Photolication

The trial of Yuri Dmitriev, the famous local historian, historian, chairman of the Karelian regional branch of the Memorial Society, the author of numerous "Books of Memory" - studies of Soviet history of the period of mass repressions - is held closed. Dmitrieva is accused of making pornographic photographs with the participation of his minor adopted daughter - therefore, the audience is not allowed to the audience. But friends, relatives and colleagues of the defendant stand in the corridor in front of the door of the hall and do not miss the opportunity to greet him, say at least a few encouraging words.

On the day of the first court hearing, when Dmitrieva was led by the corridor, he was applauded by all the audience, NT was told by Anatoly Razumov, the head of the Center for “Returned Names” under the Russian National Library: “Yura was restrained, concentrated, physically looked good, nodded in a friendly manner.”

Recall that the historian and local historian was detained on December 13, 2016 in his own apartment, which first charged him with the spread of children's pornography. Then other claims appeared: according to Viktor Anufriev, the lawyer Dmitriev, the case began with one article, now there are four of them. Including an article on illegal storage of firearms: as evidence, the investigators presented a rusty cut of the old gun, which, as Dmitriev himself said, he took away from the boys in the yard 20 years ago, so that troubles did not work out.

By the way, this article was presented to the latter, so that, as the lawyer suggests, it is either accusing it in case the main accusation is disappeared, or to justify the arrest and preliminary conclusion, or, conversely, to justify this article, demonstrating the “objectivity” of Russian justice.

Ashes knocks in the heart

Since the late 1990s, Yuri Dmitriev has been engaged in human rights activities, the restoration of the rights of rehabilitated victims of political repression. He compiled and published “Books for the Memory of Victims of Political Repressions of the 1930-1940s in Karelia”, collected a huge archive of materials on the history of the construction of the White Sea-Baltic Canal: it was he who discovered the cemetery of the tormented builders of the white-shocked on 8 gateways. He also investigated the places of camp cemeteries of the prisoners of the Gulag in different corners of Karelia, including in the Red Borus (Prionezhsky district).

The case began with one article, now there are four of them. Including an article on illegal storage of firearms: as evidence, the investigators presented a rusty cut of the old gun, which, as Dmitriev himself said, he took away the boys in the yard 20 years ago, so that troubles did not work out

In the late 1990s, Dmitriev organized an expedition to search for a camp cemetery on a slope of a sectory mountain on Solovki. In the same years, he, along with the then chairman of the Karelian Society, Memorial Ivan Chukhin, compiled the book “Memorial Lists of Karelia, 1937–1938”. After the untimely death of Chukhin, Yuri Dmitriev holds the post of chairman of the Karelian Memorial.

Together with the employees of the St. Petersburg branch of the Memorial society, Veniamin Ioffe and Irina Flig, in 1997, he discovered the place of execution and burial of the first Solovetsky stage in the tract of the Sandarmokh near Medvezhyegorsk. They managed to establish during excavations the exact number of executed - 1193 people - and the names of most of them. Two years later, in 1999, his collection “The place of execution - Sandarmokh” was published, now his reprint is being prepared.

At the recently held in St. Petersburg and Moscow, presentations to the public presented two new works by Dmitriev-the book “The place of memory of Red Bor” with the lists of people shot in this place, and the book of memory of the Karelian people “The Motherland remembers them”. Yuri Alekseevich worked on them until his arrest, he had already made the last edits from the Petrozavodsky pre -trial detention center. Work on books was finished by his colleagues and friends from the international “memorial”, who specially timed the publication of books to begin the process over their author.

Fathers and children

Ekaterina Klodt, her daughter, Yuri Dmitrieva, said that her father, working on books, did not come out for months from the computer: “Although outwardly he is sharp and ruffled, a very kind and caring person inside,” says Catherine. - He is a friend to all: his colleagues, children, grandchildren. Always enters into all positions. You can talk about everything with him. ”

The last time she saw her father in mid -April, then the dating was banned, since the daughter passes in the case as a witness. The adoptive daughter of Natasha, according to Catherine, loves her dad very, misses and worries about him. Now the girl lives far from Petrozavodsk, in the village with her grandmother (her native mother is in prison).

