[Radio Liberty: Programs: Human Rights]

Leading Vladimir Vedrashko

"All people are born free and equal in their dignity and rights. They are endowed with mind and conscience and should act in relation to each other in the spirit of the brotherhood." Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Vladimir Vedrashko: The formation of civil society, the life of human rights organizations, a legal culture - this is the circle of problems under discussion.

Some Russian human rights activists warn about the growth of dangerous trends in society - about new threats of human rights and civil freedoms. Other human rights activists hold a grant competition called "Your World outside the window" in order to support the education of human rights and tolerance culture in youth. Meanwhile, political scientists and historians continue to deal with the legacy of the "Black October" 1993. However, for the next issue of our program, we chose other topics.

So, the film festival. On October 1, 2003, in Moscow, in the Sakharov Museum, the International Festival of Documentary Films "Chechnya" was opened.

The first thing the organizers declared to reporters and the audience that the film center on Krasnaya Presnya, where, in accordance with the provisions of the signed agreement in advance, on October 2, 3 and 4, it was planned to conduct shows of films about Chechnya, refused the festival to provide the hall. The organizers of the festival in a difficult situation decided to show a film in the Sakharov Museum. The demonstration of the films began on October 1 at 13:00 by showing the film "Chechen Lullaby".

The lawyer, writer and coordinator of the anti -war club Anna Karetnikova followed the events at the Chechnya festival. I contacted her on the phone and at first asked to briefly tell about the anti -war club.

Anna Karetnikova: Anti -war club is a young organization, not even registered. But, unlike human rights organizations, we tried to make it managerial. In our anti -war activity, we are focusing on concerts, literary projects and on a wide informing of the public about what is happening in Chechnya.

As a club, we exist, I think, five months. Our project "Music against the war in Chechnya" was carried out this summer.

Vladimir Vedrashko: Why, in fact, did you choose this topic - anti -war movement, anti -war manifestations in art?

Anna Karetnikova: So anti -war themes or anti -war manifestations in art?

Vladimir Vedrashko: Are these things not related?

Anna Karetnikova: These are things, of course, interconnected. Our common culture, in fact, or its absence, allow the war to continue in Chechnya.

Vladimir Vedrashko: Now let's turn to the festival. Please tell us what kind of festival?

Anna Karetnikova: It was held in Japan, America, England. Moreover, in the last two cases, he was dedicated to the visit of the Russian president there. After that, it was held in Moscow. This is a thematic festival, prizes are not awarded, and films are shown, they are united by a common topic. The films had to talk about Chechnya.

Vladimir Vedrashko: Did they talk about Chechnya? And to whom did they tell? And what was the effect of this story in Japan, in America, Great Britain and Russia?

Anna Karetnikova: I must say that in Japan, America and Great Britain, of course, the festival attracted more attention than in Russia. Strange as it may seem, the scandal that occurred around the festival played into the hands of Moscow shows. That is, if he had not been, he probably should have come up with, because not only cinema lovers or people interested in Chechnya, but also fans of scandals came to the cinema. I mean the refusal of the movie center to provide the premises for impressions.

Did the festival have any influence? Yes, sure. Because a film is in any case a fact with which it is very difficult to argue. Whatever quality the films are, whatever their political coloring, orientation, political and other addictions of their creators, when they show you what is happening when they show you the dead, it’s difficult to argue with this. Therefore, the more people these films see, the more people, it seems to me, will be able to make their own opinion about what is happening. And this is the indisputable benefit of such a festival for Russia and, it seems to me, for civil society, for the formation of public opinion.

Vladimir Vedrashko: Please tell me, according to your estimates, how many spectators-for all the years of the Chechen war-have you watched anything on the film screen directly related to this war?

Anna Karetnikova: Unfortunately, if we are talking about Russia, I think there are few such people. We do not have Chechen cinema, we have practically ... No, we have a feature movie about the war, but it must be said, quite tendentially. As for documentaries, it has not yet caused a wide attention of the broad attention of the same layers of society, but only those who are interested in this problem. I am very sorry that this happens.

