In society

The historian Dmitriev was partially acquitted

April 6, 2018 Igor Yakovenko

On April 5, the judge of the Petrozavodsk City Court, on April 5, justified the historian Yuri Dmitriev in the criminal case of depraved actions in relation to a minor and the manufacture of children's pornography. However, Yuri Alekseevich was found guilty of illegal storage of weapons. The “weapon” in this case was called a fragment of a smooth -bore gun from which it is impossible to shoot. For this, the head of the Karelian branch of Memorial Dmitriev was sentenced to two and a half years of restriction of freedom. Given the time that Dmitriev has already served behind bars, he left three months.

One of the most scandalous affairs ended unexpectedly. Common meaning and legality defeated, albeit partially.

Prior to his arrest on 12/13/2016, historian and human rights activist Yuri Dmitriev was engaged in the compilation and publication of books in memory of victims of political repression in Karelia. In his expeditions, he discovered the largest burial of the innocently killed by the Chekists in the 30s and 40s in Sandarmokh and Red Bor. In addition to identifying the names of the victims and the compilation of their lists, Yuri Alekseevich planned to compile a “list of executioners”. And this clearly and predictably did not like the modern heirs of the executioners of the 30s-40s.

The human rights activist visited the district police officer. When Dmitriev was not at home, an unknown person visited his desk. After that, he was arrested on anonymous charges of depraved actions, the manufacture and distribution of children's pornography. It was about photographs of his adopted daughter. Such photos of naked babies can be found in any family album. The accusation of distribution fell off immediately, since Dmitriev was not registered on social networks and the investigation could not prove that he sent these photos somewhere or showed them to anyone.

In the actions of Judge Marina Nosova, there are actions expected, understandable and unexpected, not quite familiar to the Russian judge. A conviction for the storage of a rusty fragment of a gun, which can only be called a weapon if there is a great imagination, this is an expected act. It was clear to everyone, and Judge Nosova, that no one could shoot from this piece of rust from this piece of rust, which Dmitriev, which Dmitriev, could shoot. But the complete excuse of the historian Dmitriev in all respects would raise the question of the responsibility of those who started this disgusting farce and held a 62-year-old human rights activist behind bars for more than a year. So Judge Nosova simply made an act of solidarity in relation to colleagues on the repressive system, that is, acted in the logic of this system.

The acquittal of resonant case completely contradicts the logic of the system. In the comments on this event, journalists explain the act of Judge Marina Nosovskaya, including the international, who received the Dmitrieva case. The fact that many famous people who signed the appeal in his support stood up for the head of the Karelian Memorial. There was really noise in the press, including in the world press, and the names of famous people, including Voinovich and Ulitskaya, Mirzoev and Lungin, Bykov and Zvyagintsev, as well as many others, under the petition of Dmitriev’s defense stood.

However, it is worth recalling that the Russian repressive machine is usually not inclined to give in to the pressure from the outside. The resonance and support of famous people in the case of, for example, director Kirill Serebrennikov and producer Alexei Malobrodsky were no less, and perhaps more. But their system did not release, even despite the famous “fools”, said by Putin to the investigators who conducted Serebrennikov and a search in the theater.

Some signs that Dmitriev’s case may have surprises, began to manifest itself in January, when the historian was released on a recognizance not to leave. But, nevertheless, an acquittal of two main, most difficult and most absurd articles is perceived as a rare and therefore especially joyful news.

The joy of the justification of Dmitriev is quite significantly overshadowed by several circumstances. People remained unpunished people who arranged a human rights activist and really wanted him to die in prison. These citizens committed not just meanness, but various criminal offenses.

Anonymous, who wrote a deliberately false denunciation, committed a crime under Article 306 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. Perhaps he or someone else without knowing Dmitriev entered his apartment and began to delve into his computer. This is Article 139 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation: "Illegal penetration into the home." Investigators, who tried very hard to rot a human rights activist in prison, completely fall under Article 299 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation "Returning a deliberately innocent to criminal liability."

Even against the background of all other participants in this filthy history, the “experts” of ANO “Center for sociocultural examinations” are distinguished, who saw pornography in children's photographs and confidently claimed that Dmitriev made them to “receive unhealthy excitement”. This center, which is headed by a mathematics teacher Natalya Kryukova, is famous for its sociocultural “examinations”. They have 115 editions, which “socioculturalists” declared extremist materials. Among these publications are several scientific works written by doctors of sciences. The teacher of mathematics Kryukov conducted about 50 indictment "examinations" against Jehovah's Witnesses. Moreover, as guilt, they were charged with those words that are considered to be normal manifestations of religious feelings in the lips of representatives of the Russian Orthodox Church, including “extremism”, a mathematics teacher Kryukov considers the Bible citation. The actions of the “experts” of ANO “CSE” completely fall under Article 307 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation “knowingly false testimony of witnesses, expert’s conclusion ...”.

Nevertheless, the justification of Dmitriev is a great joy, despite all the circumstances that overshadowing it. And yet. Despite the possible lack of a direct connection between the efforts of those who fought for the justification of Dmitriev, and an acquittal, it cannot be excluded that this connection is still there. And this means that for each obviously innocent person who fell into the wheels of a Russian repressive system, we must fight. Here, indeed, “do what it should, and what will happen” ...

Photo: 1, 4. Russia. Petrozavodsk. April 5, 2018. The head of the Karelian "Memorial" Yuri Dmitriev (in the center) after the excuse for the appointment from the Petrozavodsk City Court. Igor Podgorny/TASS
2, 3. Russia. Petrozavodsk. April 5, 2018. Daughter of Yu.Dmitrieva Katerina Klodt and the head of the Karelian "Memorial" Yuri Dmitriev, after the excuse for an acquittal in the Petrozavodsk City Court. Igor Podgorny/TASS