“For so many years we lived together with one family, I have children of her age, with my son she is one year old, my daughter is younger,” says Ekaterina. - Natasha is the same my child, although she considers me a sister. She is very friendly with my children. ”

Yuri Dmitriev took the adoptive daughter to his family 8 years ago. The girl was in a very poor physical condition - exhausted, poorly developed. To become her adoptive father, he went through more than one court, but achieved his own. Dmitriev himself was brought up in an orphanage, then he was adopted. And, having grown up their native children, he considered himself obliged to take another child to educate.

A few months after the adoption, the educators in the kindergarten found “bruises from the beatings” with the girl, who in fact turned out to be traces of the wet newspaper: through her, the adoptive mother put his mustard plasters. Having survived this, Yuri Dmitriev began to periodically photograph and put these photos in the “Health” folder on his computer, and so - a month after a month, year after year. He did this in case of any possible complaints from the guardianship authorities, did not show anyone. Over the years, I did less often. So 144 photos have accumulated, but only 9 of them are interpreted as pornographic.

By the way, for all eight years, while the adopted daughter lived with Dmitriev, the Karelian guardianship authorities had no complaints against him.

Arrest on denunciation

How outsiders became known about photographs on the hard drive of the personal computer of Yuri Dmitriev - a big question. Two weeks before the arrest, as his lawyer said to his lawyer (these words confirm the rest of the family), he, having returned home once, found that someone had broken into the apartment and clearly delved into the computer. Dmitriev did not report this to the police only because nothing was clearly from the apartment. And soon there was an arrest and accusations of creating “indecent” photographs, which no one except his foster father knew.

A few months after the adoption, the educators in the kindergarten found “bruises from the beatings” in the girl, who in fact turned out to be traces of the wet newspaper: through her, the adoptive mother put his mustard to the baby. Having survived this, Yuri Dmitriev began to periodically photograph and put these photos in the “Health” folder on his computer, and so - a month after a month, year after year

The accusation refers to a certain anonymous letter - actually a denunciation. “Like a father, as an adult, I can say: there is nothing pornographic in these photographs,” says Anufriev’s lawyer. - Rather, the reason is different. In the search for places of executions, Yuri Alekseevich discredited the past mode. The time has come when his activity seemed unnecessary and even harmful to someone. ”

According to Anatoly Razumov, the “main pain point and irritant in the local region” was the national memorial in Sandarmokh. Yuri Dmitrieva, sure of the mind, was arrested precisely for Sandarmokh, the annual noise around which was tired of the authorities.

The lawyer Anufriev of excessive opitimism regarding the outcome of the case does not feed: “Unfortunately, the entire repressive mechanism is configured against Yuri Alekseevich in such a way that there is a very great chance that he will remain in custody.”

However, the authorities are unlikely to achieve their own. Close Sandarmokh, having imprisoned Dmitriev, will not succeed, Irina Fliga is sure. Rather, even the opposite: "The process against the historian only strengthened the public resonance around this memorial cemetery, in which his prisoner of conscience has now appeared through the efforts of the authorities."

Comments

Lev Shcheglov, Russian sexologist and psychotherapist, and rector of the Institute of Psychology and Sexology (St. Petersburg), member of the Board of Trustees of the European University:

This is an old, still Soviet tradition, the essence of which is not only to punish a person, to intimidate others, but also to throw him with something dirty. This was practiced in relation to the filmmaker Sergei Parajanov, and to the chief director of the Leningrad TSAS Zinovy ​​Korogodsky ... just punish them - it is not enough for them, it is also advisable to discredit. The technology is not new, but it works.

Or maybe they just really wanted to find at least some compromising evidence on Dmitriev. And having found photos of a naked child in his computer, they decided to dig in the direction of pornography.

“This is an old, still Soviet tradition, the essence of which is not only to punish a person, but also to throw him with something dirty. This was practiced in relation to the filmmaker Sergei Parajanov, and to the chief director of the Leningrad TSAS Zinovy ​​Korogodsky ... just punish them - it is not enough for them, it is also advisable to discredit. The technology is not new, but it works "

Alexander Daniel, Member of the Board of Memorial:

Having brought Dmitriev’s accusations of the manufacture of children's pornography, investigators intentionally wanted to let the good name of the historian and human rights activist. Similar tactics against dissidents were also used in Soviet times - for example, when the famous Ukrainian journalist and public figure Vyacheslav Chernovol was literally “framed”, accusing him of an attempt to rape. Now, accusing Yuri Dmitriev of “dirty” affairs, the authorities apparently hoped that because of such an accusation, no one would want to intercede for him, would not want to climb this matter? But they miscalculated!