How do they become political prisoners, are modern prisons similar to the Gulag, and how have Russians changed over the years? last years - "Paper" I spoke with the released defendants in the most high-profile political cases of recent years.
How do they become political prisoners?
On May 9, 2011, 19-year-old marine Denis Lutskevich marched along Red Square as part of a banner group. A year later, on May 6, having already entered the Academic University of Humanities, he came to another Moscow square - Bolotnaya. Before this, Lutskevich had not attended rallies, was not an oppositionist, and really wanted to join the FSO regiment. He came to the “March of Millions” with his classmates and teachers. When the riots began, a student whose shirt was ripped off by someone in the crowd found himself between two rows of riot police. Stones were thrown from the crowd at the police, and riot police subdued Lutskevich and several other people. During the arrest, the student received numerous blows with batons.
After the arrest and the hospital, there was a trial that acquitted Denis. However, a month later, on the night of June 9, investigators came to Lutskevich’s apartment. The student was accused of tearing the helmet off a riot policeman, who was then beaten in the crowd. The police themselves testified against Lutskevich. At the same time, in an interview with Esquire, the riot policeman himself said that he did not remember who exactly tore off his helmet. Despite this, Lutskevich was arrested. Then there were statements in support of Lutskevich from the Union of Military Sailors, health problems in the pre-trial detention center, and also a sentence - 3.5 years of general regime. On December 8, 2015, Denis Lutskevich returned to freedom after 1277 days.
The Bolotnaya case is the largest judicial “political” trial, but far from the only one for modern Russia, human rights activists say. For example, the Union of Solidarity with Political Prisoners talks about 99 Russians who are currently in prison or under house arrest for political reasons, and the human rights organization Agora talks about several dozen similar cases on its website. Their participants are the most different people- from Pussy Riot to a 62-year-old security guard at an asphalt concrete plant who carelessly reposted a nationalist article on VKontakte.
Among them was Kuban professor, Doctor of Political Sciences Mikhail Savva. Until the beginning of 2001, he actively worked with the authorities and even held positions in the mayor's office of Krasnodar, but then quit due to disagreement with the political course and switched to human rights activities. Savva distributed grants to Caucasian and Kuban NGOs, held educational events and defended the rights of migrants: “Sometimes it was possible to free people literally from slavery.” At the same time, he criticized the Russian authorities for the “lack of justice,” election irregularities and the situation in the country. On April 11, 2013, when mass checks were carried out as part of the search for “foreign agents” among Russian NGOs, a criminal case was opened against the 48-year-old professor. Four days later, he was supposed to speak in Moscow at a meeting of the Presidential Council for Human Rights with a report on inspections of NGOs in Kuban.
Savva was accused of fraud. According to the FSB investigator, he did not conduct sociological research, for which he received more than 300 thousand rubles, and at Kuban University he illegally received 90 thousand rubles. However, Human Rights Watch and the Union of Solidarity with Political Prisoners recognized the case as political. The professor himself agrees with them, calling the accusations “absurd.” According to him, FSB investigators were more interested in the scientist’s foreign contacts and planned to accuse him of treason and working for Western intelligence agencies. Savva claims that they even offered him to confess, threatening him with 23 years in prison and death during the arrest. However, the professor did not agree, received a suspended sentence for fraud and was released after 8 months in jail.
“You are being held in strict security conditions, despite the fact that your guilt has absolutely not been proven, and the grounds for criminal prosecution are absurd and far-fetched.”
Geologist Evgeny Vitishko spent even more time in prison. The environmental activist, who has repeatedly participated in elections from Yabloko, “became famous” in 2011 after an action against the seizure of a site on the Black Sea coast under summer cottage Governor of the Krasnodar Territory Alexander Tkachev. In November, together with other activists, Vitishko wrote on the fence surrounding the dacha: “Sanya is a thief!”, “The forest is common!”, “Tkachev go away, you are a swindler and a thief!” and “Party of Thieves” and peeled back two sections of the fence.
Soon a criminal case was opened against the environmentalists under Art. 167 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (“Intentional damage to property committed out of hooligan motives”). In June, the activists received 3 years of probation. After that, according to the geologist, he was put under surveillance and his calls were listened to. In addition, Vitishko received several warnings about violating the rules of probation for traveling outside the Tuapse region. As a result, at the end of 2013, the court replaced the suspended sentence with a real one, and in March 2014, Vitishko went to a penal colony in the Tambov region. The geologist returned to freedom in December 2015, during which time he spent time in a punishment cell and was denied early release for his “negligent attitude” toward weeding tomatoes.
Early in the morning of March 11, 2014, three men approached the gates of the FSB garage in the Kaliningrad region. Two clasped their hands, the third stood on them and secured the German flag at the gate. After that, one of the men took a photo of the flag, and his comrade shouted a Nazi slogan and raised his hand in a fascist salute. The protesters were detained on the spot; during the arrest, one of them allegedly had 356 grams of hexogen in his backpack.
Kaliningrad activists Mikhail Feldman and Oleg Savvin, as well as Muscovite Dmitry Fonarev, were detained. They explained that they wanted to protest with the action against “the Russian authorities’ encouragement of separatism in the south-east of Ukraine”: “The flag in Kaliningrad - German until 1945 - was hung in a similar way to what was happening in Crimea. If you can wave the flags of a foreign country there, then why not here?”
Investigators did not agree with the activists’ arguments and opened a criminal case under Part 2 of Art. 213 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (“Hooliganism motivated by political hatred or enmity by a group of persons by prior conspiracy”). The victims in the case were representatives Public organization veterans of war, labor, armed forces and law enforcement agencies of the Leningrad district of the Kaliningrad region.
