From politics

Ella Pamfilova is leaving the post of head of the Presidential Council for Promoting the Development of Civil Society Institutions and Human Rights. She herself explains to the press that the decision is long overdue and that she intends to radically change her field of activity in the future; she no longer intends to engage in politics or work in the civil service. She recommended economist Alexander Auzan, currently a member of the Council, as a successor. Auzan said that the corresponding proposal should come from the Kremlin, but so far no one has spoken to him.

Human Rights Commissioner Vladimir Lukin and members of the Council, head of the Moscow Helsinki Group Lyudmila Alekseeva, economist Irina Yasina, suggested that President Dmitry Medvedev may not accept Pamfilova’s resignation. However, Pamfilova herself states that she “has already decided everything for herself.” Later it became known that Medvedev accepted her resignation. As his press secretary Natalya Timakova told RIA Novosti, “unfortunately, this topic has already arisen more than once.”

It is no secret that Pamfilova, as the face of the Council, often stood in the way of particularly active pro-Kremlin youth. This is what happened when young people, imagining themselves as guardians of veterans of the Great Patriotic War, persecuted journalist Alexander Podrabinek for his article in the Daily Journal “As an anti-Soviet to anti-Soviet people...” . The other day, the “Nashi” movement decided to sue Pamfilova - the “Nashi” demanded that she refute the allegations that they burned books. Pamfilova made this statement after the installation “You are not welcome here” appeared in the camp for correct youth “Seliger-2010,” where council member Lyudmila Alekseeva was depicted in a Nazi helmet. Meanwhile, some members of the Council issued a statement condemning the installation as “a moral monstrosity and a challenge to society.” They noted that “this is happening in front of thousands of young people under the auspices of the state and with funds from the federal budget. And it indicates a catastrophic failure in the work for which the Federal Agency for Youth Affairs is responsible with the support of the Ministry of Sports, Tourism and Youth Policy of the Russian Federation.” “For us, undoubtedly,” write the authors of the statement, including Irina Yasina, head of the “Civic Assistance” movement Svetlana Gannushkina, director of the Institute of Human Rights Valentin Gefter, president of the Center for the Development of Democracy and Human Rights Yuri Dzhibladze, head of the National Anti-Corruption Committee Kirill Kabanov, chairman of the presidium Council on Foreign and Defense Policy Sergei Karaganov, coordinator of the public movement "Citizen and Army" Sergei Krivenko, retired judge of the Constitutional Court Tamara Morshchakova, director of the Center for Anti-Corruption Research and Initiatives "Transparency International - Russia" Elena Panfilova, president of the Glasnost Defense Foundation Alexey Simonov, that: firstly, with the knowledge of the official curators of this project, open public rudeness is allowed against those who protect victims of tyranny, defend the rights of citizens, and expose their violators. Thus, young people, protected by high departments, are brought up in a cynical attitude towards what is proclaimed in the Russian Constitution (Article 2); secondly, in a similar way, the state cultivates aggressive radical sentiments among young people, although the demonstration of Nazi symbols is qualified by current legislation as a manifestation of extremism and an offense; thirdly, departmental educators of such youth, pitting them against a deservedly respected person, must understand the damage they cause to the image of Russia and its top leadership. Lyudmila Alekseeva is known throughout the world as one of the founders of the Helsinki movement, who has been defending victims of arbitrary government for more than forty years. In our country, for an active and truly patriotic position in defending civil rights and political freedoms, such a person can be equated with Nazis.” The council members who signed the statement demand the immediate resignation of the head of the youth agency Vasily Yakemenko, the former leader of Nashi.

“Ours” (who, by the way, disowned the installation, saying that these were their younger comrades from the “Steel” movement) meanwhile rejoice at Pamfilova’s departure and hope that Alekseeva, as well as political scientist Dmitry Oreshkin, will follow her. By the way, dissatisfaction with the activities of Pamfilova and the Council as a whole was expressed above - directly on July 29, that is, the day before her announcement of resignation from her post, the need for Pamfilova’s resignation was announced by the young ideologist of United Russia, Alexei Chadayev. He was outraged that the Council was paying attention to the above-mentioned installation (which he called “a paper applique made by unknown freshmen in the forest on the border of the Tver region” - as if this did not appear in a camp organized with the support of a government department, but on hooligans were frolicking in a clearing somewhere), instead of reacting to a mass brawl in the Don children’s camp, “where the situation is on the verge of an interethnic conflict,” and “acts of vandalism and violence in Khimki with confrontation between various youth groups there” (interestingly, Chadayev meant the beating and unlawful detention of environmentalists, too, or just the attack of anti-fascists on the city administration building). In his microblog on the website Twitter.com, Chadayev went completely wild, calling the head of the presidential council an “agitprop star,” “a noble hysterical,” and a “stupid.”