Politicized

The Executive Committee of the Russian Pen-Center excluded from the organization of the journalist and one of the creators of the Dissernet community Sergei Parkhomenko. As follows from the minutes of the meeting , it took place on December 28, 2016. Nine people in person and seven remotely participated in the meeting. With the exception of Parkhomenko, all members of the executive committee voted unanimously.

As stated in the document, Parkhomenko is excluded "for retreat from the immutable principles concluded in the Charter of the International Pen-Club, a systematic failure to fulfill the requirements of this Charter, for provocative activities incompatible with the goals and objectives of the Russian Pen-Center, and statements that hurt the honor and dignity of the individual."

“It seems that the blogger Sergei Parkhomenko, brought up by the Komsomol and having a reputation as a“ provocateur from Bolotnaya Square ”in human rights circles, entered our writer's organization only to destroy it from the inside, turning it, contrary to the charter and the charter, into an opposition political party,” the document explains.

For two years of staying in the organization, Parkhomenko constantly violated and violates the points of the charter, supplying the media for deceitful, tendential information defaming the organization using its brand for personal purposes, the application to the protocol says.

According to Parkhomenko himself, the current reason for his exclusion was the note, published by him on Facebook and reprinted on the website of the Echo of Moscow radio station. It said about the refusal of the Pen-Center to support the appeal of a number of members of the organization to President Vladimir Putin with a request to have mercy on Ukrainian director Oleg Sentsov.

“That is, it was on Sentsov that they broke,” the journalist came to the conclusion .

On Tuesday, the poet Lev Rubinstein announced the exit from the Pen-Center. “The last straw was the news of the exclusion of foam or other repressive measures against several of my colleagues. And not just colleagues, but frankly, friends. And not just like that, but with completely unacceptable formulations and assessments of their personal qualities,” the open letter published by him says.

Rubinstein also noted that a split occurred in the PEN center. "And, unfortunately, it will go deeper. And it will delve into the power of obvious ideological and moral differences and the fundamental difference between views on the current social state of the country and the world, on the boundaries of the compromise, on those borders, crossing the human rights organization, the role of the writer and the artist in society. This is itself, but this is not the main thing. And to agree.

On December 24, members of the Russian Pen-Center, writers and scientists turned to President Vladimir Putin with a request to pardon Ukrainian director Oleg Sentsov. Culture figures supported the request of film director Alexander Sokurov to treat Sentsov with mercy.

"We ask you, Mr. President, to apply the norm of the law to Oleg Sentsov, allowing the head of state to make a decision to pardon convicts without guilty on their part, please use all available resources and mechanisms for the speedy liberation of our colleague Oleg Sentsov," the document says.

Under the document, 60 members of the Russian Pen-Center signed. They were joined by 13 members of the free historical society, writers Sergey Gandlevsky, Lyudmila Ulitskaya, Vladimir Voinovich and many others. In total, there is 80 signatures under the appeal.

At the same time, the press service of the Russian Pen-Center said that the organization itself has nothing to do with the letter. “We didn’t write anything to Vladimir Vladimirovich. The Executive Committee and President of the Pen-Center do not participate in this. This is not our initiative. We have a group of“ liberal ”oppositionists who are trying to conflict and lead their own line with us. They are members of the center, but accept their own statements, collect signatures among like-minded people,” the press service explained.