Andrey Vasilevsky. It had that effect

It had that effect
Andrey Vasilevsky

Publication date: February 20, 2004

The most original point of view on the latest unfortunate events in the northern capital was expressed by former vice-governor Anna Markova:

“Today in St. Petersburg, for example, if not with the approval, then with the connivance of the authorities, under the slogans of supporting the president and the governor, a real campaign is taking place to incite ethnic hatred. It is clear that the organizers of this campaign are “playing”, doing it “for fun” in order to in order to fulfill the task and not allow Markov into the State Duma at the by-elections, the flag is in their hands, but it is impossible to engage in nationalistic corruption of the population for the sake of achieving a local and insignificant goal on a general scale. Do you know that pogrom sentiment is growing in the country? Last year, in order to “cover up” Markova, you brought fascist youths to the central streets of the city. The other day, skinheaded teenagers killed a nine-year-old Tajik girl. What is the connection between these events? at a time when the governor is horrified by this crime on television, openly anti-Semitic leaflets are openly distributed in the 207th electoral district with a photograph of a pretty idiot candidate with major epaulets and the slogan “Let’s help Putin restore order”..."

I really want to ask: “what is the connection between these events?”

Was a Tajik girl killed to “prevent Markova from entering the State Duma in the by-elections” ?

Maybe Jewish graves were desecrated for the same reason?

The political egocentrism of the candidate for the State Duma is quite understandable.

And even forgivable.

And it’s unlikely that Anna Markova literally meant this .

It just happened that way.

Last Thursday in Moscow, a jury found three accused in the case of a pogrom at the Yasenevo market in 2003 guilty, “but deserving of leniency,” and two accused not guilty.

Commenting on this event, Mark Yaloman rightly writes : “No matter how hard you strain your imagination, you cannot imagine a dozen randomly selected Muscovites as Nazi fans.”

And literally right there: “The day before the landmark verdict, the Russian Jewish Congress sent out a press release to editorial offices with a call to “call fascism fascism.” The jury - the fairest court in the world - responded to this call with a verdict.”

Not everything is clear here.

What grounds, in fact, are there for considering this court verdict to be a response specifically to this press release ?

Were the jurors familiar with REC's appeal?

Hardly.

What grounds are there at all for considering the verdict of this jury to be an ideological verdict?

The criminal court, in essence, does not have the right to make any ideological verdicts.

In the dock were five specific citizens of the Russian Federation, accused of specific crimes under specific articles of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.

A perfect, ideal justice system is impossible - nowhere and never.

This is what we must proceed from.

The investigation was unable to present such undoubted evidence that would convince at least seven of the twelve jurors of the guilt of the two accused.

This means that these citizens are innocent in this case.

And at first glance, the odious “they are guilty, but they deserve leniency” is not so terrible, because again it refers to specific people , and not to fascism .

In the aforementioned RJC press release we read: “The Russian Jewish Congress is convinced that today, when it comes to the murder of children, the time has come to call a spade a spade. Fascism must be called fascism, and those responsible for murders on ethnic grounds and organizing pogroms must be punished as nationalists, and not as “everyday hooligans.”

The press release may have been written in a hurry; there was no time for style.

Don't know.

But the word is said: “punished as nationalists.”

Crimes for which, in principle, someone can be punished criminally, are listed in the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.

There is no such article in the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.

Organizing mass riots and pogroms is a crime.

Inciting national and religious hatred is a crime.

Murder is a crime.

Murder on ethnic grounds is a crime.

And “nationalism” is not a crime.

(But it was, it was for decades - they were punished for “nationalist activities”, among other things.)

I hope that in my country no one will ever be judged “as a nationalist.”

I re-read the last sentence and left it.

That's what happened.