"The longest term in the history of Russia"

On January 20, the Yaroslavl Regional Court announced the verdict of the appeal instance to the former mayor of the city - Evgeny Urlashov and his colleagues - Alexei Lopatin and Dmitry Donskov. The decision of the previous court is upheld. The defendants were charged with receiving a bribe and an attempt to receive a bribe on an especially large scale. In August 2016, the Kirov court of Yaroslavl found Urlashov and Lopatin guilty and sentenced them to 12.5 and 7 years of maximum security colony, and also set a fine of 60 million rubles. The third defendant Dmitry Donskov was justified. Evgeny Urlashov repeatedly called this matter politically motivated.

The August verdict of judge Mikhail Ratekhin did not suit both sides. The lawyers Yevgeny Urlashov and Alexei Lopatin considered the court decision excessively cruel, and the prosecutor did not agree with the justification of the former assistant to the mayor Dmitry Donskov. The appellation instance began consideration of this case on December 21, 2016 and planned to announce the decision on December 28, but the meetings were postponed several times due to Evgeny Urlashov’s complaints about poor health. At the meetings of the appeal instance, the former mayor of Yaroslavl and his adviser participated in the video from the investigative insulator, where they had been conducting for about 3.5 years.

Dmitry Donskov, Evgeny Urlashov and Alexei Lopatin during the announcement of the sentence in the Kirov court of Yaroslavl, August 2016

During the appeal, Lopatin and Urlashov insisted on their innocence. The former mayor of Yaroslavl repeatedly said that his criminal prosecution was the revenge of the authorities for refusing to cooperate with United Russia and announced his governor's ambitions.

When you are tormented by what you did not do, you can’t come to terms with it. This is why we are still in a state of shock

In his last word, Evgeny Urlashov , including that his team is judged by “independence”: “When you are tormented by what you did, you can’t come to terms with this, this is the most problematic thing. That's why we are still in shock. We wanted to punish us for the fact that we are independent. But 3.5 years is already a very great punishment for the fact that we were independent.”

The August verdict of the Kirov court Yaroslavl Evgeny Urlashov - 12.5 years of a maximum security colony and a fine of 60 million rubles is one of the most severe for an official of a similar level on charges of receiving a bribe. The first episode, according to which the former mayor of Yaroslavl and his colleague Alexei Lopatin was found guilty, is associated with the auction for the repair and improvement of streets in the city, which took place in 2012. Judge Mikhail Ratekhin considered proven the fact that Urlashov and Lopatin extorted a bribe of 18 million rubles from the director of the company "Radostroy", a member of United Russia, Sergei Shmelev in exchange for victory in this auction. Advisor to the former mayor Alexei Lopatin was found guilty of attempted mediation in receiving a bribe. According to this episode, entrepreneur Andrei Zakharov and the director of the institution for the municipal order of the housing and communal services of Yaroslavl Maxim Dadineen were also convicted in a special order.

Evgeny Urlashov during the announcement of the sentence in the Kirovsky District Court of Yaroslavl, August 2016

Evgeny Urlashov has repeatedly stated that he believes the director of the company "Roostroy" Sergei Shmelev - the provocateur and "agent" of the Main Directorate of Economic Security and Countering Corruption (GubipK), whose leaders are now also on the dock. In the court of appeal, Urlashov explained that Shmelev offered him to pay "kickbacks" in favor of United Russia:

Dear prosecutor Andrianov said that this is not such a harsh measure that they had given before and 25 years. Of course, but in 1937 they were generally shot at once

"I was struck by the carelessness of Shmelev when he said that he would solve the issue with" United Russia "about the allocation of an additional 50 million rubles through deputies of the regional Duma to the road fund of the city of Yaroslavl. But he added that it would be necessary to give part of the United Russia. Shmelev said everywhere in his testimony: a rollback, illegal remuneration, bribe. He called this a rollback, although this word did not sound directly from the mouth of the shmolev.

The second episode of the case, which concerns only Evgeny Urlashov, is associated with receiving a bribe from the director of the Yardorstroy construction company, also a member of United Russia, Eduard Avdalyan. The court considered that Urlashov received a bribe from Avdalyan for a total amount of 17 million rubles for transferring to the ownership of the Jardorstroy City Road Administration.

Another defendant in this case - the assistant Urlashov Dmitry Donskov - was justified by the Kirov court. However, it is also present at meetings of the appeal, since the prosecutor's office did not agree with its justification and gave an idea. Earlier, Dmitry Donskov said that he did not consider his persecution politically motivated. In his case, this turned out to be “ordinary sloppiness”: according to Donskov, when deciphering the texts of the “wiretaps”, the operatives attributed phrases that he did not say that it turned out in the later stages of the investigation.

Dmitry Donskov during the announcement of the sentence in the Kirovsky District Court of Yaroslavl, August 2016

During the consideration of the case in the appeal, Dmitry Donskov asked the court to leave him unchanged, Evgeny Urlashov and Alexei Lopatin asked them to justify them. The lawyer of the former mayor of Yaroslavl Ksenia Karpinskaya said that the harsh sentence actually deprives Urlashov’s further life: “He will be 50 years old (he will be fulfilled in July 2017. - RS ), he will spend another 12.5 in the colony, and he has already spent in a strict content. With his state of health, such punishment cannot be fair and humane. Dear prosecutor Andrianov said that the prosecutor and said that This is not such a harsh measure that before and 25 years, of course, but in 1937 they were generally shot at once, ” the Yarnovosta publication quotes the lawyer.

