Is a “phallic symbol” an insult to a government official?

On May 23, 2006, it became known that the prosecutor's office of the Ivanovo region opened a criminal case under Art. 319 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (“insulting a government official”) against the editor-in-chief of the online publication Kursiv, Vladimir Rakhmankov.

The case was initiated in connection with the publication in the issue of May 18, 2006 of the article “Putin as a phallic symbol of Russia,” which plays on the thesis of the president’s message to the Federal Assembly on the need to increase the birth rate in Russia. The article by V. Rakhmankov, among other things, contains the following statement: “And I thought that Russian President Vladimir Putin simply decided to turn into a phallic symbol of the country, delivering this semi-delirious message to the people and the federal assembly: be fruitful and multiply, otherwise the border there is no one to protect."

Already on May 19, 2006, investigators from the regional prosecutor's office arrived at the Kursiv editorial office with a resolution to initiate a criminal case, seized the editorial computers and sealed the premises. A search was also carried out in V. Rakhmankov’s apartment, during which the editor’s personal computer was seized.

On the same day, the provider providing services to Kursiv, without waiting for a court decision, under pressure from the prosecutor's office, removed Rakhmankov's article from the site.

On May 22, 2006, also without a court decision, the publication was closed, as follows from the message on the website, “the provision of services has been suspended due to arrears in payment.”

Representatives of the prosecutor's office claim that the criminal case was initiated on their initiative. A linguistic examination must decide whether the article contains insults to the president. At the same time, the legal procedure involves testimony in court by the victim himself, that is, Vladimir Putin.

V. Rakhmankov does not see corpus delicti in his article, since, in his opinion, only “swear words” can be considered an insult.

Two months ago, Vladimir Rakhmankov contacted the regional prosecutor’s office with a statement that he had been beaten in the regional administration for one of his articles.

On May 31, 2006, the international organization Reporters Without Borders issued a statement condemning the closure of Kursiv.

As stated in the document, the site was closed without a court decision as a result of pressure from local authorities.

The actions of the provider indicate that online publications in Russia are forced to work in an atmosphere of fear, the statement emphasizes.

Guseva L. The prosecutor’s office does not consider the president a phallic symbol // Kommersant. 2006. May 23.

Sources

• The prosecutor's office suspected the journalist of insulting the President of Russia // Lenta.Ru. 2006. May 23.
• "Reporters Without Borders" condemned the closure of the Ivanovo online newspaper // Grani.Ru. 2006. May 31.