"Hyde Parks" from the protest bell tower

In Nizhny Novgorod, regional authorities are once again trying to tighten the screws on freedom of assembly. After the violent dispersal of the march on March 10, Shantsev again raised a washed-out project of sites “suitable for holding public events.”

The idea of ​​“Hyde parks,” as city and regional officials blandly call shelters for protesters, is not new. Moreover, over the past few years, these same 8 sites, with slight variations, have been methodically imposed on the organizers of protest actions by the city administration, which, without any legal grounds, refuses to coordinate actions in the city center and sends people to protest in “designated places.” In the Nizhny Novgorod region, this is a deserted, windy and otherwise unsuitable site for public events near the “Hero” boat, for example.

What is the meaning of "meeting sites"? Public actions only generate public resonance when they take place in iconic places. For example, actions dedicated to police violence - at the Central Internal Affairs Directorate, lawlessness in elections - at the election commission, with demands to the authorities - at the administration or the Kremlin. Otherwise it looks ridiculous and does not achieve its goals. And so the organizers of the actions are methodically “turned down”, refusing to coordinate the actions, citing the dissatisfaction of city guests and the impossibility of ensuring the safety of the participants, sometimes detaining the participants. This is a convenient mechanism for suppressing protest sentiments, although it is completely illegal.

Even in the very undemocratic Federal Law 54 “On Rallies...”, it is clearly stated: “A public event may be held in any places suitable for the purposes of this event if its conduct does not create a threat of collapse of buildings and structures or other threat to the safety of participants in this event.” public event" (Article 8 of Federal Law-54). Thus, in its proposed form, the Hyde Parks idea is contrary to federal law.

However, even agreeing to protest in the “corral” does not guarantee the safety of the participants. On November 19, 2011, the organizer of the rally and car rally “Against Gasoline Lawlessness,” Alexander Vinogradov, agreed with the illegal transfer of the venue to the site near the “Hero” boat. However, his car was damaged before the start of the protest, and he himself was detained by police officers. Vinogradov was taken to court, where he was accused of illegal election campaigning; he did not make it to the rally. As a result, at the site of the action, the police announced that without the presence of the organizer, the agreed rally was illegal, and began to detain the participants of the event, disrupting the action in Hyde Park. I think this was not done without the knowledge, or even on the instructions of the city authorities, otherwise such serious issues would not be resolved.

There is another aspect - to impose your will on the protesters. “Protest where we allowed you, and not where you wanted, otherwise you will be beaten.” Any protest directed against lusty, but carried out with its “permission,” loses its meaning. Agree, it is absurd to ask permission to protest from people whom you consider to be swindlers and thieves. It is about “permits” and “unauthorized events” that government officials endlessly repeat, although these terms do not exist in the law. In Russia, there are not “permits”, but a notification procedure for holding mass events, the right to which is given by Article 31. Constitution. Know the difference between asking permission and giving notice.

In the very phrase “Hyde Park”, local officials put the opposite meaning to the original one. In London, in Hyde Park, anyone can say whatever they want, without any permission. In Nizhny Novgorod, these are the only sites where you can get permission to protest. The real Hyde Park is also of little use for mass protests; rather, it is a platform for all sorts of weirdos.

In general, my opinion: the initiative to create “Hyde Parks” is an attempt to justify the unconstitutional actions of Nizhny Novgorod officials to limit the effect of Art. 31 of the Constitution. Obviously, this will only add motivation to the participants in the protests in defense of freedom of assembly, which have been taking place in Nizhny Novgorod for the past two years.

Not a single Nizhny Novgorod action within the framework of the “For Fair Elections” campaign was fully agreed upon; as an “exception,” only a rally at the Chkalov Stairs on February 4 was agreed upon. However, all events, except the last one, which took place on March 10, took place peacefully, without arrests. It is obvious that a threat to public safety in Nizhny Novgorod can only be posed by police officers who, without any reason, begin to disperse peaceful demonstrations of citizens.

I will also tell the officials: your “Hyde parks” will only be supported by the “experts” lured by you, whom we know by name. You have already lost face when citizens, despite all prohibitions and threats, peacefully held several mass actions in a row in the places and in the form in which they intended to do this. The attempt to avenge the lost “uniform honor” on March 10 only brought people together. With your own hands, you are growing seasoned oppositionists from those who came to rallies just yesterday out of curiosity. You will not be able to survive in a confrontation with citizens, asthe events of March 11 showed. Admit defeat already and finally begin to observe the Law.