Translated material
Protest without effect?
The program of Vladimir Kara-Murza "The City of Time" discusses the effectiveness of this form of protest.
Vladimir Kara-Murza: On Monday evening, in the center of Moscow, the police did not allow activists of the opposition coalition “Other Russia” to hold a rally of “disagreements” on the triumphal square in support of 31 articles of the Constitution, which guarantees the right to freedom of assembly. The "disagreements" gathered in the Square several times shouted the slogans "Freedom!" After 19.00, a small group of protesters tried to go out of the triumphal square to Tverskaya with shouts “shame!”, But they were quickly pushed back, several people were detained and delivered to the Tver UVD. One of the women tried to scatter leaflets, but they were quickly taken away from her. Among the detainees were the girls who, during the detention, were dragged along the asphalt. As soon as the opposition activists attempted to talk with reporters, they were immediately delayed by the police. In total, about 30 people were detained. About 30 more activists of another Russia hold a picket near the Tver police department with a demand to release associates. About how effective the protest form of marches of the disagreements is about this on the traditional day of shares of an irreconcilable opposition is being discussed with human rights activist Leo Ponomarev. What was the main goal of today's action?
Lev Ponomarev: I was not a participant, not only the organizer was not this action, but also a participant. I curled up in advance that I would come to this action, but I would be an observer, as it should be in connection with my human rights status. Lyudmila Mikhailovna Alekseeva, chairman of the Moscow Helsinsky group, did the same. Therefore, I watched.
Vladimir Kara-Murza: One of the organizers of the action, writer Eduard Limonov, co-chair of the “Other Russia” movement, was preparing in advance for today.
Eduard Limonov: To get to the triumphal, I specially left yesterday their house at 16, from the apartment. Immediately behind our machine, an outdoor surveillance machine was attached to the Black Ford. Then the silver Opel joined the Ford. We managed to tear ourselves from the outdoor and arrive at another apartment, call it so where I spent the night. Today at 17 o’clock, leaving from there in order to get to the triumphant, we saw how the traffic police car and a riot police drove into the yard with a distance of 30 seconds behind our backs. We were already racing in the opposite direction by taxi. We went to the Nikitsky gate, where I had a meeting with reporters. And almost immediately, yesterday’s “Opel” and “Ford” began to be pursued, as well as many traffic police cars, they rode near and behind. In short, we managed to miraculously get to the ITAR-TASS building, jump out of the car. There were journalists, a dozen or more, two television cameras, Ren-TV. I began to give an interview. Then I said that we would go to triumphal on foot. We went accompanied by journalists. Already on Nikitsky Boulevard, riot police walked along the boulevard in parallel, dozens of operas walked behind. And in the end, this whole motorcade was on Pushkinskaya, all this crowd led to the bus, where they landed. On the bus I was taken to the Tver ATS. But since in this case they could not compose anything, all this happened in front of dozens of witnesses and journalists, they limited themselves to the fact that they took an explanation from us, from me and my companions, and they had to let us go, only limiting themselves to these explanations. This is how today it appears to me.
Vladimir Kara-Murza: Is there an exaggerated fear of the Kremlin before these shares of the "disagreement"?
Lev Ponomarev: I have to say that from the outside every year, especially if you look far, this is the theater of the absurd, a complete absurd theater. It can be seen that the main goal is to prevent meetings in the amount of about 300, there may be 500 people in the center of Moscow, but as a result of all actions, all those measures that the government applies, of course, attracts more attention of journalists to this. And in a sense, we can say that activists of “other Russia” should thank the authorities for making such a PR campaign for them. I think that the number of this action sympathetic to the applicants increased after today's campaign is obvious. Because ridiculous detention, ridiculous surveillance, ridiculous precautions. I saw when I went to the action, I saw trucks with young police officers, internal troops, as they go in police uniforms, so these were a dozen two trucks filled with policemen. This is absurd, of course. The question arises: in general, why do the authorities need? No matter how much I think, I think, there is only one reason-this is exactly some training, it is the fear that the people can ever be rising and then the situation will arise that looks like an “orange revolution”, and you must be ready for this, so you need to train the police. But I have to say, maybe on the contrary it is necessary to think, maybe they, on the contrary, push the population and rather do not solve problems. I do not see any logical explanation of what is happening.
Vladimir Kara-Murza: Lyudmila Alekseeva, chairman of the Moscow Helsinsky group, an eyewitness to what happened.
Lyudmila Alekseeva: There was no march, I watched not a march, but an apotheosis of the police state. Because the desire for five hundred citizens to exercise their constitutional law, going out to the square completely peacefully, with completely acceptable Constitution with slogans and calls, the authorities responded to this by a parody of legality. Because it is a pity and funny when so much strength, so much ingenuity is spent on the fact that, allegedly without violating the law, to prohibit citizens to do what they are under the Constitution, according to the law. In general, if someone thought out how to demonstrate to us that we were not legal and democratic, but a police state, then, in my opinion, it was impossible to come up with a better script.
The full text of the program will appear on the RS website in the near future.