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The decision of the Zamoskvoretsky court of Moscow, who sent the "prisoner of the Bolotnaya" by Mikhail Kosenko for forced treatment, was regarded by civil activists as the return of punitive psychiatry. In Soviet times, it was one of the methods of combating objectionable. In 1977, a working commission was created at the Moscow Helsinki group to investigate the use of psychiatry for political purposes. One of its organizers was Vyacheslav Bakhmin, who told Radio Liberty, which is the differences and similarities between the practice of Soviet courts and the decision in the case of Kosenko.

- Can we talk about the return to the life of modern Russia such a concept as punitive psychiatry?

- So far, fortunately, this is an isolated case that is very reminiscent of what happened in Soviet times, and by the way it was furnished, and by the fact that no one listens to the examinations of independent, refer to those experts who are needed, only listen to the opinion of the prosecutor, and the protection is not taken into account at all. This fact itself, of course, is very much like what happened in Soviet times, but now there are not so many such examples. I don’t know if this will become a tendency in the future, and then it will be possible to talk about the return of punitive psychiatry in its entirety, but for now I think that it is still a little early to compare what was in the Soviet Union.

- In Soviet times, punitive judicial psychiatry was used as a method of influence on Soviet dissidents .

The dissidents were a smaller part among the inhabitants of such special psychics. For the most part, these were people who simply interfered with the authorities in one way or another

-Firstly, in Soviet times, not only dissidents were planted in psychiatric hospitals. The dissidents were a smaller part among the inhabitants of such special psychics. For the most part, these were people who interfered with the authorities in one way or another. Even if a person simply complained that he did not have hot water there, or poor medical care, if he got someone with these complaints, he could be put in a psychiatric hospital. That's just because he has such a mania of a complainant who does not like everything. Therefore, not only the dissidents were victims of punitive psychiatry at that time. They simply paid more attention to them, because there was a clear political component. The psychiatrists themselves acted under some control and under some influence of the State Security Committee, party authorities, and so on.

-Mikhail Kosenko is difficult to attribute some political ambitions or some kind of political activity. Why did they decide to apply compulsory treatment to it?

-Among those who were at all in Bolotnaya, not everyone had any political ambitions. People came simply for various reasons, but in general because, they do not agree with what is happening in the country, and somehow wanted to express their disagreement. This is the natural desire of any citizen. And those who got into the accused at the same time, it was in many ways a case - who was identified, who they saw and whom they wanted to punish indicatively so that others were disgraced. Among them was Kosenko, who was one of such ordinary, as I understand it, participants, and he was just unlucky in many ways. It was also not lucky because he was mentally ill for some time and was registered with a psychiatric hospital, and thus represented a very delicious target in order to recognize him as insane and show that among those who went to Bolotnaya were crazy, which was generally very attractive to the authorities. I can’t say to whom he specifically interferes, I just worked here a car that was not particularly versed in detail, but simply grinded the people who fell into her millstone, and that’s all.

• Christina Gorelik

The Zamoskvoretsky court of Moscow on Tuesday announced the sentence to one of the defendants in the "Swamp case" Mikhail Kosenko. It is recognized as insane and must be sent for compulsory treatment. Together with the "Memorial" Radio Liberty prepared a gallery of special psychiatric hospitals in the USSR, where they were directed for compulsory treatment of political prisoners. Photos were taken in the late 1960s and early 1980s both dissidents and Western journalists

- An amnesty, which may not be in relation to the defendants of the "swamp business", Mikhail Kosenko will not affect. Instead, his psychiatric examination will be carried out every six months. Is it possible to count on the fact that this examination will occur honestly and from the point of view of medical correctly?

- Previously, of course, the main indicator of a person’s recovery was a complete admission of his guilt, the complete admission that he was sick, but now he has become better, and recognition, in general, that he would never do anything else. And if there were no external other testimonies, well, for example, his cellmates or sopalatniki did not knock on him that he really did not repent, but on the contrary, if everything was fine, then he, in principle, could be released in a year or two. But usually they tried to make a person there no less than he would be given in the zone.

There are no limits of stay in a mental hospital. An examination was held every six months, and such a cycle could continue endlessly

And so there are no limits of stay in a psychiatric hospital. Every six months, an examination took place, and such a cycle could continue endlessly until a person recovered. What will happen now is difficult for me to say. Most likely, he will not fall under an amnesty, because he cannot be found guilty, he is not found guilty, he is found insane. A person who commits a crime in a state of insanity cannot be guilty, he did not be responsible for his actions. And this means that no amnesty threatens him. Another thing is that if there is a political decision in order to apply an amnesty to the defendants of the “swamp business”, then the same political decision can affect him, and he can spend much less time in the hospital than if there was no such decision. So let's hope that the amnesty will still be, and then his fate will also be somewhat softened, it seems to me.