But now quite a few people are addressing us who ask if we can distribute these cassettes, festival films on disks, on cassettes, records. A lot of spectators in the regions would like to watch these cassettes, spread them.

Vladimir Vedrashko: Can you distribute them, can you replicate them?

Anna Karetnikova: We will try to do it. We will request all the materials in the Sakharov Center. It’s just that with such a number of appeals it would be strange not to do this.

Vladimir Vedrashko: What films did you personally make the most impression?

Anna Karetnikova: You know, I liked the film about Babitsky, oddly enough - "True Stories. The Babitsky War." There, for me personally, the image of Grozny in anticipation of the assault personally seemed to me, such an apocalyptic image of a dead city. This is probably my most vivid impression.

Vladimir Vedrashko: Anna Karetnikova, lawyer, writer and in the public field, were told by phone from Moscow - the coordinator of the anti -war club.

I will name several more tapes that were presented at the Chechnya festival: “attempt on Russia”, director - Jean -Sharl Denier, production - France; "Terror in Moscow", director - Dan Reed, Great Britain; The "Chechen Lullaby" directed by Nino Kirtadze, France.

The story that you will now hear is completely ordinary. And this despite the fact that from the point of view of mercy, humanism and observance of human rights, it reflects absolutely barbaric reality. You will hear two brothers, Vitaly and Valery Aslanyan. Their voices are squeezed, and the words are hasty, crumpled, because the life of these people turned out to be suppressed and crumpled. And no one can help them yet.

Let's at least listen to their story. Correspondent Lada Ladeneva from Pyatigorsk.

Lada Ledeneva: Two 32-year-old twin brother, Vitaliy and Valery Aslanyan, refugees from Baku live on the streets of Pyatigorsk. They moved to Pyatigorsk in 1988. The father died during the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict, the mother died later. After graduating from construction vocational school number 5 in the village of Inozemtsevo with a specialty of plasters, we got a job in one of the city construction organizations.

On April 10, 1992, Vitaly received a severe injury - a brick showered at the construction site from the top. As a result, concussion, later - meningitis. However, in his documents on the disability of the second group, the wording "production injury" for an unknown reason was replaced by a "general disease". Valery had to quit the construction to take care of his brother. In addition, the progressive heart disease did not allow him to do hard work.

For 5 long years, Vitaly still managed to put on his feet. Meanwhile, the management of a construction company decided to evict brothers from the hostel.

Says the head of the public organization of assistance to refugees and forced immigrants Olga Plykin.

Olga Plykin: The situation is this: they were evicted by the decision of the Pyatigorsk City Court of November 2002 from the hostel on Matveeva Street, in which they lived for 10 years, since 1991, even more. They were inhabited to this hostel, as they worked in the construction department of finishing work number 25, they had concluded contracts all the time, since 1991, from LLC Promzhilstroy.

In 2002, Promilstroy filed a lawsuit with a claim for eviction, and they were evicted without the provision of another dwelling. Disabled people cannot be evicted without the provision of another dwelling. And therefore, the solution, in my opinion, is illegal.

Now we are helping to draw up a supervisory complaint against this decision, since we could not do it before: the brothers did not contact us, we did not know about their existence and did not encounter their problem.

Lada Ledeneva: In March, deep snow was still lying on Pyatigorsk streets. However, the owner of the company adjusted the truck to the hostel, in which the twin brothers put their belongings, and unloaded them right at the city stadium. The brothers spent the rest of the winter on the street - first in one place where, breaking the trees and inciting bonfires, for which they were beaten more than once, and as a result were expelled by local residents. Then in another area. Later they moved to the safer center of Pyatigorsk.

For many months of vagrancy and ordeal, they made themselves felt: the brothers began to progress chronic diseases, nervous tick appeared, long beards have grown up, clothes were fed to shreds. You do not need to be a doctor to understand: today both are in a state of nervous and physical exhaustion.

Says Vitaly Aslanyan.

