Well-known photo bloggers Dmitry Ternovsky , Ilya Varlamov , Rustem Adagamov , Sergey Dolya and Anton Nosik on Monday sent an open letter to President Dmitry Medvedev asking him to protect the freedom of photography after bloggers were not allowed to take photographs at railway stations and shopping centers.

Last Friday, the letter was handed over to the head of the Ministry of Telecom and Mass Communications, Igor Shchegolev , who promised to personally deliver it to Medvedev.

According to photographers, the right, which is “enshrined in the 24th and 29th articles of the Constitution, as well as in the law “On Information, Information Technologies and Information Protection”,” is extremely rarely respected due to the actions of police officers and other government officials .

“Today we have to practically win freedom of photography in Russia. Despite the fact that the law is on the side of the photographer, rarely does any shooting occur without prohibitions from the police, private security companies, employees of various departments and organizations,” says the letter published by photo bloggers http://ternovskiy.livejournal.com/ and http: //zyalt.livejournal.com/.

Photographers face regular problems when filming “in shops and shopping centers, at train stations and airports, in museums, parks, the streets of many cities, at Russian Orthodox Church sites and even in cemeteries,” the letter says.

The photobloggers’ appeal emphasizes that they are turning to Medvedev not only as a guarantor of the Constitution, but also as a photographer. It is known that photography is one of Medvedev’s favorite hobbies .

The Russian President has several cameras, including professional Leica, Canon and Nikon. He regularly takes one of the cameras with him on work trips.

Photographers Ilya Varlamov and Dmitry Ternovsky have been fighting for free photography rights in Russia for a long time. They repeatedly tried to photograph train stations without the sanction of Russian Railways , and also did this in large stores and business centers. Each time they filed complaints against the actions of private security company employees who interfered with filming. The bloggers asked to initiate a criminal case under the article “Excess of authority by employees of private security or detective services.”

Thousands of photobloggers ask Medvedev to protect their right to take pictures at train stations and shopping centers - Gazeta.Ru