Otlomov and Vretikhin

- Your Honor! the lawyer told the judge. - My principal requires compensation for moral damages. He experiences severe mental suffering. These sufferings are expressed not only in spiritual experiences, such as resentment, indignation, grief, but also in insomnia, which entails headache, suffocation, dizziness, burning sensation in the region of the heart and nausea.

“Understood,” the judge said. - Respondent, what do you have to say on the merits of the claim filed against you?

The defendant looked up at the plaintiff's lawyer, then at the plaintiff himself, who sat gloomily beside him.

- Here! the plaintiff perked up. - Looks again! And silent!

- Here! plaintiff's lawyer said. - It brings severe moral suffering to my principal! Moral damage, in other words.

— Excuse me, your honor! exclaimed the defendant's lawyer. “But my principal does nothing!” He didn't do anything back then!

A month ago, the activist Vretikhin stood in a solitary picket, and Otlomov, a special forces officer, was ordered to disperse him. He came up and said: "Citizen, roll up the poster." The picketer glanced at the commando, then folded his poster the size of a sheet of writing paper into four and put it in his pocket. "Let's go to the paddy wagon," Otlomov said. Vretikhin again looked at Otlomov and obeyed without further ado. In the paddy wagon, he sat quietly and from time to time glanced at Otlomov. We've arrived. "To the exit!" Otlomov ordered. Vretikhin, accompanied by Otlomov, got out of the van and proceeded to the police station ...

He was silent and looked at me! the plaintiff said. - With dumb, damn it, reproach! As if he is a martyr, I apologize to the believers! Like it's my fault. And I'm following orders. And I don't overdo it. I didn't touch him.

- Here! plaintiff's lawyer said.

- No, I'm saying "here!" the defendant's lawyer said. “So the defendant didn’t put up any resistance, right?” Obeying the lawful orders of a representative of authority, right? What is the problem?

- If he rendered and did not obey, then there would be a criminal case! plaintiff's lawyer said. We have a civil suit. in civil proceedings. With his deliberately submissive silence and reproachful glances, the defendant caused my client to feel guilt, resentment, indignation, grief, as well as insomnia, headache, burning sensation in the heart, dizziness and nausea ...

The judge decided that the activist Vretikhin should compensate the special forces officer Otlomov for moral damage in the amount of fifty thousand rubles.

A month later, Vretikhin again stood in a single picket. Otlomov dispersed him again.

This time the picketer looked at the commando insolently and aggressively.

The third time - coldly and contemptuously.

In the fourth - sarcastically and mockingly.

All this caused Otlomov severe moral suffering, accompanied by insomnia, redness and nervous itching of the skin, headache, as well as feelings of resentment, indignation and grief. And every time the judge awarded him a large monetary compensation for non-pecuniary damage.

For the fifth time, Vretikhin did not look at him at all.

- Your Honor! Otlomov's lawyer said. - This is already beyond all bounds! It turns out that my principal, who is under execution, does not seem to exist at all for the defendant? Is he an empty place for him? This, I'm not afraid of such a word, dehumanization! My principal is experiencing severe feelings of loneliness, helplessness, uselessness, inferiority, as well as insomnia and headache! This already smells of inciting hostility and hatred towards the social group "law enforcement officers"!

The judge thought and thought, reclassified the case and gave Vretikhin a real term. But he refused Otlomov compensation for moral damage. “Just one thing,” he said, closing the meeting.

Otlomov tried to catch Vretikhin's eye, but he turned away to the guards.

Then the next day he quit, and a month later he went out and stood up with a poster. Purely for fun. He began to be driven away. He inflicted moderate bodily harm to two dispersing. He was given a good sentence.

He dreamed of meeting Vretikhin in the zone and talking with him, but it didn’t happen, it didn’t coincide. Russia is great, and there are many yellow nettles and dry wattle in it.