Vitaliy Aslanyan: I worked in the Su-25, we did, built refrigeration chambers at the Pyatigorsk meat processing plant. In this area, I received a injury that entailed not only mental disorders, but also a completely body disorder, I have already lost the ability to work. After six months to hospitals ... I suffered a second -degree brain contusion, almost barely survived. That is, I probably overcoming this period of my life, practically death was prescribed to me already.

Lada Ledeneva: says Valery Aslannyan.

Valery Aslanyan: Six months in Pyatigorsk were on the street, almost six months. In fact, according to the documents we were evicted, we are tormented for six months. Either they were on Gorapost, then on the street the Kuchur were located, dry trees broke. That is, there were dry branches there could be broken, we broke, warmed up, somehow survived, and experienced in the winter there.

Lada Ledeneva: To date, the brothers have neither housing, no work, nor registration, nor Russian citizenship, no medical policy. And going to various bureaucratic authorities convinced them that there is no hope for any civil rights either.

- My brother turned to the administration of the city of Pyatigorsk, turned to the mayor of the city of Pyatigorsk, Yuri Viktorovich Vasiliev, so that he helped us, and he said: "We cannot help you with anything."

Lada Ledeneva: Olga Plykin continues.

Olga Plykina: Well, of course, they are without registration, their registration has ended, since they are evicted from the hostel. They refuse to disabled the second group to extend the medical insurance policy - are not right. Motivates by the fact that there is no registration at the place of residence. And a disabled person of the second group is an incapable group, so the situation is so complicated.

Lada Ledeneva: In the so -called social hotel in Pyatigorsk, specially organized for the temporary accommodation of citizens who fell into a similar situation, there was no place for the Aslanyan brothers. They say that the hotel is overhaul, equipped with expensive modern furniture, and you can get into it only by great form.

Olga Plykina: We contacted the Center for Social Services of the city of Pyatigorsk, asked them to temporarily place them in a social hotel at a social services center, but the leader did not agree to accommodation, Zinaida Grigoryevna, and recommended that we contact the boarding houses to place these people. This means that the problem was thus not resolved, and we have now sent a request with the help of the State Duma deputy Vyacheslav Vladimirovich Gameunov. An urgent telegram left the Duma to the Ministry of Labor and Social Development with a request to place these people temporarily. And the request was left - also a deputy of Gameunov - to the passport and visa department of the Ministry of the Interior with a request to exchange them a passport at the place of their actual residence without registration at the place of residence or at the place of stay.

Lada Ledeneva: Today, the brothers still live in the open air, not far from the Pyatigorsk Impulse Plant, on the side of one of the most lively routes of the city. They put all their things under a tree, where they spend the night, sitting on car tires and hiding from the rain with a piece of polyethylene. Both dream of getting a job. Surviving 800 rubles (Vitaly’s pension for disability) and the alms of random passers -by are becoming more and heavier.

They recall how much effort and labor was invested in the repair of the city meat processing plant and the surgical department of the local hospital, noisy celebrations in honor of which were held in Pyatigorsk about a year ago.

The authorities are no longer counting on the aid. The only hope is for lawyers for organizing assistance to refugees who today are trying to restore their lost rights by bit.

Vladimir Vedrashko: Radio correspondent Lada Lada Lada Lada Lada transmitted from Pyatigorsk.

Vladimir Vedrashko: Disabled people are a difficult topic for Russia. In many countries, disabled people feel equal among equals, they just have other means of transportation - wheelchairs. Well, after all, someone walks on foot, someone prefers to ride a bicycle, someone by car ... Anyone somehow moves and strives if possible, taking into account all the restrictions that exist on the roads and in buildings, to free movement.

"Free movement" is the name of the public organization of wheelchair users. And with her leader Elena Leontyeva, the Radio Liberty correspondent in Yekaterinburg Svetlana Tolmacheva talked.

Svetlana Tolmacheva: The public non -profit organization "Free Movement" has been working in Yekaterinburg for 5 years. It all started with the fact that Elena Leontyeva found out: on January 1, 1999, a new article is introduced into the federal law on social protection of disabled people, the essence of which is to make cities accessible to people with disabilities.

