"Want to sow panic"

The police car at the Open Russia public organization, April 2015

On the morning of October 5, investigators founded by Mikhail Khodorkovsky, founded by Mikhail Khodorkovsky, with a decree on a search of the Yukos case, which was initiated back in 2003. Law enforcement officers also came to the Moscow office and the organization of the organization. In addition, the search was held by political scientist Stanislav Belkovsky. The Investigative Committee explained that searches are taking place due to suspicions of financing Open Russia with unwanted organizations.

As they calculated in Open Russia with searches arrived at least 17 addresses. " At about 6:30 in the morning, the operatives came to the chief editor of Open Russia Veronika Kutsyllo , also to the parents of the chairman of this movement - Alexander Solovyov , to the system administrator of the editorial office of Artem Minich , to the daughter of the chief editor of the Investigation Center Andrei Konyakhin , to the head of the open elections to Timuru Valeeva , to the manager of the open Russia and to the manager of Nina Alexei and to former organization employee Nikolai Levshitsa .

The search is carried out in the Yukos case of 2003. I was then in grade 8.
- Alexander Solovyov (@alx_solovyev) October 5, 2017

At about 8:00, the investigative actions ended in the apartment of Alexander Solovyov and Artem Minich. According to Solovyov, he was seized from phones, a computer and a digital camera that has not been used for a long time.

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About 11 o’clock the search ended with Veronika Kutsyllo, she also seized a phone and a computer, and also, as the Open Russia said, the posters of the Kommersant-Vlast publication with photographs of Khodorkovsky, Putin and Medvedev.

Timur Valeev was taken for interrogation to the Investigative Committee. The searches continue in the Open Russia office on Myasnitskaya Street and in the editorial office of the organization on Pokrovka. Activists of Open Russia come to the office of the organization to support colleagues.

The chairman of the Open Russia movement , Alexander Solovyov, tells more about the searches:

Why do you need to bring armed people with assault rifles? This is too much for them. On the eve of what? Yes, we can say, on the eve of Putin's anniversary.

- At 5:50 my mother called me, said in a whisper that we had searches, and the connection broke. She was forbidden to use the phone. At home, all phones were seized from parents, a computer, a camera for some reason even needed them, such an old, digital one. The decision was presented - on the case in 2003 in the case of Yukos. In 2003, I was 15 years old, I was in the 8th or 9th grade. And this case was instituted against episodes that occurred in 1994, when I was 7 years old. Therefore, to say that it is somehow possible to spy this, of course, complete idiocy, this is some kind of surrealism! It seems to me sometimes that they do not respect themselves - with such reasons to go on searches. Then it turned out that they also came, at about the same time to the head of the site, Veronica Kutsyllo. A lawyer managed to leave for her. Investigators left from my parents before the lawyer arrived. As usual, all this happens with some unimaginable number of violations, they do not get to familiarize themselves with anything, they showed the decree and put it in a pocket, neither to photograph, nor rewritten. Only their titles were told by my parents rewritten this. They didn’t even give a copy of the protocol. Then they returned and said: if you make a copy of it yourself, then let's ... Then it turned out that they even came to Nikolai Levshitsa, which was already working at the headquarters of Navalny for a long time, also came to several employees in the Yukos case of 2003.

For a long time, Timur Valeev did not get in touch, and our fears were justified - they did not just come to a search, but riot police broke to him, put his face on the floor for some reason, why this demonstrative cruelty was incomprehensible. He had no resistance. A riot police officer sat on him, began to interview him there. Then a press release of the Investigative Committee appeared, special cynicism-“in connection with international courts”, which are conducted on behalf of the companies related to Yukos and due to the fact that debt was presented against the Russian Federation at the amount of 50 billion dollars, they conduct searches in organizations related once with “open Russia”. They began to say something about unwanted organizations. This is once again to simplify the task for them, I can tell that with undesirable organizations recognized by the decision of the General Prosecutor's Office, the Russian Open Russia movement has nothing to do. We have no accounts for which we could accept some money from foreign organizations, and the Russian Organization “Open Russia” has no relations with the recognized non-dwerting foreign organizations in Russia. They know this very well, but for some reason they play this performance. They probably want to somehow cover it. Do not call all this a congratulation on the birthday of Vladimir Vladimirovich, for the anniversary. This must be covered at least with some idiotic excuses. For some reason, they were declared by a huge number of addresses. In the office on Myasnitskaya in general, as eyewitnesses say, there Sobr, in masks, with machine guns. That is, it is just some kind of cafianism. Because it is impossible to imagine - why do you need to bring armed people with assault rifles? They knocked out the door to the office, began to conduct a search in the office without anyone, without a tenant, without representatives. This is too much even for them. It is completely incomprehensible for some reason. On the eve of what - yes, one might say, on the eve of Putin’s anniversary, most likely. Because they constantly come to searches on the eve of some events - stocks, demonstrations.

