Don't disturb!

Three seemingly unrelated stories reached me. The first story is comments from officials regarding car burnings. Deputy Head of the Information and Public Relations Department of the Central Internal Affairs Directorate Evgeniy Gildeev said literally the following: “The excitement that was created in the press last week is pushing not entirely adequate citizens to start arson... Therefore, we are trying to talk to all journalists and ask them to exaggerate this topic as little as possible, so as not to provoke potential arsonists.”

The capital's police clarified that the decision to sharply reduce the flow of official information was not made at the level of the Main Internal Affairs Directorate, but came from above. The chief state fire inspector in Moscow, Sergei Anikeev, believes that responsibility for the loss of personal vehicles lies only with the car owners themselves. The only preventive measure, in his opinion, is the duty of car owners.

The second story is that a group of National Bolsheviks, about 10 people, tried to break into the office of the Russian Railways OJSC building in Moscow at Novaya Basmannaya, building 2, but security detained them and handed them over to the police. The National Bolsheviks themselves claim that they entered the office of Russian Railways and even occupied the office of the head of the company, Vladimir Yakunin, and hung slogans from the windows in support of workers and trade union activists of the railways. However, according to the assistant to the president of Russian Railways, Alexandra Burataeva, the National Bolsheviks who broke into the building confused the entrance and the floor and did not get into the office of the head of Russian Railways.

And the third story is about how last night a fight broke out between “Caucasians and Muscovites” in the north-east of Moscow. This is already the third fight with a “tinge” of interethnic hatred, but the Moscow Main Internal Affairs Directorate says that no one fought in the capital tonight.

As RIA Novosti reports, citing a source in the capital's law enforcement agencies, five people were injured in a mass brawl in the north-east of Moscow tonight. A fight occurred at about 23.30 in Anadyrsky Proezd near the Babushkinskaya metro station; 15-20 young people took part in the fight. “Near the Yaroslavl railway, Caucasians and Muscovites fought in a parking lot. Metal rods and knives were used. As a result, five people were injured, three of them were hospitalized,” the agency’s source said. He noted that police officers who arrived at the scene detained several participants in the brawl and took them to the Babushkinsky police station. The rest of the hooligans fled and a manhunt is underway. “The cause of the fight and other details of the incident are being established,” said RIA Novosti’s interlocutor.

Now let's look for the connecting thread. It's simple. Today, officials can be asked uncomfortable questions. And sometimes you have to answer them. Perhaps reluctantly. Sometimes it’s not true. But they still have to answer. This is enshrined in the current Law on the Media: “ Article 38. The right to receive information: Citizens have the right to promptly receive through the media reliable information about the activities of government bodies and organizations, public associations, and their officials. State bodies and organizations, public associations, and their officials provide information about their activities to the media at the request of editors, as well as by holding press conferences, distributing reference and statistical materials, and in other forms.” Well, will you sing me a song about how these are purely journalistic problems? I hope you won't! And that’s when they told us: “Nonsense!”

In April of this year, people's deputies approved in the first reading amendments to the Law on Media, initiated by young United Russia deputy Robert Schlegel, allowing the closure of a publication for spreading slander. Any anti-corruption investigation, if these amendments are adopted, could lead to the seizure of the license from the media. However, Schlegel’s proposal was soon sharply criticized by the Public Chamber, and then by United Russia itself, represented by party leader Boris Gryzlov. The latter, however, admitted that the president vetoed the scandalous bill. But the situation with the president is still unclear. As soon as he suggests something like this, there are immediately smart big men who show with their words and actions that Dmitry Anatolyevich was mistaken, we will not focus on this, but will quietly correct everything. Here the entire Duma “United Russia” has again taken up amendments to the law on the media. Typically, without involving deputies from other factions. The meaning of the innovation is very simple - now there will be no problem with “extra information”. Simply because there will be no unnecessary information either. If you want a comment, please send a request to the appropriate department. The department will answer you something in ten days, not necessarily to your request, not necessarily on the merits. And if you publish unofficial information, you have yourself to blame.

That is, today you can DEMAND information, but the police department can only ASK journalists not to make waves. Under the amendments, everything will be the other way around. These guys will calmly do what they see fit. And we are told that they are so busy catching murderers that there are no resources to catch arsonists. They will tell us that there was no fight, but the victims themselves suddenly decided to take it and be patient. And there were no National Bolsheviks. And they were taken simply for some kind of hooliganism, it is unknown where it happened and how it ended. And if, God forbid, something serious happens, then? And then - look above. In fact, in all countries where the media have real freedom, this is what is needed so that officials cannot sleep peacefully if something happens. In our case, we will do everything so that they sleep peacefully. Without being distracted by the worries and troubles of citizens at all. Good night, gentlemen officials! At this time, citizens will graze their unfortunate cars at night...