Samutsevich’s release is a blow to political advocacy in the Russian Federation

So, today we were waiting for Katya Samutsevich’s new lawyers to “show off” the lawyer’s class. They will give a lesson in political advocacy to Volkova, Feigin and Polozov. They will change the line of defense, and this will save Katya. Everyone was waiting for this very line to miraculously change.

Frankly, I believed that Katya was “pressed” to the point that she was ready to ask for forgiveness personally from the patriarch and the president, who, apparently, recommended the “two-room apartment.” And at the same time declare that she was forced to take part in the action, or that she found herself in bad company completely by accident. Everything turned out to be much simpler... The killer argument was that she took part in the performance in the KhHS less than others. Immediately, the Moscow City Court “opened” its eyes to the illegal verdict of the “hammer court” and Samutsevich was released right in the hall, replacing the real sentence with a suspended one. The remaining two girls did not lose anything, and even rejected their application to work in the maintenance platoon. They will go through the exile stage.

Let's not lie, this whole circus was needed in order to strike a blow to the reputation of outstanding political lawyers defending oppositionists, Volkova, first of all, and also Feigin and Polozov. It was shown to everyone: this is what awaits everyone who uses the services of the said political advocacy. The sentence is terrible in its injustice and there is no hope of mitigating the punishment.

For those who say that in the interests of the convicted from the very beginning, lawyers should have sought consensus with the puppet masters and behaved quietly and peacefully, let me remind you. It was the court that moved the case from petty hooliganism to an attack on the “spiritual foundations of a thousand-year-old Orthodox state culture.” It was the court that wanted to “smear three girls’ livers on the asphalt” in an exemplary manner, but they turned out to be stubborn.

The line of defense was the only possible and correct one. With the same degree of openness, with maximum publicity, expose the court of its ordered and biased nature. Transfer the process from the category of anti-Christian to political. This is exactly what was done. The whole world learned about the trial. The defendants were recognized by the international community as political prisoners, prisoners of conscience; the essence of the current political regime in Russia and the complete absence of an independent judicial system in Russia were fully revealed.

Katya made a deal with the regime, but probably no one can blame her for this, except those who themselves went through prisons, torture, camps, etc. And even those are unlikely to blame.

But also no one can convince me of the low qualifications of such lawyers as Violetta Volkova, Mark Feigin or Nikolai Polozov, whom I met this summer as a defense expert in the “ham court”.

To believe that Volkova is a bad lawyer is as absurd as the idea that Udaltsov is a Georgian spy. This is exactly what the behind-the-scenes masters are now trying to make people believe. It won't work.

To be honest, if I ever got into trouble related to my socio-political activities, I would want Violetta Volkova to defend me. Despite all her demand and workload with other things.