Extremism from the inside out

The beginning

On March 15, searches took place in Moscow at the homes of members of the opposition movement “New Greatness.” This was reported by the telegram channel “Kremlin Laundress” ( one , two ).

It was not reported what was the reason for the searches. According to eyewitnesses, during one of the searches a list of ten names of members of the movement was seized. According to unconfirmed reports, FSB officers were present at the search.

A little later, a video appeared on the Internet with confessions by the leader of the movement, Ruslan Kostylenkov, given during interrogation.
According to Kostylenkov , the purpose of the organization was “to establish order on the territory of the Russian Federation, organize a tribunal over members of the ruling elite, and abolish repressive laws and the Constitution.” When asked how members of the movement wanted to accomplish this, Kostylenkov replied that he was going to organize rallies and organize actions against law enforcement officers.

After the searches, the leader of the movement, Ruslan Kostylenkov, a minor participant and seven other people were detained. All of them were sent to the Investigative Committee of the Joint Stock Company.

The next day, March 16, the Dorogomilovsky District Court of Moscow detained seven members of the New Greatness movement, including a minor girl, for two months. Two more received house arrest. All were charged under Article Part 1 of Art. 282.1 of the Criminal Code (organization of an extremist community). Among those arrested was the leader of the movement, Ruslan Kostylenkov.

On March 20, the Moscow agency reported that a criminal case was opened on March 13, that is, several days before the searches and arrests.

Citing a source in law enforcement agencies, the agency also claimed that the goal of the community is to commit crimes motivated by political hatred towards the activities of the constitutional system existing on the territory of the Russian Federation. In addition, members of “New Greatness” have repeatedly organized congresses of participants in Moscow and the Moscow region, at which they conducted training on participation in rallies, including the use of firearms and explosive weapons, the agency’s interlocutor noted.

Let us remind you that community members are accused under Part 1 of Art. 282.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, that is, in the organization of an extremist community .

The Criminal Code understands an extremist community as an organized group of people preparing or committing “crimes of an extremist nature.” A person who is recognized as the organizer of such a community (the first part of Article 282.1 of the Criminal Code) can receive up to ten years in prison, a possible participant (the second part) - up to six years. The Supreme Court clarified that criminal liability under this article begins at the age of 16 .

The official commentary to Article 282.1 of the Criminal Code states that the group must be “stable”, in which people united in advance to prepare and commit such crimes. The group must have an organizer and a stable composition, the actions of the participants must be coordinated.

Judging by the materials of the case, members of “New Greatness” are charged with plans to overthrow the government. Apparently, such actions, in accordance with the wording of the article, should be interpreted as “committed based on political hatred.”

Characters

OVD-Info was able to familiarize itself with the materials of the criminal case received from the lawyer of one of the defendants in the case. These papers allow a somewhat broader look at the personalities of community members, their activities and the distribution of roles. In the case materials you can find the following information about some of those arrested and those who were spared.

Arrested

Maxim Roshchin is a 38-year-old unemployed man from Khimki near Moscow. in shooting training He did not participate , and he does not know anything about other training events.

Petr Karamzin, 40 years old. He knows nothing about the rallies dedicated to the presidential elections and did not participate in their discussions . I tried to take part in the first training camp, but the group was “ stuck in the snow .” Like all the participants, he handed over the money to “Ruslan D ,” with whom he once attended a rally, but, realizing that it was not approved by the authorities, he left .

Pavel Rebrovsky is a 31-year-old unemployed Muscovite. He was appointed head of the active actions department, treated his duties with humor and did not bother with them. I didn’t seriously discuss anything, because I understood that it was impossible to overthrow the government with 10 people. I handed over the money in cash to “ Ruslan D ”.

Vyacheslav Kryukov is a 19-year-old second-year student at the Russian State University of Justice. Came to Moscow from Gelendzhik. I donated money simply out of curiosity: I wanted to listen to discussions of the political situation in the country, but without contributions they were not allowed into meetings . Like everyone else, he gave the money to “Ruslan D”, who, according to Kryukov, was also looking for premises for holding meetings.

Ruslan Kostylenkov (aka Ruslan “Center”), 25 years old. Previously convicted of robbery. The leader of the group, as he himself talks about in the video of the interrogation published by the Kremlin Laundress.

Not arrested

These members of the “New Greatness” community were interrogated on March 13, on the same day a criminal case was opened, within which 9 people were detained on March 15 and then arrested. The testimonies of Konstantinov, Rastorguev and Kashapov form the basis of the charges against all those arrested, while these testimonies were removed from the case materials that were handed over to the latter’s lawyers. They themselves were not arrested.

Alexander Konstantinov (aka “Ruslan D” - not to be confused with Ruslan “Center” Kostylenkov!) * . A man with an empty profile in the interrogation report. He admits that he participated in the association for “subsequent identification of participants,” familiarization with documents and obtaining significant information for transfer to law enforcement agencies. Konstantinov calls himself the head of the financial department . At the same time, as follows from the testimony of other participants given above, one person, “Ruslan D” (Konstantinov), was involved in collecting money, searching and renting premises. According to the testimony of the group’s leader, Kostylenkov, “Ruslan D” wrote the group’s charter.

Maxim Rastorguev is a 29-year-old senior detective officer and police captain. Integrated into the group on assignment. In his testimony, Rastorguev testifies that participation in the “Ruslana D” community is part of an operational search activity, “ operational implementation .” Together with “Ruslan D” and Ruslan “Center” (Kostylenkov) he participated in the creation of an assault detachment . Leader of the assault squad , helped make Molotov cocktails .

Rustam Kashapov is a 28-year-old military engineer. to one of the group’s rallies According to the testimony of one of those arrested, it was Kashapov who brought weapons and ammunition .

Total

From the case materials it becomes clear that:

• Three participants in the movement were interrogated three days before the searches and arrests: Konstantinov, Rastorguev, Kashapov.
• It was after their interrogation that a criminal case was initiated.
• It is their testimony that underlies the accusations of other participants.
• Judging by the case materials, all three participated in organizing the group and exercises, writing the charter, raising funds and renting premises, which, according to the prosecution, became the basis for the detention and arrest of participants in the New Greatness movement.
• Konstantinov, Rastorguev and Kashapov escaped arrest.
• One of the three, Rastorguev, says that he was introduced into the group on assignment. The testimony of all three was almost completely removed from the case materials, which were given to the lawyers of the arrested.

* The original text of the publication stated that Konstantinov and the infiltrated agent of the Spaniards are one person. This statement was considered controversial by the editors of OVD-Info and removed from the main text. Perhaps Ispantsev, whose introduction Rastorguev describes in his testimony, is a different person, and he was not actively involved in the operation to create an “extremist” community.