A year after the swamp

The Kremlin, separated from the people by riot police on May 6, 2012, became a symbol of the entire first year after Bolotnaya

A year ago, on May 6, 2012, the day before the inauguration of Vladimir Putin for the third term, riot police brutally dispersed the authorized action in Bolotnaya Square. After that, power led a systematic attack on civil society. At the end of May, the first detentions in the “swamp business” were held, in which 26 defendants were already: one convicted, 15 - in custody, three - under house arrest, six - under the subscription about the lower right to leave and another on the wanted list. In the summer, a “infuriated printer” turned on: the State Duma began to stamp repressive laws, intimidating Russians dissatisfied with the authorities. Participants in protests were threatened with dragon fines, journalists - a criminal article on slander, and scientists - accusation of espionage for contacts with foreigners. In the fall, the case of an anatomy of protest appeared, with the help of which from the protest movement they actually knocked out the left -handedly street activity of the left led by Sergei Udaltsov. In 2013, stripping independent media began. And this year ends with a political court in Kirov over the main opponent of the Kremlin, Alexei Navalny. Noting the sad anniversary, The New Times informs about the results of an independent investigation of events on May 6 , talks about what is happening in the process of Kirovles and around him, and publishes an interview with the mother of the main involved in this case Lyudmila Navalny.

Photo: AP Photo