Activist of Open Russia Mikhail Konev also connects searches with the approaching birthday of Russian President Vladimir Putin and with the desire of the investigating authorities to intimidate society:

We are very understanding that the searches are related to the approaching birthday of Vladimir Putin

- It all started with the fact that today all members of Open Russia became aware that our colleagues and in the offices where the movement works has searches. For some reason, the Investigative Committee connects them with the Yukos case and cooperation with some incomprehensible and undesirable organizations. Nevertheless, we are well aware that the searches are related to the approaching birthday of Vladimir Putin, the searches are connected with the fact that pressure is constantly on political activists and the Open Russia movement, including such power. I am convinced that the employees of the Investigative Committee have no doubt that none of those who were subjected to searches today have anything to do with the Yukos case. It is quite obvious that they want to intimidate activists, that they want to sow panic and make sure that as few people can go to the streets so that no human rights and opposition organizations do not work in Russia. Therefore, we perceive this exclusively as political pressure, absolutely unacceptable methods in a democratic society.

Mikhail Khodorkovsky wrote in his Twitter that the actions of the authorities will not stop the organization’s work, but they help to "understand who and from whom our special services actually protect."

The press secretary of Mikhail Khodorkovsky Maxim DBAR said that Open Russia does not work with unwanted organizations and does not receive financing from them. He also connected Moscow searches with a protesting campaign and general stripping of the information field before the 2018 election in Russia :

Today's events are the beginning of stripping the information field before the presidential election

- We regard today's searches as the beginning of the presidential campaign next year. It is very important for Putin in March next year not just to win, but to win convincing and quite comfortable. He needs these elections to gain legitimacy both within the country and abroad. Naturally, in such a situation, the organization, similar to “open Russia”, which tells about violation of rights, reveals the sources of Putin's enrichment, which honestly talks about the state in the country, participates and organizes protest actions, and carries out legal support of activists - such an organization is extremely uncomfortable and inconvenient. “Open Russia” speaks about this in such a way that it is heard all over the world, which is a lot of the meaning of Putin’s attempt to gain legitimacy. Therefore, it is obvious to us that today's events are the beginning of stripping the information field before the presidential election. It is possible that the immediate reason for the searches could be the preparing action on Putin’s birthday, in which the activists of Open Russia would take part and the legal support service of Open Russia would help those people who could be detained or somehow suffer from this action.

In addition, on Thursday morning, searches were held in the apartment of political scientist Stanislav Belkovsky . Investigative actions, also in the framework of the Yukos case, lasted about three hours, the political scientist seized all the equipment.

The Rain TV channel Belkovsky stated the following: "Investigators wanted evidence that I washed the giant billions of funds of Mikhail Khodorkovsky and, in particular, used these funds to conduct my own presidential campaign"

The Investigative Committee claims that searches in Open Russia are carried out within the framework of the Yukos case - “in order to carefully verify the circumstances of the financing” and as part of the investigation of how “cash proceeds from the legalization of previously stolen property” were disposed of. The statement emphasizes that "in connection with international trials initiated on behalf of foreign companies", which are aimed at "forced collection from the Russian Federation in the amount of more than 50 billion US dollars, the result is the result of verification of thefts of shares of NK Yukos, and their subsequent disposal".

The lawyer of the Corruption Fund Vyacheslav Himadi draws attention to the statement of the UK:

Postcard, screech for the ECHR. The scum from the UK said that they would press you because of civil lawsuits. Recognize the persecution for appeal to the court Pic.twitter.com/sxh6DCYBMX
- Vyacheslav Gimadi (@vigimadi) October 5, 2017

In February, a search was conducted in the apartment of journalist and human rights activist Zoe Light . He was authorized by the Basmanny Court and was held "in the case of Yukos and" Open Russia ". Earlier, some employees of the movement were questioned in the Yukos case.

In April 2017, the Russian Prosecutor General’s Office recognized the activities of several foreign non -governmental organizations that were unwanted in the country, including OR (Otkrytaya Rossia) (Open Russia, Great Britain), Open Russia Civic Movement, Open Russia (public network movement Open Russia, Great Britain). The department said that the activities of organizations are allegedly aimed at the "destabilization of the domestic political situation" in the country. The decision of the Russian public movement "Open Russia" did not affect the decision of the department, as the employees of Open Russia specified, Russian organizations "are not related to British legal entities."

Open Russia was established in 2001 by the shareholders of the Yukos oil company and a group of private individuals for the implementation of charitable, educational and educational projects. Until April 2017, Mikhail Khodorkovsky was the chairman of the board of Open Russia, during the conference of the organization in Tallinn, it was elected by the Coordinator of the Open Law project Alexander Solovyov.