Translated material
Extremism without borders
Criticism of officials may become illegal
Yesterday's Duma day was rich in initiatives that were “anti-democratic” from the point of view of the opposition and human rights activists.To begin with, a bill was adopted in the second reading prohibiting parties from including members of other parties on their lists for elections at all levels. And leaving the party, accordingly, will cost the deputy his mandate. Deputies also approved in the second reading a bill to abolish the “against all” column in federal elections. True, the head of the Central Election Commission, Alexander Veshnyakov, said yesterday that this column may still remain on the ballot for the regional elections, which will be held on October 8. Regions are given the right to cancel or leave this column themselves. Mr. Veshnyakov also expressed concern that the absence of a candidate “against everyone” could significantly reduce turnout in federal elections.
But the most “anti-democratic” action of the Duma was the adoption in the first reading of amendments to the current law “On Combating Extremist Activities.” This significantly expands the list of acts that fall under the definition of extremist. Among them: obstruction of the activities of government bodies and officials, “combined with violence or the threat of its use”; public slander of an official (read: criticism of the authorities); committing actions aimed at violating the rights and freedoms of citizens, as well as harm to their health and property in connection with their beliefs, race or nationality, as well as religion and social affiliation; creation of audiovisual, printed and other materials containing signs of extremist activity, etc.
The authors of the bill were deputies of almost all factions, including the Communist Party of the Russian Federation and Rodina. Nevertheless, at the plenary session, the communists and Rodinsky vehemently protested against the bill, arguing that it could become a weapon in the fight against the political opposition.
Member of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation Nikolai Kondratenko, for example, spoke about the “painful issue”: “It is impossible not to see that the Russians are completely excluded from governing the state. Will the Russian attempt to restore the status quo be considered extremist? And can criticism of Zionism as a political movement be considered extremism?”
One of the authors of the document, United Russia member Igor Barinov, assured Comrade Kondratenko that “everything depends on the form in which these sentiments manifest themselves.” Oleg Shein from Rodina called the bill “elastic,” allowing it to ban ideology, for example, Marxism, which assumes that relationships between people are built depending on their attitude to property. Communist Anatoly Lokot asked: “Where is the guarantee for the further activities of the opposition? Or are you seeking to eliminate it as a class?”
When all the speeches from the factions were completed, United Russia member Pavel Voronin took the floor and called Rodina and the Communist Party of the Russian Federation “political bankrupts who have no ideas and exploit the theme of extremism and xenophobia.” This statement caused a friendly roar of indignation in the hall, but there was no place for return passes in the regulations. As a result, the bill was approved by 337 votes, and 75 deputies were against it.
At the same time, even the specialized committee on civil, criminal, arbitration and procedural legislation, having generally approved the concept of the document, recognized the need for its significant revision for the second reading. The conclusion, signed by committee chairman Pavel Krasheninnikov, states that the bill in its current version makes it possible to bring to justice a number of persons who are not directly related to extremist activities. These may include “organizations and individuals publishing books of historical, scientific and technical content about the armed forces of Germany or Italy of the 30s and 40s of the XX century, organizations or individuals showing films and plays about Hitler or Mussolini, individuals , producing appropriate elements of props for film studios and theaters, and others.”