"To return, it is worth living"

Letters of Russian Political Economics to the editorial office of Novaya Gazeta

In December 2023, the New Gazeta in its regular mailing list for political prisoners sent a letter to Dmitry Muratov*, in which he asks important questions about politics, life, and faith.

We publish answers to him political prisoners. It seems to us that these are important evidence of life in captivity. A lot of letters came, all of them were written by hand, and their decryption was a difficult task, so we were able to prepare this publication later than initially calculated. Unfortunately, some answers of our interlocutors about the election of the Russian president are somewhat outdated, but they are very indicative even of the post -fact. We understand that our correspondence friends wrote to us, not having the opportunity to edit their letters, to rewrite or finish them. Therefore, we conducted minimal editing of letters, so that their meaning becomes more clear to readers. We are forced to hide part of the written for censorship reasons - so as not to aggravate the position of the authors. Smileys drawn by hand prisoners, as well as some signs that have semantic meaning in written speech, but absent on the computer keyboard, we replaced with the most suitable words or punctuation.

LETTER

"To return, it is worth living"

Krisevich Pavel Olegovich born in 2000

• Artist, cornist. Sentenced to 5 years in a colony of general regime under Art. 213 h. 2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (hooliganism using objects used as weapons) for performance on Red Square. Deprived of freedom on June 11, 2021. Located at the stage.

“In my plan, everything somehow smoothed out. In the first year, rumors were seething, everyone only discussed the prospects, now it went to the backyard of everyday life. Yes, guys that they have received 8 years on the 228th, as if it is overwhelmed, no matter how much they bring that even 8 years in the camp it is better to perish in the chaos of the accidents that Remarck wrote about, they insist on their own. Although we have dozens of stories from the camps from those who after ** managed to thunder again. But I will say this: this topic with a contract in a pre -trial detention center is not so imposed. Once they came, recorded those who wanted to, they pulled someone to the commission-and that’s it.

About 10 books for an e -book.

1. “Endless joke” by David Foster, which, if desired, can be read and disassembled.

2. "Telluria" Sorokin, even if it has been written for a long time.

3. The “hail” of the Strugatsky, which is more likely that even locked up your own rules and not give up attempts to probe the available world, because, perhaps, even in the most skilled trap is the key to freedom.

4. “Shantharam” - simply because this book is in every camera, but not every camera has a Criminal Code.

5. The "source" Ain Rand, it helps to find the way to disclose talents and their implementation.

6. "Dark Tower" King. It’s just that in all 7 books of the cycle you can really drown with your head ...

7. "KGBT+" Pelevin, for interesting discussions about eternity and transhumanism.

8. Polyarinov’s “center of gravity”, ideology is curiously revealed in it and maybe even answers the question “Why did it all need this?”.

9. "Baudolino" IVF. It can help to figure out values.

10. And here I do not know. Well, maybe the Criminal Code or the Code of Criminal Procedure in the last version, since they are sometimes not allowed through the parcel. It hurts me directly to watch how people are sitting with the Code of Criminal Procedure from May 2021 and trying to compare something from there with the present.

As for the election, I found elections to the State Duma in prison in 2021 and cheerfully ruined the ballot, this time I am waiting for a table with smiling operatives at the parade under the slogan “Family - The Party that should win”, Urnu and the booth. The most speaking voting form for the election of 2024 is a form for the accused.

About religion. Personally, I did not plunge into it stronger than before it was in the wild. And the longer I sit, the more people I see that suddenly they began to earnest believers, they begin to make prayers or bow in front of the icon, but they should go out of the wild or move into a camera where there are no believers, and they again behave not according to the canons. I remained the way it was, and the strength was always given to me not faith. More precisely, faith, but not religious. I share the church and God, maybe because of this, at some point, I did not go to the Orthodox Church, but to Lutheran Kirkh across the road. With the freedom that came from Protestant, I go through life. And if the role is to help those in need, to do good, to live culturally, then maybe it is thorough. As for the preaching of the world outside the temples, but even the patriarch preachs about the world, so what prevents the preaching outside the temple?

