"Hat and button accordion"

Few people know that in Moscow for the second year , a newspaper for drug users “Hat and Bayan” , almost the heir to the magazine Brain , is published in Moscow with a circulation of 999 copies. Throughout the post -Soviet space, there are only two similar publications - our “hat” and Ukrainian “moth” . Its editor-in-chief Max Malyshev, coordinator of the Andrei Shkolov Foundation , told me about the history of the creation of “Hat and Bayan” to me: “We conceived this newspaper three: I, the poet Alexander Delphinov and our psychologist Arseniy Pavlovsky. We have long been impressed by the Magazine, which was organized by the AIDS Foundation Eastwater in the early 2000s and in the early 2000s. They thought: "How cool it was!" ...

I read the "brain". He was brilliant and impudent. This was the first quality magazine in the history of Russia (and even on good paper!), Made for drug users for drug users. When the magazine first fell into the hands of the officials of the Ministry of Health and the employees of the Feral Drug Control Service, SKN , they hid in hysteria: "Propaganda! And if they fall into the hands of children!" In fact, this was quite a preventive publication: with materials about hepatitis and HIV (there was very little information at that time), about veins and overdose, about the laws and a war with drugs (read: drug addicts). The magazine was not about “how best to prick”, but about the fact that if you use, then use the brain and try to stay alive and healthy.

The magazine closed for financial reasons. But the memory of him remained. And the owners of all numbers - more than a dozen came out - now they are stored as a rarity. The "brain" was one of those factors that brought me many years ago to "reducing harm," continues Max. - Then I lived (and used) in Tver, and Arseny Pavlovsky brought a magazine from Moscow. The first time I opened it and went nuts because I saw: the magazine was done the same as me. I read, it was so interesting. Then I moved to Moscow, stopped using it and began to work in a "reduction in harm." And the magazine "Brain" was a hook that hooked me.

We made such a section in the newspaper: "Rules of life." All sorts of celebrities in it, and we have drug addicts about life about life

Here we dreamed of doing something similar. The magazine, of course! And he was really needed. The fact is that we and my colleagues from the Fund in the evenings go to Eutrich - street work near pharmacies. And they often ask us: "Are you not afraid? These are drug addicts!" We were always amazed at contrast, because we felt only warmth and sincerity next to these people. With these very drug addicts! Often, they saw amazing examples of survival: there are nowhere to live a person, they are praised, there are no resources left - neither family nor stability. But he retains human qualities - takes bandages for his friends, for example. They say that "a drug addict is a drug addict, he only thinks about a dose." But we often saw mutual assistance and kindness.

And so we thought how good it would be: to share such good examples between the microdistricts in which we work: Maryino, Bibirevo, Bratislavskaya metro. (Looking ahead, I’ll say that we made such a section in the newspaper: “Rules of life.” In the Esquire, all kinds of celebrities are in it, and we have drug addicts about life.)

Well, and the third. Our fund began the project "Street Lawyers" for legal assistance to drug users. We have encountered this with: people do not believe that you can change something. Here we find out that the person was thrown. We say: "Let's write a complaint, we will figure it out." - “No, nothing will help ...” We heard such answers for a long time and understood what we need to talk about success stories that would inspire faith in people ... That is, there was an idea, there was a format, there were authors. But there was no money, and the idea seemed unbearable ... "

“For two years we dreamed of a new“ brain, ”says Max,“ thought about a mini-grant, but once we realized that there would never be money for any magazine. And we just decided to do something like a combat sheet of A3 format to print on a printer. One and a half years ago, in this very “without worries” cafe, where we are sitting now, we gathered the three of us, to decide who will do whatever. They threw everything without stopping, and when someone said: "Hat and the Bayan", they immediately decided-this is it ... "

Lawyer Timur Madatov wrote the material that you should not agree to a special order. It does not give any advantages, the deadlines are the same, and only a judge and investigator will receive benefits who do not need to understand the case. The poet Dolphin gave his poems and wrote about overdoses. Malyshev himself interviewed the "addict with Maryino" for the heading of the Rules of Life. The first issue gradually gathered there.

“But no one knew how to turn it out,” Malyshev recalls. “It was necessary to look for specialists, which meant to look for money. The Canadian legal network helped out: it gave $ 200, and we made a layout and printed 999 copies. We thought it was unrealistic. We wanted to transfer 100 copies to Yekaterinburg, Togliatti and Kaliningrad. But they only sent 50 because only 50. Everything instantly scattered on an out -of -line along with clean syringes, bandages and Naloxon.

And when we all distributed, we realized that there was no way back: people began to ask when the second number came out. We got, but we were high. The second number was done quite quickly. He was more, the newspaper was already folded in half. This number was sent to the camps, to St. Petersburg and Berlin - there there is always a lot of Russian -speaking ones on a bus reduction bus. We saw that people were already waiting for the newspaper.

Something interesting is born when there is an initiative from below, from the community. If from above - well, who will do it? They are all terribly far from the street ...

Then there was an idea to make a regional newspaper: to prepare a common material for two -thirds, and make a tab to the local. So the third number came out, which we made together with Georgia, Ukraine and Moldova. There, the guys wrote their materials, we flashed and printed with the help of Eslun ( Eurasian network of people who use drugs ) ... "

On average, the circulation of the newspaper costs five thousand: on them the "hat" is being derived and printed by the friendly fund to them. Andrei Rylkov by specialists. But you have to look for money every time. Max says that because of this, frequency does not have to even dream: “I have not heard that in Russia or the neighboring foreign countries there was something similar except the“ Moth. ”There are no initiative, there are no people who would burn with an idea. And besides, people need a lot of money. But, for example, Motylek is made with grant money. I heard that financing ends, and they are being financed, and they are being financed. The number is good: salaries, fees, people can be asked.

Finally, I asked Max: could the state make such a newspaper for drug users in order to convey some information to them? Yes, about the same rehabilitation. Here's the answer: "Something interesting is born when there is an initiative from below, from the community. If on top-well, who will do this? They are all terribly far from the street ..."

Anastasia Kuzina is a participant in the Andrei Shkov Foundation