The responsible secretary of the Federal Political Council of the Democratic Choice party Kirill Shulik on the eve of the meeting of the Yaroslavl Regional Court told Radio Liberty about what the political background in the case of Evgeny Urlashov could be and why it is not interested in the federal authorities or the opposition:

-I hope that something will change in appeal and the court will finally take the side of the law, and not to the side of political expediency. But the practice of considering such cases shows that at best, we can talk about a small reduction in the deadline, but not about determining guilt or innocence. The second instance always supports the court first, especially in political cases, in high -profile criminal processes. I hope that Urlashov will be reduced. But if this does not happen, it is likely that he simply will not sit until the end of the term, he himself already talks about it, and the lawyers spoke.

Kirill Shulik

- Do you mean his health status?

- Yes. He has been in a pre -trial detention center for so much time, of course, his health is undermined. Of course, he is attached, holds on, but health leaves much to be desired. After the pre -trial detention center, a colony is waiting for him, a prison. At the same time, he still has a completely astronomical fine. If he does not pay it, then, as practice shows, they may not be released by parole (although they have the right by law). Such a fine is specifically assigned so that the person moves the term from the call to the call. He had the money that he was discharged in the form of a fine, was not discouraged.

- He himself said that the matter is political, that Sergey Shmelev was a provocateur and he was framed. What is the political motive of this business, for what, in fact, they plant it?

More than Urlashov, under this article no one has ever received in Russia

- 12.5 years appointed by the court of first instance, for attempting to bribe, is the highest term in the history of Russia. More than Urlashov, under this article no one has ever received in Russia. Urlashov’s lawyers studied judicial practice and came to this conclusion. Even the mayor of Makhachkala Said Amirov , who was taken by special forces, with helicopters, with airplanes, a whole special operation of all Russian special services - he received 10 years. 7 years with Lastochkin , the mayor of Rybinsk. And such a long term is connected with one - Urlashov was an opposition mayor, he won the elections with United Russia, he could become the governor of the region, that is, he could actually make a good political career on popular support, and the mayor’s post was a launching pad for him. This is a completely normal phenomenon in the civilized political system, and here the authorities show us all who are engaged in politics show that such things in the Russian political system are unacceptable. That is, in order to make a political career, you need to look not for the support of the people, but to negotiate with the authorities, this is the first.

Such a long term is connected with one - Urlashov was an opposition mayor, he won the elections with United Russia, he could become the governor of the region, he could actually make a good political career on folk support

And the second, he really interfered with many. He interfered with the corruption that developed in the Yaroslavl region, and many have already forgotten, probably, but the telephone conversations of the former Governor of Yastrebov with Pogosyan were published, this is a businessman who was also busy building roads, and with the same Shmelev, where they discuss competitive procedures for cleaning the city. The governor of the region actually intervened in this matter. If this is not called corruption, then what is corruption? And there are quite a lot of such manifestations. Now we see that power has changed in the region, but the region did not receive any relief. Firstly, the Varangians came, and secondly, the people were tired in the region. And the case of Urlashov, of course, undermined confidence in power and the election procedure. This is generally a matter that will have quite long -term consequences in the plan, as they say, the participation of people in political life. They say that it is necessary to raise a turnout to the presidential election, but such things are a turnout, on the contrary, are omitted. I do not think that Urlashov will quickly forget, this is a serious problem for the authorities.

Promotion in support of Evgeny Urlashov in Yaroslavl, September 2016

- At the same time, it creates that they remember only in Yaroslavl about Urlashov’s business, there are shares in his support, people monitor this business. And at the federal level they do not talk about him: neither the authorities nor the opposition.

- And let's see what the authorities, opposition are talking about in Russia? They talk about Trump, about Obama, about Syria, about Ukraine. They do not talk about the case of Urlashov, because they do not say that the last hospitals are closed in Moscow and again a wave of conversations about the reorganization of the clinic went. This happens in power in front of the nose, at the opposition in front of the nose, and they do not notice this, but discuss the prospects of the presidency of Donald Trump. Urlashov is generally located in Yaroslavl, and for them it is very far away, and this is not on the agenda. But Yaroslavl is a big city, Urlashov was popular there, as in the entire region. But there is no attention to this: there is no power, nor the opposition, and it turns out that people are alone with this problem, and their trust in both the authorities and the opposition is undermined. And on January 20, the main one will not be the process of Urlashov, but the inauguration of Trump. We live in a completely different information agenda differing from reality, ”concludes Kirill Shulik.

On April 1, 2012, independent candidate Yevgeny Urlashov won the mayor of Yaroslavl at the representative of United Russia Yakov Yakushev. Urlashov gained almost 70% of the voters' voice. After the victory, he said: "The time has come! Let the Russian spring be born in Yaroslavl!"

On the night of July 3, 2013, Evgenia Urlashov was arrested by representatives of the economic security department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, his assistants were taken into account on July 5, 2013. In the conclusion, Evgeny Urlashov and Alexei Lopatin are already 3.5 years old. On the Change.org platform, civil activists collect signatures under the petition demanding to free the former leaders of Yaroslavl.