Law enforcement officers explained that by their actions the activists “deprived citizens of public peace, deeply insulted and humiliated the feelings and political orientations of citizens Russian Federation. In a clearly disrespectful form, devoid of any foundations of morality and morality, they expressed their political hatred and hostility towards the currently existing political ideology.” Injured veteran of the Great Patriotic War, who was interrogated in court, specified: “The political situation is tense, and I am always for Russia. If today the Germans are enemies, then they are enemies, and if tomorrow they are friends, then I will be friends with them.” As a result, the protesters received 1 year and 1 month in prison.
St. Petersburg roofer Vladimir Podrezov also spent more than a year in a pre-trial detention center. His case began on the morning of August 20, 2014, when the star on the spire of the Moscow high-rise building on Kotelnicheskaya Embankment was painted blue and yellow, and a Ukrainian flag appeared on its top. Kiev roofer Grigory Mustang, almost immediately, it was he who climbed onto the building and repainted the star. Mustang posted a photo on a social network on a high-rise building and quickly returned to Ukraine, and in Russia five people were involved in the action, among whom was Podrezov. They were accused of hooliganism and vandalism.
The St. Petersburg resident partially admitted his guilt, saying that he helped Mustang get onto the roof, but did not know about his plans: “I told him that he could do it, but I would not help him.” Four more base jumpers who were defendants completely denied guilt. As a result, the Tagansky court acquitted them, and Podrezov spent more than 2 years in prison. However, at the end of 2015, the court changed the sentence to 2 years 10 months of restriction of freedom and released the roofer. Upon leaving the pre-trial detention center, the St. Petersburg resident complained that he had lost more than a year of his life: “Time wasted. Probably aimless. There is nothing to do in the pre-trial detention center.”
How prison changes political prisoners
Political prisoners do not like to remember their arrest and life in a colony or pre-trial detention center. For example, the mother of Vladimir Podrezov said "Paper" that the family is “just trying to forget about it,” and the roofer himself never answered the questions, constantly citing fatigue after work. - I thought that the days of the Gulag were already over. But one day I witnessed how, in front of my eyes, FSIN officers beat convicts with particular cruelty. This was not necessary, and the motivation for their actions was preventive. So, just in case,” recalls Evgeniy Vitishko.
Oleg Savvin, who in the pre-trial detention center had to go on a hunger strike and sleep in a frozen cell, agrees with him. “In fact, you are being kept in strict security conditions, despite the fact that none of your guilt in anything has been proven at all, and the grounds for criminal prosecution are absurd and far-fetched,” he added.
First interview with Vladimir Podrezov in freedom
Colonies, at their core, are supposed to correct people, but there is nothing good there. Prisoners are not reformed in the conditions of a zone where there is a lot of drugs, and there is no production or any other activities, recalls Lutskevich, a person involved in the “Bolotnaya case”.
Despite similar impressions from prison, after release the lives of political prisoners develop differently. For example, Dmitry Fonarev - one of the defendants in the case of the flag over the FSB garage - and Mikhail Savva told "Paper" that emigrated from Russia.
Having received a suspended sentence in April 2014, the Kuban professor realized within a month and a half that law enforcement officers were continuing to pursue him. The decisive case was the criminal case of fraud initiated against the director of the Levados educational center, Elena Shablo, where Savva gave lectures. At first, the professor was involved in the case as a witness, but by the end of the year the situation began to change: “Two interrogations with an investigator of the Main Investigation Department of the Central Internal Affairs Directorate for Krasnodar region left no doubt about my prospects. Especially the last interrogation. The investigator’s questions began with the words: “Do you admit...”. That is, for him I was already an accused, all that remained was to complete the formalities - to bring charges.” Without waiting for this, Savva left Russia at the beginning of 2015 and asked for political asylum. After that Russian court replaced the professor's suspended sentence with a real one, and at the end of 2015, Savva was even charged with fraud. Now the professor continues to be abroad and does not disclose his place of residence.
“Today, any dissident and civically active person can be in our place at any time.”
Prison also ruined the professional life of Oleg Savvin, a defendant in the German flag case. He said "Paper", that because of his “extremist” criminal record, he now cannot find official employment and works unofficially: “I work wherever I have to. Now I’m installing railings, it’s not an easy job.”
Evgeniy Vitishko, on the contrary, once released, returned to his usual activities. The 43-year-old activist is also involved in geology and ecology, plays tennis and dances Argentine tango, and will even participate in the upcoming State Duma elections from the Yabloko party. Denis Lutskevich is also fine: now he is creating his own media and is looking for like-minded people. Moreover, the former Marine noted that he found new good friends in prison. However, some of the old comrades refused to communicate with the “swamp” after his release.
At the same time, the respondents "Paper" political prisoners emphasized that prison changed them psychologically. For example, Mikhail Savva said that after his release he continued to live by the prison commandment: “Don’t believe, don’t be afraid, don’t ask.” At the same time, the Kuban professor noted that the pre-trial detention center did not influence him as much as it could: “Conscript service in the Soviet army, which was very similar to a prison, helped.” Moreover, the political scientist now recalls the arrest as a logical stage in his biography: “If you are involved in human rights protection in Russia, be prepared! I don't consider myself an accidental victim. In one of the letters to my relatives from the pre-trial detention center, I wrote: I’m proud that they chose me. I haven’t changed this opinion.”
At the same time, Denis Lutskevich, a defendant in the Bolotnaya case, believes that the arrest had a generally positive effect on him. “Prison changed me, my worldview. I became attentive, even paranoid in some ways. Without fear, I just analyze and think a lot. Therefore, I began to understand what was happening better. And then I sincerely did not understand why I was being arrested and tried. I didn’t understand because I believed and hoped for a fair and adequate trial. But it was the first time, until I understood what was what,” he explained.
Despite this experience, political prisoners did not change their attitude towards the authorities much. Those who were in the opposition remain in it, but Denis Lutskevich is still not a member of parties and has no sympathy for any of them. Only Mikhail Savva noted that he had become much more critical of the authorities. “Before my arrest, I hoped that, with all its shortcomings, the government was capable of admitting mistakes and changing in better side. I’m convinced that she’s not capable,” the professor explained, calling himself “an enemy of the Russian political regime.”
