Confession of an oppositionist: Credo in unum Deum

As epigraphs:

 So the Teacher, regretting, pronounced an Order that he had no strength to fulfill: “Do what you have in mind, do it as quickly as possible...” And he did not break bread with him. And in the pitch-black crown of Gethsemane, Feeling the Roman blade with his back, Kissing Christ, he whispered tenderly: “I believe... Truly, you are God!..” A holy scoundrel, a defenseless traitor... Whose timid mind will understand through the centuries, What a symbol faith is not a prayer, but this kiss from a disciple? © Belkin Oleg Yakovlevich

On December 4, 2011, during the State Duma elections, I worked in Novosibirsk at PEC No. 1902 as a member of the commission with an advisory vote from the Communist Party of the Russian Federation. This was already my third election as an observer, so I was prepared for violations. On Saturday, having met the chairman of the commission, I asked to see the voting register outside the polling station. Of the 39 people, only two records complied with all the rules. Then I checked the entire voter book. No marks were found, but one issued absentee ballot did not contain passport information. I asked for everything to be fixed by Sunday and said a friendly goodbye. The voting itself went smoothly. In the afternoon, a relative of the woman who took the absentee ballot came and indicated her mother’s passport information. What is most unpleasant for the chairman is that she turned out to be an employee of the administration of one of the city districts. And then I suddenly noticed what kind of portrait was hanging on the wall. In the same row with state symbols - the flag, coat of arms, anthem - hung a portrait of the then president - D. A. Medvedev, who was the only candidate of the United Russia party on the federal list. This violation became my only complaint about the election process. To the credit of the chairman, everything else was done efficiently. Even after filing a complaint, the portrait was removed within twenty minutes, of which fifteen minutes were spent searching for the stepladder.

A copy of this statement was later admired by members of the Novosibirsk "Voice" - it showed how blinded the receiving commission was, and even the majority of people who went to the site. But according to the law, there cannot be any image of a candidate, except in an approved election commission poster with all the candidates at the polling station.

On the morning of December 6, watching a video of the events after Chistye Prudy, I sincerely noted: “Presidential rehearsals began a little early.” A few hours later, a friend called me, an organizer of rock concerts. She asked how the notice of a picket is properly filled out and whether I was ready to help organize the picket on December 10th. Together with her husband and one girl, who steadfastly withstood the moral pressure of unknown persons on her mother, we became the applicants for the picket. The endless stream of approvals for the action, meetings with opposition figures, and the information war on the Internet cannot be described. But we got through it. Many sincerely volunteered to help. According to the calculations of the Central Internal Affairs Directorate, eight thousand people came to the action itself. At one time there were up to five thousand. Because we held a rally and not a picket, Stas received a fine.

I took part in organizing the actions on December 24 and February 4. On February 5, for disrupting a disco in honor of International Women's Day with the slogan “The choice is made,” I was detained in violation of procedural rules. We then also made our choice. Our violation was caused by a violation on the part of the authorities - it was at this place that our event was supposed to take place. Applications for cultural events are submitted earlier than for a rally - almost a month in advance. Putting was woven into the concert and this was the height of unacceptableness for us. Legally, the law is on their side, but we wanted justice.

As of today, I am the last member of the organizing committee of those who held the action on December 10th. I was not able to achieve much - the court is examining the validity of the regional election commission’s refusal to hold a regional referendum on the election of justices of the peace; The observer movement was unable to create a single headquarters for voting, and interregional coordination fell into a deep coma.

The political landscape has also changed: the League of Voters has grown into a party, Navalny is creating a party... In Novosibirsk, as of August 15, there are 24 parties. The essence of the protests has not changed, but due to the lack of significant progress and constructive proposals, the public has recoiled. Since February 5, I have not seen any other meaning in the all-Russian “white ribbon” protests, other than protest for the sake of protest. That’s why I say to everyone who was there – thank you so much. The restaurant of Yugoslav cuisine “Vranjac”, which provided boiling water for tea on December 24 so that people would not be so cold; the company that provided the stage free of charge (they didn’t want to be mentioned publicly, so I won’t name it), to thousands of caring people in reality and on the Internet who helped with money, participation and simply presence. Thank you everyone, I have retired.

I know how to hold an action on October 7, but September 15 is nothing special for me. I have accumulated a lot of small social projects that have specific meaning for people. And somehow I no longer wanted to want everyone and everyone to be happy. This is very characteristic of the Russian mentality - to want the highest justice. So I will do good in what I can or have learned, without claiming the universality of this good. For me, justice is law. And the law must be fair in response. You can basically say that I believe in the law.

It just so happened that yesterday the Khamovnichesky court, which I had already caught for non-compliance with the law , decided that the actions of the persons who, in my opinion, committed an administrative offense constituted a criminal offense, andsentenced the girls . God is the judge of this court. He will also judge whether the girls’ actions were blasphemy against God or only against his servants. In the meantime, I, a baptized Christian who sees the shortcomings of the Russian Orthodox Church, am forced to admit that I do not see myself in such a church. As Zarathustra said in Nietzsche’s books: “Before, blasphemy against God was the greatest blasphemy; but God died, and these blasphemers died with him.”

Also yesterday, I was called to the police based on my complaint against Sergei Udaltsov . I was called by senior district major V.N. Gorbenko, a man with a higher economic education, who does not speak for either the government or the opposition. He ensures that the law is observed in his territory of responsibility, so that life is calm and comfortable. Attached to the application was a sample of a leaflet about the upcoming event on September 15 in Moscow, and oral testimony was accepted confirming that the actions I considered illegal to agitate people for a public event that was not coordinated with the authorities were being conducted on the Internet. These fifteen minutes became an event that gave the state the authority to force the Internet community to comply with the Russian law on rallies. Now the police department will have to check groups on social networks about the presence of propaganda for the action on September 15 and make a decision on whether it is legal.

Russian cyber law is quite imperfect - there are no specific mechanisms for monitoring compliance with the law. There are declarative violations for which they are not held accountable. In particular, spam that violates the advertising law is an administrative offense. If you spread slander in reality or on the Internet, you may well be subject to criminal liability. If a crime is committed online or in reality, it must be brought to resolution by the authorities.

There is a difficult way to change the current legal reality - it is enough to read and comprehend at least one law and organize massive Italian strikes in various forms to force its implementation.

It's up to you to decide with whom you are on the same path and with whom you are not. Those with whom I spoke in different cities occupy different positions, some of them have moved away from actions, some continue to engage in them, but there is a common understanding that we need to change the world ourselves, without waiting for it to be changed for us. This is why I am moving away from organizing protests.