What supports me in difficult times in prison is the image of loved ones. For example, Lena, which leads my support group. And it also helps that life is in the wild, that people conduct their struggle, create, live, that there is not like here. And that even in order to return to this crucible of life, it is worth living. Yes, everyone decides how to live, but if you create life around him, like in prison, I am insanely sorry for you. ”

LETTER

"There are those who have a huge time"

Chebanov Dmitry Sergeevich born in 1977

• The creator of the telegram channel "What to do." The defendant of the criminal case of calls for riots during the elections to the State Duma in September 2021. Detained in September 2021. I was accused of declining to the riots during voting days in the elections (Article 212 of Part 1.1). Sentenced to 7.5 years in a general regime colony. Located in the FCU SIZO-4 Federal Penitentiary Service of Russia in Moscow

“Unfortunately, despite constitutional law, freedom of speech in our country is a dangerous trap for honest people. In this connection, I will have to (in my position) more restrainedly convey my thoughts.

We keep thanks to you, your support and your letters. Communicating with political prisoners, I came to the conclusion that we have two main problems: the first, main and most acute - this is the well -being and safety of our families. Almost each of us has a distress in distress, and we are not able to help them. The second problem is high -quality, professional assistance to lawyers. For many of us, the protection of the defense is represented by lawyers for their intended purpose, who sleep at the court hearings and absolutely do not delve into the essence of the matter. All this is very much demotivated and scared. But be that as it may, we hold on and believe that everything will definitely be fine!

You write about telegram-survey, in which the voices were distributed as follows: 64%-stop, 17%-continue. Personally, in 2.5 years in prison I met only one person who spoke phrases from the TV. It is definitely from the category of "successors." According to conversations with people from other cameras and prisons, they also came across one or two “sour” persons. Those who believe that they must be stopped, we can say, 99%. But there is a catch that needs to be explained: of which about 90% are partially believed in the TV. They consider the Americans the culprits of all our troubles.

There is a huge number of ignorant, illiterate people who themselves do not know what they want from life. They say that they will not voluntarily go there, but that if they say they “need” and send the agenda, they will have to go. There is another category of ZK that themselves write a statement with a request to pick them up “there”. At the same time, they do not want to go and believe that they need to be stopped, but they have personal circumstances - these are huge terms of imprisonment, mainly for crimes related to drug trafficking. “And there you can make normally and get rid of a criminal record.” There are a lot of such here - probably about half.

Regarding electronic books: this is very cool, a wonderful initiative, I fully support it and consider it useful for every prisoner. I believe that the basic literature should be legal: the Constitution, the Criminal Code, the Code of Criminal Procedure, the PVR, the decisions of the ATR Plenums with comments and explanations.

That I read. For entertainment - Victor Pelevin, all books. For self -development - R. Bandler and D. Grinder, M. Hall and B. Bodenhamer, M. Pelekhaty, Yu. Chekchurin, A. Gerasimov, N. Vladislavov, A. Kurpatov, John Kejo, Joe Dispenza, N.N. Taleb. For spiritual development - Osho, Kalu Rinpoche. For the general development that I would recommend: M. Zygar “The whole Kremlin’s army”, “all are free”, “the empire must die”, MB “Prison and Volya”, E. Schulman “Practical Political Science”, N. Machiavelli “Sovereign”, V. Frankl “Say the life“ Yes! ”, A. Rand“ Atlant Broken shoulders ”, Nelson Mandela“ Long Road to Freedom ”(autobiography, I read now). Books that I plan to read (I would like): A. Solzhenitsyn “The Gulag Archipelago”, E. Appletum “Gulag”, Freedom Letters “Non -Retail Words”; B. Akunin*“Auto-Graf”, M. Thatcher “The Art of Governance of the State”, Lee Kuan Yu “From the third world-to the first. The history of Singapore ”, R. Green“ 48 laws of power ”, A. Rand“ Capitalism ”.

