in their hands. Others stood and bragged about how cool they were that they had done it.”.

The woman claims that she saw the injured man, who was taken away by ambulance: “He got something in the head.” We tried to help the police, stop the teenagers, but they ran away. They threw a chair at me! There were a lot of people around who filmed everything. This is not normal.

Another tourist briefly described her impressions: “We were walking to the hotel and almost in our pants!”.

If the center of Barcelona was on fire, the situation on the neighboring streets remained calm.

“Some kind of surrealism: on the one hand, violent pogroms, shops were demolished, the police dispersed the people, and on the other hand – dancing on stage, partying, music, and everyone in general does not care,” the local resident described.

One Russian-language blogger was in the middle of the unrest: People were pulling things from HM, some of them didn’t even fit in their hands. The cosmetics store was destroyed, the goods were taken out. Zara was also injured, but could not be looted. And some brands pre-barricaded showcases with boards. I thought Barcelona was over.

On the morning of October 25, the city center was quickly put in order.

- The next day, utilities removed almost everything, but you can still see broken stops, damaged shop windows and broken bicycles, said a Russian-speaking resident of Barcelona. People walk, film the consequences of the pogroms, and discuss when to wait for the next demonstrations.