There were no Russian embassy here

As soon as Ildar Dadin’s letter was published about torture in colony No. 7, my comrades and I decided that something needs to be done with this. The arsenal of means of influence on the Russian government is small here, because we stopped at the picket at the embassy.

They prepared the props, gathered everyone. In the end, November 8 at Latvių G. 53, 11 people gathered in Vilnius: two journalists and nine participants. Most are anarchists from Lithuania and other countries.

Having become near the embassy gate (it, so that you understand, is a healthy residence fenced with a fence, and around - a deserted park with a pond and ducks), we launched posters, I took a megaphone and began to push the speech.

We chased the chants to be heard by the embassy’s employees: “Freedom to Ildar Dadin!”, “Freedom to political prisoners!” - And a little creativity: “Power, Chekists and cops - do not close our mouths”, “Together we will crush the Kremlin reptile - freedom to Politzek Ildar Dadin!” Since we shouted loudly, and the megaphone was good, soon some uncles were released from the building and, becoming nearby, began to listen to us.

"Freedom to the peoples, death to the empires!" - We shouted when a policeman came up to me and said that it was impossible to rally here, and we, they say, have to move 80 meters from the embassy. To which I replied that there is a deserted area, and no one will hear us there, but if he provides me with a document with which we have no right to rally here, we will retire. He was offended and, saying “I will provide now,” caused reinforcements.

The picket continued, but a minute later a garbage car drove up to us. Two policemen came out from there, one of them came up to me and asked to introduce himself. In response, I asked me to introduce myself, simultaneously noting to Megafon: this is how they relate to the freedom of statements in a state that considers itself democratic.

He showed his documents (for some reason, his hands were shaking like a hard body), and in response I showed my own. He again demanded that we go beyond the bridge - that is, actually rally for ourselves, at a distance where no one would be guaranteed to hear us. He did not listen to my objections, but instead grabbed his clothes and tried to lead somewhere. I did not want this at all, which I began to demonstrate everything to him, making it clear that if he wants, let him drag my jacket somewhere, but not me. The rest of the comrades surrounded us and began to be indignant aloud, but soon another cop came up, and together they dragged me to the car.

In the car we sat for about an hour. The cop tried to catch up with me, gloatingly and solemnly saying that now they have every right to detain me for three hours (what a horror). Actively conferred the authorities, conveying everything that happened near the embassy. Meanwhile, another car drove up, and the cops from it began to rewrite the data of other picket participants. After sitting in the car, we moved to the commissariat - and half of our associates after us in transport. On the way, he talked with the cops - he told them that right now, at these minutes, it is happening with Ildar Dadin and that they are engaged in nonsense, not needed by anyone and, first of all, to them.

The head of the outfit admitted that in his practice this is the first time when the protesters refused to obey the requirements of the police. No, you would laugh, but he really thought that we would fulfill his requirements only because he is a cop.

Arriving in the commissariat, I saw two more comrades: one of Lithuania and one of Azerbaijan, detained after me. The Lithuanian Musarnya is quite clean and decent looking compared to Belarusian. The cops are more polite. With me, the "criminals", who were brought there, are one drunken and three freezers.

For about three hours we sat in a “monkey” cage (which, however, was not even closed), while we were photographed and taken to an inquiry. Garbage behaved quite courteously, they even tried to joke. Through the translator, taking an explanation about the incident (they did not violate, did not curse, did not insult anyone, the necessary distance from the embassy was withstood), we were released in turn. The last, around 22.00, a comrade from Azerbaijan came out.

The cops, as usual, themselves do not know the laws. Yes, in a radius of 80 meters from the embassy building, rallies are prohibited. From the embassy fence, the “prohibited” distance is 25 meters - and we stood something like that.

According to the stories of comrades, there were never problems with the “close position” on the pickets of the Belarusian embassy. Apparently, the Moscow embassy boyars so trained local policemen, demanding calm and serenity for their botox asses (so as in Russia-Mother) that they are ready to fulfill any whims and drive demonstrators in vain. Symptomatic.

If not for the detention, almost no one would have known about this picket at all. Thanks to the cops, who decided to show their power, Lithuanian, Russian and Belarusian media wrote about what happened. It also turned out that under the 2014 Lithuanian law, up to 570 euros of a fine or up to 1 month of prison, for violation of the rules for conducting demonstrations, is relieved by the organizer.

We all were handed the summons for a kind of court in the administrative process in a few days, but they said to call and clarify whether it would be necessary to go there at all. They called me themselves on November 23 and called the next day, November 24, to the police commissariat.

They drew up a protocol for "too close to the Russian embassy." December 20 in Vilnius the court. I do not want to draw global geopolitical conclusions, but for some reason I am not aware that it was not without pressure from the Russian embassy to the police.

In the case, I am the only accused. I am glad that nothing was presented to two other detainees. I don’t know why it happened: probably, I had a megaphone.