However, all political prisoners agree that the government itself and Russia changed while they were in prison. “Maidan happened. The Russian propaganda press has turned on at full power. I saw how people began to change, turn into dolls under this influence. Seemingly normal people were drawn into hysterics: “Crimea is ours!” and “Russia is surrounded by enemies.” Even those who live abroad for six months every year lost the ability to think critically. I was amazed how you could exist with such a mess in your head. But they even like it so far!” says Mikhail Savva. Lutskevich agrees with him: “People have changed. The people were more active and united. Now it seems that either people are satisfied with the situation in which we find ourselves, or people don’t think, they are guided by instincts and hopes that soon oil will rise in price, sanctions will be lifted, the ruble will return to 30 per dollar, the economy will flourish - and we will beat them all.”
Sometimes it seems that insanity is no longer getting stronger, but has become stronger and has taken root completely. I agree that even being at large in Russia can be conditionally called “freedom” - it is simply a softer regime of detention, which is becoming increasingly stricter as new repressive laws are adopted. Today, any dissident and civically active person can find ourselves in our place at any time,” concluded Oleg Savvin.
In MA terminology, a political prisoner is any prisoner in whose case there is a significant political element. This could be the motivation for the prisoner’s actions, the actions themselves, or the reasons that prompted the authorities to send him to prison. Political MA calls any aspect human relations, having to do with “politics,” that is, with social institutions and civil order. These include the principles, organization and conduct of state or public affairs, their connection with issues of language, ethnic origin, gender or religion, status and social influence (among other factors). The global women's movement and some others dispute this interpretation of the term "political". For them, this word means relationships in the context of power-subordination in society and family, as well as actions to reform gender relations in this context. Strengthening AI's work on women's rights is consistent with this approach. In many countries, political prisoners are sentenced in violation of international standards legal proceedings. In some countries, they are held in pre-trial detention without trial for years, even decades. AI demands that all political prisoners be given a fair trial within a reasonable time, in accordance with the generally recognized right of prisoners to a speedy and fair trial or immediate release. When people say “political prisoner,” they mean both prisoners of conscience and people who have resorted to criminal violence or have been accused of committing other types of crimes, such as trespassing or damaging property for political reasons. However, the movement demands the immediate and unconditional release of only prisoners of conscience. AI does not use the term "political prisoner" to indicate any special status of the detainee or to indicate that the movement has any views regarding the political goals of the detainee. AI does not advocate for or against the views of the people in whose defense the campaign is being carried out, nor does it in any way assess the need for armed action in a political conflict. Who is considered a political prisoner? Here are some examples from practice: a member of an armed political group (or suspected of participation), accused of treason or subversion; a person accused or convicted of committing an ordinary crime in a political context (for example, at a trade union or farmers' demonstration); a woman accused or convicted of killing her abusive husband (especially in countries with discriminatory self-defense laws); a person who has been accused or convicted of a common crime (robbery, murder) committed for political reasons, or for refusing to pay taxes for ideological reasons. Governments often claim that there are no political prisoners in their state, but only criminals convicted under ordinary criminal law. However, the organization considers cases like the above to be “political” and describes them in terms of “political case” and “political imprisonment.” This does not mean that AI opposes detention as such, except in cases where, in the organization's opinion, the detainee is a prisoner of conscience. AI not only defends the interests of individual political prisoners, but also calls on governments to end the ongoing procedures by which political prisoners continue to be detained without any legal mechanisms to guarantee their safety.
Sinitsa Vladislav Yurievich(known as a blogger with the pseudonym Max Steklov) was born June 17, 1989 of the year in the city of Podolsk, Moscow region. It has higher education majoring in finance and credit, worked as a manager in LLC "Universal Advisor". Registered and lived in the city of Lyubertsy, Moscow region, is not a member of parties or movements. Sentenced to 5 years imprisonment for clause "a" part 2 of article 282 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation(« Actions aimed at inciting hatred and enmity based on belonging to any social group committed publicly using information and communication the Internet, with the threat of violence"). He is in custody since August 3, 2019.
Penza anti-fascists Dmitry Pchelintsev And Ilya Shakursky accused of Part 1 Art. 205.4 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation("Creation of a terrorist community", up to life imprisonment) in the creation of the organization “Network”, banned in Russia, which, according to investigators, is a terrorist anarchist association, and Maxim Ivankin, Vasily Kuksov, Mikhail Kulkov, Arman Sagynbaev And Andrey Chernov- By Part 2 Art. 205.4 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation(, up to 10 years in prison) for membership in this organization. In addition, Pchelintsev, Shakursky and Kuksov are accused of Part 1 Art. 222 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (“Illegal possession of weapons and ammunition”, up to 4 years in prison), and Ivankin, Kulkov and Chernov - each Part 3 Art. 30, paragraph “d”, part 4, art. 228.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (“Attempt at illegal sale of narcotic substances in large size» , up to 15 years of imprisonment). Shakursky is also accused of Part 1 Art. 222.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (, up to 5 years in prison), and Pchelintsev Part 3 Art. 30, part 2 art. 167 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (“Attempted intentional destruction of someone else’s property for hooligan reasons”, up to 3 years 9 months imprisonment) respectively. The accused are guarded since the fall of 2017, except for Maxim Ivankin and Mikhail Kulkov, detained on July 4, 2018. None of the accused had previously been prosecuted.
Was born October 11, 1971 year in the city of Pavlograd, Dnepropetrovsk region of the Ukrainian SSR. Before his arrest, he did not work, had no criminal record, and lived permanently on the territory of Ukraine in the city of Dnieper. Detained in Russia February 18, 2019 years on suspicion of committing an administrative offense. I am accused of a crime under Part 1 Art. 30, part 1 art. 226.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (« Preparation for the acquisition and illegal movement of military products from the territory of the Russian Federation across the customs border of the Customs Union within the EurAsEC to Ukraine, incl. military equipment and spare parts for it", up to 3 years 6 months of imprisonment), taken into custody as part of a criminal case on May 1, 2019.
