22 May 2012, 17:23 Politics

Fines will increase with decreasing

The State Duma increased fines for rallies

Alexander Sidyakin at the plenary meeting of the State Duma of the Russian Federation

ITAR-TASS The State Duma adopted in the first reading a law on a multiple increase in fines for participation in unauthorized rallies. During the discussion, parliamentarians discussed the destruction of the Jean-Jacques cafe on the day of Putin’s inauguration and provocateurs at rallies. United Russia members demonstrated faith in the impartiality of the courts, the Social Revolutionaries came into the hall with white ribbons and were silent.

The State Duma discussed amendments to the Code of Administrative Offences, increasing fines for participation in unauthorized actions for almost two hours. In the adopted version, fines increase from one thousand to 1 million 500 thousand rubles, but by the second reading the figures will be reduced to 300 thousand. Therefore, all three opposition parliamentary factions, which on Friday promised to leave the meeting room in protest against the adoption of the bill, sat peacefully in their places.

“A Just Russia” distinguished itself by paradoxical behavior that day: deputies came to the meeting room with “protest” white ribbons (deputy Elena Drapeko was in a dazzling white suit), but did not speak out against the law.

Faction leader Sergei Mironov told State Duma Speaker Sergei Naryshkin that the Just Russians decided to boycott the adoption of the bill in silence, which he wrote about on Twitter the next minute.

Over the next hour, Mironov had to read a lot of ironic remarks on social networks about such a dubious method of parliamentary protest. The communists and LDPR criticized the law, but did not remember the promise to leave the hall at all.

The draft amendments were presented by the chairman of the Committee on Constitutional Legislation and State Construction, Vladimir Pligin, and the author of the bill, young parliamentarian Alexander Sidyakin.

“The main objective of this bill is the decriminalization of administrative legislation, therefore we propose to introduce alternative types of punishment into the administrative code - compulsory labor! — Sidyakin began peacefully, but quickly became agitated and started talking about rallies, often stuttering. “That’s why a person who is just waiting to be taken away becomes a prisoner of conscience?” In our Administrative Code we have the same fines for collecting moss, for damaging the forest floor, for violating advertising laws, violating the transportation of animals and for violating the law on rallies.

Moss and the safety of citizens cannot be on the same level!”

Sidyakin clarified that due to the fact that the bill caused a public outcry, he and his colleagues developed a special resolution, which they propose to adopt along with the bill in the first reading. It talks about the need for new fines. For citizens, the fine for violating Article 20.2 will be from 30 to 100 thousand rubles; if, during violations at a rally, a citizen’s actions led to damage to property, then up to 150 thousand, and if serious harm was caused to others, then the fine will be from 250 to 300 thousand rubles.

Chairman of the Committee on Constitutional Legislation and State Building, Vladimir Pligin, who spoke next, quoted the words of Camillo Cavour, one of the unifiers of Italy, that “We built Italy, all that remains is to create Italians,” and demanded that the State Duma not turn a blind eye to the contradictory processes of the formation of civil society in Russia . “The activists are right: the state is obliged to comply with the Constitution. But on what basis do some citizens appropriate to themselves the laurels of supreme justice? - said the deputy. “The right to protest should not be the right to chaos, and the current bill will become a constructive basis for the formation of a modern political culture in our society.”

Deputies from the Communist Party of the Russian Federation and the Liberal Democratic Party asked Pligin and Sidyakin about the consequences of the adoption of the law.

Communist Oleg Smolin compared the increase in fines for rallies to shutting off the valves of a steam boiler, which will lead to its explosion, and LDPR parliamentarian Yaroslav Nilov asked Pligin if he knew about the tactics of security forces to disrupt single pickets, when provocateurs approach peaceful picketers and violate the order of holding such actions, after which riot police take everyone away.

A separate wave of discussion was caused by the destruction of the Jacques-Jacques cafe on the day of the inauguration, when riot police, chasing people walking with white ribbons, burst onto the summer veranda of the establishment and detained all the visitors to the cafe, simultaneously turning over tables and breaking dishes.

“The law you propose does not take into account the specific behavior of the police and riot police. For example, in early May, when they destroyed the cafe and arrested all the visitors, drawing up reports on them specifically under Article 20.2. Why should they pay millions in fines?” - asked communist Vladimir Rodin .

Deputy Sidyakin, without blinking an eye, objected that the degree of guilt of each citizen in an administrative offense is established by the court and that an unfair verdict can be appealed.

Pligin replied that he did not know about the history of provocations by the authorities at rallies.

Communist Party deputy Vadim Solovyov said that the law was a reaction to clashes between protesters and authorities on Bolotnaya Square on May 6 and that these clashes were provoked not only by the opposition, but also by the authorities.

“The range of fines is very large, this will lead to corruption in the application of the law, and he did not pass the anti-corruption examination of the Ministry of Justice at all! - Soloviev complained. “Everything that is happening today is an attempt by United Russia on one of the last rights that citizens have left—the right to protest.”

The eloquence of the communist did not convince practically United Russia members.

With the required 226 votes, 236 deputies voted for the bill. 207 voted against, one deputy abstained.

That is, four United Russia members did not vote for the bill.

At the end of the discussion, Vladimir Pligin advised parliamentarians to read the story of the writer Ivan Bunin “Cursed Days” for the second reading of the bill. In it, the writer describes his impressions of the revolution and its horrors.