The investigative unit of the Internal Affairs Directorate of the Amur Region brought charges under Article 214 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (“Vandalism”) against the secretary of the regional committee of the Amur Communist Youth Union (KSM) Andrei Dugin. According to investigators, Mr. Dugin damaged the Arc de Triomphe, installed in 2005 in Blagoveshchensk. The building is a copy of an architectural monument built in 1891 in honor of Tsarevich Nikolai Romanov’s visit to the city. As Kommersant was told in the investigative unit of the Amur Regional Internal Affairs Directorate, the leader of the Amur Komsomol members Andrei Dugin was charged under Article 214 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (“Vandalism”). According to investigators, he was one of those who desecrated the inscriptions
The triumphal arch, installed in 2005 in Blagoveshchensk, is a copy of an architectural monument built in 1891 in honor of Tsarevich Nikolai Romanov's visit to the city. On the vault of the arch were installed icons of St. Nicholas the Passion-Bearer and the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Let us recall that on the evening of March 11, 2006, the inscriptions “No to the bloody Tsar” and drawings with communist symbols appeared on the monument. Private security officers detained four young people, among whom was the secretary of the regional committee of the Amur Communist Youth Union (KSM) Andrei Dugin.
The damage caused to the monument was estimated at 190 thousand rubles. Taking into account the public outcry, a criminal case was immediately opened under Part 1 of Article 167 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation (“Intentional destruction or damage to someone else’s property”), but in the end it was reclassified under Article 214, and the leader of the ACSM became the only accused.
“The investigation lasted four months due to the fact that they were looking for evidence and witnesses for a long time,” explained the head of the investigative unit of the Amur Region Internal Affairs Directorate, Yuri Levchenko. “In general, in my memory, this is the first such case that will be brought to court.” Investigators have no doubt that the case materials will be transferred to the magistrate's court at the end of June. However, Andrei Dugin does not agree with the accusation: “The examination did not confirm my involvement in the desecration of the arch, so law enforcement agencies were forced to look for other evidence,” he told Kommersant.
In response to the accusation, the Blagoveshchensk city committee of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation issued an appeal, which states that “having discovered its complete failure in an honest, democratic struggle, mired in corruption and lawlessness, the government resorted to its favorite method - criminal prosecution of the communist opposition.” The communists believe that the security forces are trying to discredit them in response to numerous rallies aimed against increasing tariffs for housing and communal services.
PAVEL KOSHELENKO, Blagoveshchensk

Kommersant (Khabarovsk) No. 108 dated 06/17/2006

Komsomol member accused of vandalism