Igamberdyev Hamid Alidzhonovich, Nodirov Zafar Gaforovich, Nodirov Farkhod Shukhratovich, Isomadinov Otabek Rabidinovich, Siddikov Sardorbek Abdulkhamidovich , Khidirbaev Aziz Narullaevich, Odinaev Alijon Ibrogimovich, Burkhoniddini Sobirjon, Sattorov Murodjon Abdunabievich.
Igamberdyev and Nodirov were convicted of Part 1 Art. 205.5 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (« Organizing the activities of a terrorist organization") To 16 years old maximum security colonies. The rest were convicted under Part 2 Art. 205.5 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (« Participation in the activities of a terrorist organization"): Siddikov - to 12 years old strict regime, Isomadinov, Khidirbaev, Odinaev, Burkhoniddini, Sattorov - to 11 years old strict regime. All charges are related to involvement in the activities of Hizb ut-Tahrir, an international religious and political organization that was recognized as terrorist in Russia in 2003. All defendants are in custody with December 6, 2016. The verdict was handed down on February 15, 2019.
To support Russian political prisoners, the SSP collected for the third quarter of 2019 RUB 602,133, issued to support political prisoners and politically repressed 516.210 rub.(15 transfers to help 32 political prisoners and victims of persecution for political reasons). As of October 1, 2019, the Fund for Assistance to Political Prisoners contains 869.888 rub.
Anti-fascists from St. Petersburg Yuliy Boyarshinov, Victor Filinkov And Igor Shishkin accused of committing a crime under Part 2 Art. 205.4 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation ("Participation in a terrorist community", up to 10 years in prison), in connection with alleged membership in the Network organization banned in Russia, which, according to investigators, is a terrorist anarchist association. Boyarshinov is also accused of committing a crime under Part 1 Art. 222.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation ("Illegal possession of explosives", up to 5 years of imprisonment). Boyarshinov, Filinkov and Shishkin are located guarded from January 21, 23 and 25, 2018, respectively, after being detained by FSB officers. None of the accused had previously been prosecuted.
Participants in the opposition rally on July 27, 2019 in Moscow Andrey Barshai, Danil Beglets, Aidar Gubaidulin, Vladimir Emelyanov, Egor Zhukov, Kirill Zhukov, Evgeniy Kovalenko, Egor Lesnykh, Eduard Malyshevsky, Maxim Martintsov,Alexander Mylnikov,Ivan Podkopaev, Samariddin Radjabov And Nikita Chirtsov in one criminal case, they were unfoundedly accused of participating in mass riots, violence against security forces, and preparing such violence. Egor Zhukov, Vladimir Emelyanov and Alexander Mylnikov were sentenced to suspended sentences, Aidar Gubaidulin October 17, 2019 left Russia, the rest - guarded in a pre-trial detention center or in a general regime colony.
So, what is the best way to support a political prisoner?
Continue the fight. There is no better support for a political prisoner than knowing that his comrades on the outside are continuing the work he started.
Find new forms of struggle. The moral state of the prisoner is positively influenced by the information that the movement not only exists, but is also developing qualitatively and is capable of reaching a new level.
Go to the pre-trial detention center and make a transfer. If the prisoner has already been convicted and is in a camp, find out how this can be done in the camp and do it. Practice shows that as soon as you need to go make a transfer, many people have a lot to do at once - “study”, “work” and so on. Some “comrades” are literally trying to “pay off” - they donated 500 rubles and forgot. They seem to have supported...The transfer must be coordinated with relatives and/or people who constantly make them for a political prisoner. The number of transfers by the prison administration is measured in kilograms (in many pre-trial detention centers in Russia, for example, you cannot transfer more than 30 kg per month) and they must be done so that the prisoner is not left without what he needs, while he does not have the most necessary will be in excess.
Write a letter with words of support to a political prisoner. You don't need a lot of text. Think through every word.
Keep in touch with the parents of the political prisoner. Call them at least once a month and ask if you need any help.
Help the family of a political prisoner - his (her) spouse and children.
Be moral. There are known cases when, at meetings in support of political prisoners, “freelove” supporters approached the wives of political prisoners and offered sexual contacts. Such “help” is reprehensible.
Punish pseudo-friends who behave inappropriately.
Organize contact with a political prisoner. Prison is not as closed a place as you think. Explore informal methods of communication. Almost always they are.
Find out information about the case through unofficial means of communication. If one of the comrades testified against someone - anyone fair man is obliged to report what exactly he told the investigation about the movement or specific people from the movement.
If one of the comrades testified against others under torture, there is no demand for this, but such a comrade is obliged as soon as possible: a) to report via informal communication who he testified against and what exactly he said; b) at the court hearing, refuse such testimony and make a statement that the testimony was given under torture.
If a comrade who testified under torture did not comply with points “a)” and “b)” from the paragraph above and it is known that there is a connection with him, such a comrade should be deprived of support for the movement.
Consult with comrades who have already been imprisoned and in this moment are free. If a comrade is experiencing unjustified pressure from the prison administration, or has found himself in a bad situation due to ignorance of the peculiarities of prison life, then a comrade with experience can help him with advice.
Organize fundraisers for political prisoners. Money is usually needed for: paying for a lawyer, purchasing food for a prisoner, supporting the family of a political prisoner.
Designate a comrade for constant contact with the political prisoner’s lawyer. There are times when lawyers want to "take politics out of a case" even when the case is clearly political. This cannot be done. In other cases, lawyers are quite adequate and conscientious. In these cases, constant contact with them is all the more useful. It is better for it to be one person, already experienced and reliable.
Try to get a public defender for a political prisoner. This is provided for in the Code of Criminal Procedure of the Russian Federation, for example, and in the legislation of some other countries. In most cases, judges refuse to appoint a public defender, but “miracles” have sometimes happened.
