How the political prisoners were protected

On April 6, a rally was held in support of political prisoners in the Novopushkinsky square. The Polit.ru correspondent visited the action.

According to the GUVD, 600 participants took part in the rally. The organizers talk about one and a half thousand people. One way or another, the Novopushkinsky square was almost filled.

This action resembled somewhat more a concert than a rally. Many speakers read out poems - both their own and prisoners of “swamp business”. The songs of Alexander Galich sounded ...

One of the first was Sergey Davidis, a member of the opposition coordinating council: “We have all the loud affairs of Sergei Udaltsov, Alexei Navalny and many others .... But against the backdrop of these matters, it stands apart by the “swamp business”, which is the main theme of our today's rally. It is unique and in mass, this is an unprecedented massive business (already now 27 people in the suspects) and in mass violations of the rights of these people. And the main thing is that it, unlike all other cases, is directed against the whole society. Those 26 (if you throw Givi Targamadze) a person, they are hostages for all of us, for civil society. It seems to me not accidental that sociologists in civilian clothes and in form, sociologists of the Investigative Committee gathered a very representative company of suspects in this case. Among them are managers and students, workers and pensioners, men and women, Muscovites and residents of other cities, different people. The authorities, thus, gives us a signal to all: be silent, do not speak, do not dare to protest, do not dare to protect your civil dignity. And in this regard, of course, to protect the hostages that are in prison for us, our holy duty. ”

Sergey Davidis

After him, the writer-satirist and publicist Viktor Shenderovich took the word, he paid special attention to the other case, which was instituted in relation to one of the most famous oppositionists in Russia: “There is no way back in power, their only chance is to finally intimidate us ... This concerns, of course, the affairs of Alexei Navalny. We must understand that if this demonstrative landing is committed, and if we eat it, this means that further that the score can go for hundreds of thousands. A crafty conversation about whether repression will begin, already outdated, they are already going, selective, but already quite wide. Even 10 years ago, there were no political prisoners in the country, 8-9 years ago were 1-3 political prisoners, today the score is by tens and already exceeded a hundred, whether the score will go by thousands-this is our choice. Will we force them to stop. Everyone who sits is sitting for us. Once, Joseph Brodsky was already asked in immigration that he would sadden the most. He replied: "The vulgarity of the human heart." The fact that we are ready to forget and not pay attention to the fate of the neighbor is it. Our willingness to remain silent, to forget when someone is tortured instead of you, this is a stronghold of any authoritarian regime. ”

Victor Shenderovich

The famous human rights activist and poetess Natalya Gorbanevskaya, who participated in the demonstration of the introduction of the Soviet troops into Czechoslovakia in 1968, also spoke to the shares: “The first free demonstration was not held in 1968, but on December 5, 1965 under the slogan:“ Follow your constitution! ” In the early 90s, I thought that as a human rights activist I could resign, alas, I have to defend the political prisoners again. I can only quote the text of one of the posters of that time: “For ours and your freedom!” Freedom of Bolotnaya prisoners, freedom of Maria Alekhina, Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, Taisiya Osipova, Mikhail Khodorkovsky ... ”.

Natalia Gorbanevskaya

The representative of the “Committee of May 6” (it was on his initiative that the rally was organized) Maria Arkhipova concentrated her speech on what problems not only “prisoners on May 6” face, but also their relatives: “Relatives experience extreme pressure. The wife of Sergei Krivov cannot get a power of attorney and access to the family account since November. Natalia Kavkazskaya is in a similar situation. The car of Leonid Razvozhaev was arrested when they tried to sell it. The day before yesterday there was a similar story with the machine of the Margolins family ... On Wednesday, our Sergey Krivov was beaten in the Moscow City Court building ... "

The coordinator of the “Left Front” Alexei Sakhnin read out the assembled verses by Leonid Razvozhaev, the cold Russian spring was reflected in them: “It is cold on the street and cold in the country, but there is no eternal winter and eternal dictatorships. Soon, soon spring will be by historical standards. And spring in Moscow, and spring in Russia ... ”.

In general, there were many verses. In addition, relatives read out correspondence between the “Prisoners of May 6” and those who send them their news. One of the speakers compared Russian President Vladimir Putin with the hero of John Ronald Tolkien Gollum: "He is waiting for the one who will free him from the slavery of the ring ...". There were calls for the revolution and unpleasant reviews to the head of the Investigative Committee Alexander Bastrykin.

The rally has traditionally organized the opportunity to send a postcard with political prisoners and fundraising.

In general, everything that was happening was within the framework of the law and traditionally for events in support of convicts for riots. Of course, such rallies collect much fewer people than shares “for honest elections”, but this agenda continues to find its supporters.