Elena Leontyeva gathered her friends, who, like her, move in a wheelchair, and went to officials from the administration of Yekaterinburg.

Elena Leontyeva: Knowing that an article of the law will soon appear that obliges all buildings, to make buildings accessible to the disabled, we came to the city hall with a proposal to work together, talk and find out what the city administration is specifically for us, for the most complex category of people.

And the city administration said: "What are you, everything is fine and amazing! We have a disabled municipal program, and there is a very great emphasis on the architectural environment." We said: "Show the results of your work."

Honestly, we did not like what we saw. It would seem that the money was spent, but the ramp, which is built, inconvenient, it is impossible to use it, the railing, which are made, of course, not what you wanted. And we said: "Let's work together. We are consumers of these products, so you must ask us and consult with us."

And therefore, we were invited to see the mayor, and we said: “Let us enter the commission on the acceptance of buildings and structures and see at the output what finished objects are obtained. And it will directly sign the acts: I like it, we don’t like it - we discuss.” And the mayor really supported our position. And we were introduced to the commission as an initiative group, they said: "Only you guys, register, then it will be easier for us to officially work with you." And we did it.

We went on and said: "Let's still watch projects at the stage of drawings." And we went to meet us and gave this layer.

For 5 years, we have been directly built into the system of power, relatively speaking, because we are a certain instance. We have created a commission of invalid experts, which works under the management of social policy under the contract, and our work is paid minimally from the city budget.

And having worked for six months, we said that the problem is not that the objects are not accepting, but the projects themselves are absolutely low -quality, since, it turned out, architects did not know anything about this topic, they don’t teach this to this.

Svetlana Tolmacheva: And then Elena Leontyeva decided to try herself as a teacher. In 1999, the Free Movement received a grant of the Soros Foundation. The money was spent on the creation of the first reference for designing in Russia, where Leontiev’s economist brought calculations and calculations for architects, how to build houses so that it was convenient for disabled people to live in them. At the same time, a specialized guide to "Available Yekaterinburg" came out. With these manuals, the chairman of the Free Movement came to the Ural Architectural Academy.

Elena Leontyeva: We held free consultations for architects there. And there were completely unique seminars at the Architectural Academy. And the students left after this seminar with such a deep conviction that, leaving the institute, it turns out that they do not know anything in architecture. Because if at the stage of the project you can’t think about the needs of disabled people, only then something with the building cannot be done. And they already had ready-made diplomas, and they tried to do at least something else to do at least. Ну, это была очень серьезная такая встряска для Архитектурной академии.

Светлана Толмачева: Сейчас активисты "Свободного движения" участвуют в новом образовательном проекте, они отстаивают право инвалидов на совместное обучение в школах и вузах. Они считают, что в классе или в студенческой аудитории вместе с другими учащимися инвалид получит более качественное образование, чем на дому.

Чем выше будет интеллектуальный и профессиональный уровень человека с ограниченными физическими возможностями, тем больше у него будет шансов реализовать себя в обществе. В этом Елена Леонтьева убеждает директоров школ и ректоров вузов. С ней многие согласны. Но проблема все та же: общеобразовательные учреждения Екатеринбурга, как и любого другого города России, построены без учета требований инвалидов.

Как выяснилось, на пожелания инвалидов не всегда обращают внимания даже производители колясок. Елена Леонтьева говорит, что не все коляски одинаково удобны.

Елена Леонтьева: Мы хотим, чтобы в доступный город инвалиды ездили на удобной коляске. А то можно построить и пандусы, и лифты, и все, но инвалидов на улицах города не прибавится, потому что не будет решена задача -- чтобы они сидели в удобных колясках и могли выходить за пределы своей квартиры.

Светлана Толмачева: Сегодня "Свободное движение" - одна из самых активных общественных некоммерческих организаций Екатеринбурга. По мнению Леонтьевой, чиновники из городской администрации согласились сотрудничать, потому что увидели в инвалидах не очередных просителей, а специалистов, которые пришли работать.