Order books for political prisoners that they would like to read. Some prisons have an idiotic system for ordering books. Theoretically, this can be done through online stores, but in fact it is very difficult. It is better to print books and send them by regular mail.
Maintain contact with members of the POC (Public Monitoring Commission), who have access directly to the cells in the colony. Through them, non-secret information can be transmitted to political prisoners.
Keep in touch with human rights organizations. Some human rights activists themselves were once in prison; they know what it is like and therefore often help sincerely, disinterestedly, only because deep down they hate the repressive system.
Organize counter-propaganda. As a rule, state propaganda disseminates false or slanderous information about political prisoners. Prostitutes from journalism usually use accusatory rhetoric even before the trial, despite the presumption of innocence enshrined in the law.
Explain to people who behave inappropriately towards political prisoners that they are wrong. For example, one man went to prison, and his “friend” who owed him money stopped paying the debt. It would seem that the time is right - the family has lost its breadwinner and you can support the family simply by returning the borrowed money in parts, as before. However, the “friend” felt that now he owes nothing. Such people sometimes just need the right conversation.
Explain to people who make incorrect statements towards political prisoners that they are wrong. For example, one comrade publicly spoke about one political prisoner that he was “weak”, “spineless” and so on. This was not true, and the comrade thought that by making such speeches publicly, he was somehow mitigating the guilt of the political prisoner and influencing the opinion of the investigation. This is wrong - you cannot present a person as weak, or, on the contrary, shout that he is a “fearless and brave terrorist.” Do not make inappropriate evaluative statements about political prisoners.
Come to the trials of political prisoners. Some comrades do not go to courts where their comrades are tried, justifying this by the fact that they could be detained there and made accused in a criminal case. If you are not wanted and no one has testified against you, then you will not be detained in court. By not coming to court to support a political prisoner, you are simply justifying your own laziness.
Do the same things as before: play sports, lead a moral lifestyle, get rid of bad habits(if you haven’t gotten rid of it yet), educate yourself. Raise your cultural and educational level. You may ask, “What does this have to do with political prisoners?” But here’s the thing: only by changing yourself can you change others and the world around you and make sure that one day the rebellious people release all political prisoners without permission. This is what happened in March 1917 in the Russian Empire.
Make participation in the movement the meaning of life. Disadvantages and weak spots The movements are best seen in how support for political prisoners is organized. If for participants in the movement this is a hobby, then at the very first repressions, the “comrades” scatter in all directions and completely different people begin to support. If the first time after the arrest, the former entourage on the outside does not know what to do and does stupid things, then this is a weak movement.
Organize a single picket in support of a political prisoner(s).
Organize a rally in support of the political prisoner(s).
Organize any other public action in support of the political prisoner(s).
Medicines. In prison, health usually deteriorates and chronic diseases worsen. Bringing medicine in legally is not easy. If desired, prison officials can turn the transfer of drugs into an endless bureaucratic saga. Help political prisoners and their relatives with this.
Explain to people the antisocial nature of modern Russian statehood. The class-corporate nature of the investigative and judicial system of Russia is most clearly visible in the example of political criminal cases. Many of the people in the system do not feel responsible. “We are following orders,” they say. They do not realize that they are part of a machine that suppresses thought and freedom. You should not have an internal loyal attitude towards them: “well, they are people too,” “they were ordered by their superiors.” A person always has a choice: to work in a given position or not to work.
Disseminate information about operatives, investigators, prosecutors, and judges involved in politically motivated criminal cases. They don’t like publicity, they delete their photos from the Internet, but everyone should know their names, surnames, positions, and appearance.
Provide alternative information to the political prisoner. A political prisoner usually takes an active interest in politics. As a rule, there is a TV in prison, but there are only state channels. Subscribe to him newspapers, magazines, print out information from alternative information sites.
Spread information about political prisoners. About the very fact that they exist. Defend your point of view that there are political prisoners in Russia and other countries. The official position of the state is usually this: “We have no political prisoners, because we are a democratic country.” This is a lie - there are political prisoners, and the country is not entirely democratic.
Do not spread rumors, gossip - in general, unverified information about a political prisoner. If you are not sure of the information, it is better to remain silent and not voice it.
Explain the social class nature of political repression and spread awareness about it. The issue of political prisoners cannot be reduced to the issue of “those who agree with the authorities” and “who disagree with the authorities.” The social roots of political repression are deeper than simply state suppression of dissent. The real reason for the appearance of political prisoners is social-class confrontation, which even the political prisoners themselves may not understand.
Organize opposition to pro-government quasi-public organizations. Figures of such organizations sometimes penetrate the public sphere to voice the point of view of the investigation and judges.
Organize “long-lasting” support groups for specific political prisoners yourself. Participate in their work.
Participate in the work of long-standing support groups that are not created in connection with a specific criminal case, but are created in principle. Promote the activities of such groups.
Spread information about the pressure the administration puts on political prisoners in places of detention. Correctional colonies are often located far from large settlements. The administration of the colony proceeds from the principle “high to God, far from the Tsar” and creates arbitrariness. It is very important to organize a visit to the colony in a timely manner by members of the PMC, and to organize a trip for a lawyer to the colony.
Remember about your imprisoned comrades not only when you yourself have a chance of going to prison for your beliefs, but even when you are safe. Many, once they are safe in another country, for example, forget about their comrades who are in prison. You can't do that.
Try to be an example in your personal and public life for others. There have been cases where people came to support meetings drunk or with the intention of “just drinking beer.” Support meetings are not a place to hang out, but a way to show solidarity.
Tell your friends and acquaintances about possible ways support for political prisoners as set out in this text and in other possible ways.
Invent and implement other effective ways support for political prisoners - this list is not final.
When a political prisoner is released, support him different ways until the moment of his complete adaptation to “free life”.
