Mercy is a contagious thing

All this week, one phrase has been spinning in the language. I don’t remember who said it, I don’t remember where it was read: “Mercy is an infectious thing!”

It seems that quite recently, last Thursday, Putin announced that he was pardoning Khodorkovsky, literally the day before that, the deputies adopted an amnesty, the very one that we all have already dubbed "short". Yes, this is not the large-scale amnesty that was written in the HRC, this is not the amnesty that could correct judicial errors and relieve the prison system. Yes, this is not an amnesty that would be worthy of the 20th anniversary of the Constitution.

But even under this "non-amnesty" people go free. Dozens and hundreds of people.

Here Masha Alyokhina and Nadya Tolokonnikova came out, Volodya Akimenkov, barely alive, Leonid Kovyazin came out. All these people came out of the cells and they are free. There is joy. But she is very bitter. Feelings of guilt for not being able to achieve the release of all those who suffer for the protest actions, for having “come out to the square”. Feeling guilty about not being able to break through the wall.

On Sunday I saw Stella Anton - Denis Lutskevich's mother. He is still in jail. Journalists and writers signed New Year's cards to the "prisoners of Bolotnaya", said beautiful words, called them heroes. And I looked at Stella Anton and imagined what this woman was thinking.

I imagined what the parents of Alexei Polikhovich thought, what other relatives of all those 13 “prisoners of the Bolotnaya” who are still in cages think.

They think: “Why are these guys free, but my son is not? (At least, if I were in their place, I would think exactly like that) He is also not guilty, like those who were released!

And Stella Anton and Alexei Polikhovich and Olga Gushchina, if they think so, they are a thousand times right.

Therefore, something must be done so that THEY, the very ones whose name cannot be called in vain, understand that doing good is easy and pleasant, that mercy is an infectious thing.

And if people in robes still haven’t figured out the signal that Putin sent them, I want to help them: “He says to you: “Judges, prosecutors, be a little kinder, I allow it.”

Will they hear?

The media effect of the release of Khodorkovsky, Masha Alyokhina and Nadya Tolokonnikova can hardly be overestimated. We must pay tribute to Putin, he calculated everything super-correctly.

Maybe he will finally enjoy being a merciful king?

And he will finally understand what lately we have all been repeating like a mantra: "Being merciful does not mean being weak."