Елена Леонтьева: Когда мы говорим абсолютно здравые вещи и понимаем положение власти, мы находим взаимопонимание, нас слышат, это раз. Во-вторых, мы не требуем, мы говорим: "Дайте нам возможность работать или вместе с вами, или в некоторых вопросах за вас". То есть мы не декларируем какие-то вещи, а мы очень много работаем сами. И поэтому власть видит, что мы трудяги.

Мы действительно заинтересованы в результате. Мы знаем, ради кого и во имя чего мы работаем. Мы никогда не уйдем из этой "узкой плоскости", это наше, мы для этого живем.

Мы нормальные адаптированные люди. То, что мы сидим на коляске, - это быстро забывается, разговаривают как с обычными людьми.

И ребята, которые объединились, - это не люди, которые хотели что-то попросить или выклянчить. Это - люди, которые хотели работать, помогать власти.

Светлана Толмачева: Председатель общественной некоммерческой организации Елена Леонтьева не стремится объединить всех инвалидов-колясочников - оказалось, что это вредит работе. Для нее главное, чтобы каждому, кто хочет помогать "Свободному движению", нашелся подходящий проект.

Елена Леонтьева: У нас такое законодательство хитрое: вот сделаем 2 тысячи человек - и надо будет в налоговую носить ксерокопии документов каждый год (это достаточно затратно), собрания проводить. Такие правила игры, поэтому официально у нас 4 человека. Как мы зарегистрировались, так они у нас официально и есть.

И мы работаем по принципу не то что собрали людей, дали коробку конфет, что-то один раз дали в руки, - это нам неинтересно. То есть, у нас есть конкретный проект - по этому проекту, например, работают вот эти люди. Начинается новый проект - подтягиваются другие люди.

Люди-то все одни и те же. Мы, инвалиды-колясочники, знаем друг друга в городе, можно сказать, очень хорошо. Но вот именно слово "член организации", оно как бы не работает. Мы работаем на системе опеки... ну, не опеки, а как бы вовлечения в нашу деятельность всех инвалидов, которых мы знаем. Возникает какая-то ситуация - список у меня огромный, я все это собираю...

Очень сложно работать организации, не имея постоянного офиса. Это очень серьезная проблема, тем более зима, когда доступность, транспорт - все очень проблематично. Семь месяцев зимы в Екатеринбурге - это большие сложности. И еще с финансированием - сложности. Мы же все делаем на энтузиазме. Редкие гранты, которые мы получаем, они нас подпитывают, но дальше-то они заканчиваются - и мы все равно работаем, потому что нам это надо, это в наших интересах.

Но теми благами, которые мы создаем, пользуется весь город. Когда мы создаем жилые дома, в которых изначально построены пандусы, широкие лифты, широкие двери в туалет и на балкон, то женщины с детскими колясками, которые всегда жили и будут жить в этом доме, я думаю, вспомнят нас очень хорошим словом. И те пониженные бордюры, которые при благоустройстве сейчас везде строятся, удобные магазины, которые абсолютно всем удобны, с перилами, с пандусами, - они же всем удобны, поэтому мы работаем на весь город реально, а не только на инвалидов-колясочников.

Светлана Толмачева: Елену Леонтьеву знают не только в Екатеринбурге. О том, как сделать городские улицы и здания доступными для инвалидов, она рассказывала в Ульяновске, Тольятти, Ростове-на-Дону и Москве. По ее мнению, только сами инвалиды могут изменить окружающую их действительность, ведь именно им в первую очередь не хватает свободного движения.

Владимир Ведрашко: Рассказывала Светлана Толмачева, корреспондент Радио Свобода в Екатеринбурге.

Пример организации "Свободное движение" показывает, что многие проблемы могут решаться и решаются, многие трудности могут преодолеваться и преодолеваются, когда к ним приложены терпение, настойчивость, доброжелательность и взаимное уважение участников общественного диалога.