Former political prisoner Dmitry Buchenkov
On Friday, the issue of extending the preventive measure in custody for the next defendants in the “Bolotnaya case” - former marine Denis Lutskevich and ex-metro worker Artem u - will be decided. Most likely, Savelov will be left in until March 6, like most of the others passing during the rally on Bolotnaya Square on May 6, on the eve of the third inauguration. There are already 18 people involved in this case, 13 of them are under arrest in Moscow prisons.
The protest leaders are still at large, but two of them have already been charged with serious charges. A previously closed case of embezzlement of property of the State Unitary Enterprise “Kirovles” was reopened against. “preparing to organize mass riots” is punishable by up to 10 years in prison. His comrades from the “Left Front” and those involved in the same case are already in prison, where they are holding those accused of terrorism, espionage and crimes against state power. In another case that caused a resonance throughout the world, three participants were convicted for the song “Mother of God, drive Putin away!”, sung in a church: Ekaterina Samutsevich received two years of probation, and those sentenced to the same term were transported to the camps of Mordovia and Perm region. These are just the most high-profile cases of the current year, which would O Most of the opposition, many human rights activists and a significant part of society consider them obviously political.
“There is no need to confuse politics and criminality”
Those arrested in the Bolotnaya case, whom Gazeta.Ru managed to contact, emphasize their status as political prisoners.
“Yes, I consider myself a political prisoner,” wrote to Gazeta.Ru, who is in a pre-trial detention center. - Political prisoners - prisoners as a result of political struggle or other struggle that has an ethical basis. Prisoners who have pronounced political beliefs, for which they go to prison. These are those whom society considers political prisoners.”
Another prisoner, who also answered questions from Gazeta.Ru, also considers himself a political prisoner. In his opinion, “this category includes everyone who has become a victim of the will of state power, unwanted due to their activities in the political sphere.”
The Bolotnaya case, apart from political content, does not conceal anything in itself, even legally: the legal side was trampled upon by the authorities and the top of the punitive authorities. The purpose of the investigation was initially to collect representatives of various protest groups,” Belousov wrote, adding that, as a national democrat, he fit perfectly into the “leftist” company of the accused. The thesis that people from completely different social strata were detained and sometimes from the opposite political position, is confirmed, according to Belousov, by the detention and subsequent arrest of the nationalist Richard. Sobolev, Belousov recalled, was not on Bolotnaya at all, and the investigation was forced to agree with this.
Another person involved in the Bolotnaya case, Artem Savelov, believes that anyone can become a political prisoner in modern Russia. “I am at a loss how I managed to become a political prisoner. Life had enough of its own problems and worries to still engage in politics or participate in movements,” Savelov said in a letter to Gazeta.Ru. “Based on my experience, anyone can be made one (a political prisoner - Gazeta.Ru”).” According to him, it is good to discuss such lofty matters as who political prisoners are and what is the difference between them and prisoners of conscience at home over a cup of coffee. He himself would be happy to think that the “Bolotnaya case” is the main political process of modern Russia and that this status will contribute to “the achievement of justice,” but “sitting here, faith in this disappears.”
Representatives of the Russian authorities, in particular deputies from Russia, do not recognize the special status of those involved in the riot case and prefer not to talk about political prisoners in principle.
“There is no need to confuse politics and criminality. I don't want to talk about stupid topics. Any attempts to commit a crime are criminal acts, and there is no need to hide criminal offenses under the guise of political struggle. None political activity cannot be a cover (let alone a basis) for exemption from liability,” the chairman of the Security Committee told Gazeta.Ru.
Her colleague on the committee and party, who wrote a request to law enforcement agencies with a request to check for extremism the speeches of oppositionist Alexei Navalny at the December protests, explained to Gazeta.Ru that he could not name a single convicted person in modern Russia who could be considered to political prisoners: “Not a single person from Bolotnaya Square was arrested for their position. This is a strategy for protecting persons who have committed deliberate provocation. The arrests began not for words or slogans.”
A political prisoner, according to the deputy, can be considered a person who went to prison precisely for his position, and not for his actions. In this sense, Kostunov emphasized, a discussion is possible regarding the enforcement of Art. 282 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (incitement of hatred or enmity, as well as humiliation of human dignity). “But, in my opinion, the existing law enforcement practice does not allow declaring those convicted under this article political prisoners,” the deputy concluded.
Representatives of opposition parties have a different opinion from the ruling party. Both the liberal and the left Communist Party of the Russian Federation acknowledge the presence of political prisoners in Russia, sometimes citing the same names.
“Of course, the legislation of our country has never recognized political prisoners,” Viktor, a member of the Yabloko political committee, explained to Gazeta.Ru. In his opinion, many people who are imprisoned on a variety of charges can be considered “political”, for example those involved in the case, including those convicted on economic charges. Of course, according to Sheinis, those arrested on charges of offenses during the May 6 march can be considered political. The legislation on rallies itself, according to the Yabloko representative, is unconstitutional and restricts the right to freedom of assembly. Sheinis also called the actions of capturing and coercing Razvozzhaev to testify, as stated by human rights activists, “bandit-like.” “A biased, biased and illegal approach was presented in the statement of deputy Burmatov that the methods by which Razvozzhaev’s confessions were obtained should be investigated within the framework of a “conspiracy case,” the Yabloko member noted, adding that
“As long as courts pass unjust sentences and unconstitutional laws are in effect in the country, we will have political prisoners.”
A deputy from the Communist Party of the Russian Federation and head of the legal service of the party’s Central Committee is also confident that there are political prisoners in Russia. Solovyov cited a number of examples of criminal prosecution of communists in the regions, in particular the case of a member of the Sverdlovsk organization of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, who was convicted of participating in “pre-existing” activities prohibited under Art. 282.2 of the Criminal Code to one year of imprisonment and taken into custody in the courtroom.
According to the lawyer of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, when the security forces came to power together with the president, they began to see in the opposition not a fundamental element of civil society, but their enemies.