Regarding the book with stories about modern trials: I would have read it with great interest and would like to have it in my personal library. Our (we are 11 people, we go through the case of the TG channel “What to do!”) The trial is hardly unique, but it is precisely interesting, both from the point of view of neglect of the legality, falsification of documents and facts, hypocrisy and lies, and from the point of view of history. Since 2021, we have been kept in prisons, the process itself lasts more than a year, and it has been closed from the public, 50 meetings have already taken place. On January 23, 2024, we will utter our last words, and we will be appointed a meeting of the announcement of the sentence. I hope the verdict will be announced openly. ( The verdict was announced on April 5, 11 defendants received from 5 to 8 years in prison. Dmitry Chebanov was sentenced to 7 years and 6 months of the colony. - Ed. ).

About the election. I believe that in our country this institution is completely destroyed, it is absent. But be that as it may, you should not give up and give up in any case. Our common future, the future of our children are now creating all we are all, and we are all responsible for this. ”

LETTER

"I believe that we are incomprehensible"

Commanders Sergey Eduardovich born in 1995

• Sentenced to 6.5 years in colony of general regime under Art. 205.2 h. 2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (justification of terrorism), Art. 282 h. 2 (excitement of hatred), Art. 319 (insulting a representative of the authorities), Art. 354.1 hours 4 ("Rehabilitation of Nazism"). In captivity from October 5, 2021. The term of IK-4 of the Federal Penitentiary Service of Russia in the Tver region is serving.

“I am not an adviser, not a reader. But. I would say that Bradbury, Nietzsche, Frankl should definitely be. A mandatory mixture of genres: fiction, and reality, and psychology.

About your book with our words - I agree, good. I am not very religious about religion, because these are rules and instructions that must be observed, and believe in someone. I just believe in something higher that is incomprehensible to us. The fact that/who supports me in the most gloomy minutes is my only relative, my mother, my cat Milka. My childhood and my relatives, who were gone (dad, grandmother). Of the songs, I am supported by the group Breyking Benjamin, Z0 seconds to Mars, Lindsay washing. I have been listening to them since 2009, 2005 and 2013, respectively. Also Moses Conkas, Lee Oscar, with whom even personally managed to communicate a little bit. And my favorite performers are Sergey Tabachnikov (since 2009 I have been listening, I even managed to work with him for a year and a half) and Dmitry Plyaev, my friend.

What else inspires and supports me - good deeds of people. It is actions, not words. Actions are determined by a person. Good is mine. "

LETTER

"I want to get out of here more enlightened"

Chubukov Ilya Alexandrovich born in 1994

• It is accused of arson of the light composition Z of Belgorod. The criminal case was instituted under Art. 214 of the Criminal Code (on vandalism based on political and ideological hatred). He was detained in September 2023. According to him, he was tortured. Located in the FCU SIZO-3 of the Federal Penitentiary Service of Russia in the Belgorod Region.

“As for electronic books: in our pre-trial detention center I heard that someone was given an e-book, but it was once. My interests on books are quite rare, most likely. I want to read books related to the IT industry. I did not like to read books. Probably, I don’t want to read novels, science fiction, so as not to score my head. But there is a craving for educational books. I want to get out of here a little more enlightened in the field of programming. I understand that my requests are narrowly focused. I think that in order to meet the needs of most, electronic books should include more than 100 books sorted on the subject. But textbooks in English and mathematics would be appropriate for everyone. I’m waiting for a parcel with the book “Java - the state of the language and its prospects” from Urvanov. How it comes, I will not need anything else.

Regarding people who are ready to replace the term with a contract: while I can’t answer in a pre -trial detention center and objectively, but it is felt that no more than 15% in total. And no more than 30%, who has a term higher than 7 years.

By 99% I am sure that nothing new will happen in the elections. ”

Prepared by Olga Allenova

* Entered the Russian authorities in the register of "foreign regents".