The future head of the Cheka Felix Dzerzhinsky in the Oryol Central - the harshest prison for political prisoners
bookz.ruSolovyov also sees a clear political background in the colonel’s case: “His article is absolutely political: a coup d’état, the overthrow of power. And where the case materials are closed from us (hearings in the Kvachkov case are being held behind closed doors - Gazeta.Ru), insinuations and all sorts of exaggerations are possible there.” The deputy recalled that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights recognizes “the right of the people to rebel against tyranny and oppression.” “Judging by the fact that the executive branch controls the legislative branch, it is virtually impossible to hold a referendum, there is no independent court, fair elections, television is censored, the country has developed or is developing an eastern tyranny,” said the Communist Party lawyer. “After all, the current government, which blames the opposition, also seized power, but by rigging elections.”
At one time, Soloviev recalled, members of “Narodnaya Volya” were recognized as political prisoners, who were forced to respond with terror to the authorities’ ban on peaceful agitation. According to the deputy, when legal methods have been exhausted, the opposition is forced to resort to protests, including those related to violations of the law. So, on May 6, on Bolotnaya Square, of course, there were violations, but they were primarily provoked: “This is a one-sided approach and hypocrisy when the opposition is imprisoned and persecuted for the slightest violations, but the authorities can break the law.”
The deputy also complained about “ lowest level professionalism" of the intelligence services, including Investigative Committee investigators and employees.
“The kidnapping of Udaltsov’s assistant (Leonid Razvozzhaev - Gazeta.Ru) is such a dirty and low-grade job. On the one hand, there is a rude, soldierly political order, on the other, the performers are the same “oaks,” Solovyov noted.
It is also obvious to him that Left Front activists are persecuted for their political views, “no matter how we treat them.”
Political prisoner by concept
Disputes about whether there are political prisoners in modern Russia or not are associated primarily with confusion in the interpretation of this very concept.
GRU Colonel Vladimir Kvachkov is accused of preparing an armed rebellion. Since 2010 he has been kept in the Lefortovo pre-trial detention center.
ITAR-TASSLegislation Russian Empire, for example, recognized both populist terrorists and participants in student demonstrations as political prisoners. The Soviet government was also very honest in declaring repression against political opponents. Thus, the very appearance of the word “political prisoner” is associated with the creation in the early 1920s in the GPU system (State Political Administration under the NKVD of the RSFSR) of special prisons - political isolation wards, designed to hold arrested members of other parties (Mensheviks, anarchists), and later members of the inner party opposition.
The assertion that a person who has violated the Criminal Code cannot be a political prisoner is based on a confusion of the concepts of “political prisoner” and “prisoner of conscience.” The last term appeared in the 60s. It was proposed by founder Peter Benenson to separate those who use nonviolent methods of political struggle from rebels, who have also always been recognized as political.
In Russia, the concepts of “prisoner of conscience” and “political prisoner” are confused by both pro-government and opposition politicians.
Participants in protest rallies of many thousands on Bolotnaya Square and Sakharov Avenue demanded that the Russian authorities immediately release political prisoners. The list itself, submitted to, and from there to on behalf of the protesters, caused controversy among human rights activists and lawyers. The discussion of how correct it was to include certain surnames is still ongoing. The decision to include individual nationalists and members of the North Caucasus underground in the list raised the most questions.
One of the leaders was among those who protested the inclusion of nationalists convicted of the murder of a lawyer and a journalist on the list. In his opinion, the arguments of their defense about the innocence of the defendants were refuted during the trial, including by the victims’ lawyers. Consequently, Cherkasov is sure, in this case we're talking about about the murder of an ideological opponent, unarmed and without authority.
“The political motive for a murder in itself does not make a person a political prisoner,” Cherkasov explained.
The human rights activist drew an analogy with the concept of a prisoner of war and a war criminal. International law distinguishes between a soldier who fought against an armed enemy and a military man who committed crimes against civilians. As an example, Cherkasov named one of the leaders of illegal armed groups in Ingushetia. He announced everything Russian population Ingushetia for a permitted military purpose, after which the forces under his control began to methodically destroy the non-Ingush population on the territory of the republic.
The situation with the 58 accused of the attack on Nalchik in 2005 is more complicated, according to the human rights activist. The TV presenter, Cherkasov said, proposed to include all of them on the list of political prisoners compiled by the organizers of protest rallies. “However, the prisoners of the Nalchik pre-trial detention center themselves, as far as I know, for some reason did not want to sign this letter. Do they need such a status, won’t it be harmful?” - Cherkasov wondered. Many of the defendants in this case generally consider themselves random victims of an indiscriminate intelligence operation.
Maxim Gromov - National Bolshevik, convicted for the action to seize the Ministry of Health in 2004. Spent 162 days in a punishment cell
medved-magazine.ruHowever international law in any case, stands on the side of such prisoners who did not commit war crimes. As the human rights activist explained, international law, in particular the Second Additional Protocol to the Geneva Conventions, requires a broad amnesty to be applied to participants in armed conflicts such as the one that is de facto going on in the North Caucasus in order to achieve a speedy peaceful settlement.
With politicians on "you"
In addition to legal recognition, there has always been a problem with the informal status of political prisoners in prison.
IN late XIX century, a certain set of “political” privileges developed in royal prisons, partly due to the fact that among them there were many representatives of privileged classes. We are talking mainly about hard hard labor: political prisoners were almost not involved in them, they were often kept separately from criminal prisoners; the special status was emphasized by the tradition of addressing political prisoners as “you”.
In Soviet Russia, the regime of special political isolation cells in the 1920s was considered softer than in other institutions. There was a so-called political ration, which exceeded the official food allowance for ordinary prisoners, sometimes twice as much, and many other concessions, depending on each isolation cell.
Of course, during Stalin's repressions, after the “Great Terror” of 1937-1938, political prisoners lost their special status - political prisoners and criminals began to be kept in the same camps on general conditions. However, in the “vegetarian” times after the Khrushchev Thaw, when dissidents from the Moscow and Leningrad intelligentsia became the main political prisoners in the country, the situation of political prisoners improved again. The attention of the foreign public was often focused on their fates, and the administration of prison institutions generally treated such wards with care.
Everyone who has encountered the modern Russian penitentiary system unanimously says that the article of the Criminal Code under which a person was sent to a colony has practically no effect on relationships with fellow inmates.
The founder of the human rights project “Union of Prisoners,” Maxim Gromov, who served three years in a colony for the National Bolsheviks’ seizure action in 2004, noted that there is no trace left of the respect for political leaders that was observed during the times of Soviet dissidents. People who were imprisoned in Soviet camps, according to Gromov, are surprised when they are told about the order and attitude towards politics in the current Russian colonies. Nowadays, the status of a person behind bars is more important for employees of the administration of colonies or pre-trial detention centers. But they, Gromov explained, have one goal in relation to their wards, criminal or political - to break, subjugate the person so that he no longer wants to return to the cell. Methods for each case are selected individually. “When it comes to politics, the task is to convince you and those around you: your beliefs are worthless, you are an ordinary criminal who, at best, has done something bad out of delusion,” Gromov summarized the experience of dozens of National Bolshevik prisoners.
For the inhabitants of the prison world, regardless of the reasons why a person ends up in prison, he must demonstrate a set of qualities necessary to be recognized as a “decent prisoner.”
There is no unambiguous approach, Gromov made a reservation, and often a political prisoner, whose fate is the focus of public attention, may find himself in a conflict situation, become a victim of provocations, extortion, threats and bullying. However, any prisoner in domestic correctional institutions is not immune from this.
As for the problem of recognition and non-recognition of a particular prisoner as a political prisoner, the author of the “Union of Prisoners” project notes that in this regard there are indeed many conflicting points of view in each specific case. When it comes to prisoners of conscience, who, according to the general belief, obviously did not commit crimes or were punished by the court disproportionately to the offense committed, the situation is more or less clear to all human rights activists.
Nevertheless, Gromov draws a line between a politically motivated crime and a political struggle, even one involving violence.
Image of Irish Republican Army member Bobby Sands. While imprisoned, he was elected to the British Parliament. Sands died in prison while on hunger strike for the rights of IRA prisoners.
travelsquire.com“The preamble to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights says: human rights must be protected by the rule of law, so that he is not forced to resort as a last resort to rebellion against tyranny and oppression,” Gromov recalled. Thus, in his opinion, those who are accused, among other things, of killing law enforcement officers, in spite of everything, can be classified as political prisoners, since they took up arms because they had no other opportunity to defend their rights.
Former prisoner of colony No. 3 in Lgov Kursk region Dmitry agrees with: it all depends on how you position yourself. “There are people who are difficult to live with on their own - it’s difficult for them. It will also be difficult for that prisoner who in every possible way emphasizes his special status and the difference between him and the rest of the convicts. For someone who understands that if he ended up in a colony, then he is like everyone else, everything should be fine,” Pronin told Gazeta.Ru. The head of the human rights project Gulagu.net agrees with this opinion: “You can be political or, like me, economic, but the main thing is not the article, but what kind of person you are. We must, of course, take into account the specifics of life in a colony, but in principle, if you are a normal person, then there shouldn’t be any special problems.” At the same time, the human rights activist noted, politicians are often helped by their popularity in the wild and close media attention. The central office of the Federal Penitentiary Service or the regional department of the penitentiary service sends instructions to the colony to take care of the prisoner. If something happens to him, it will be a big scandal and an inevitable trial, albeit, as often happens, a formal one.
As a rule, in the colonies they treat even militants from the Caucasus quite calmly, assured Pronin, who spent 11 months in jail with someone convicted of attacking employees: “His name was Dzhambek, he was convicted when he was a minor, so he received less than the rest of the gang members - 4 years of strict regime. He sat calmly, practically none of those with whom he was in the cell and the detachment felt hostility towards him. There was only one prisoner who tried not to communicate with him: this man fought in Chechnya, you can understand him.”
Journalist, former press secretary former president Tatarstan Mintimera Shaimieva and a prisoner of the Digitli colony settlement near Kazan, where he was sent for slandering the head of the republic and inciting hatred or hostility towards government officials, noted that for ordinary prisoners, political ones are quite useful people: “I have seen this from my own experience. I have a legal education - I helped many people write complaints and other documents. They treated me like a useful person."
It is more difficult for political prisoners in pre-trial detention centers.
Investigators or representatives of other law enforcement agencies, who are tasked with bringing this or that “unreliable person” to justice at any cost, use the operatives of the detention centers or ordinary employees to put pressure on the person under investigation.
They, in turn, give instructions to suppress the person with the help of prisoners close to the administration. Classic example- how an anti-fascist was held in the Mozhaisk pre-trial detention center, who was involved in the pogrom of the Khimki administration and was accused of hooliganism, but was ultimately acquitted. “I am sure that in the Mozhaisk pre-trial detention center, deliberate provocations were used against me on the part of prisoners collaborating with the administration. During the first days of my stay in the detention center, the staff took my phone from my cell. A cellmate close to the administration blamed me for this. He demanded disproportionate money as compensation. There was a fight: they even threatened me with sharpening. Investigators and operatives who visited the pre-trial detention center periodically hinted that they could constantly create such problems,” Gaskarov said.
Those involved in the “Bolotnaya case” who wrote to Gazeta.Ru have not yet encountered such problems. According to Yaroslav Belousov, the prisoners’ cellmates do not consider them guilty: “The local people do not consider us guilty even in comparison with themselves, despite the fact that each person tries to justify himself internally.” “The special attitude of cellmates manifests itself only in the form of increased interest, sometimes in the expression of sympathy,” said Mikhail Kosenko. But he emphasized that, in principle, there are few political prisoners, so ordinary prisoners have not yet developed a special attitude towards this kind of prisoners.
