Courts and programs: how the work of the Nizhny Novgorod Political Red Cross is arranged

The human rights activists of the Nizhny Novgorod political Red Cross have been helping for several years to those who are detained at rallies and pursued for political reasons. Journalist Alexander Baeva talked with the coordinators about how their work works and why to make programs to specialists - this is important.

On an inconsistent campaign against pension reform on September 9 in Nizhny Novgorod, only one person was detained. And two days later, the police detained four supporters of Navalny and two employees of the Nizhny Novgorod political Red Cross.

Ilya Myaskovsky, the NPKK coordinator, did not take part in the action, but was an observer. He wanted to record possible detentions in order to then speak in court in support of the detainees, but in the end he was convicted of himself. On September 12, a member of the NPCK Dmitry Kalinchev came to the court of Tyskovsky on September 12. Immediately after the meeting, he was detained right in the corridor of the court building. And also condemned for 20 days.

On the same evening, when they detained Tyskovsky, unknown people who introduced themselves as a social service and said that they wanted to conduct a survey.

“I was quietly standing outside the door and listened,” says Ekaterina, “will they start talking among themselves. And I heard! One male voice asked what to do now, he was ordered to continue to introduce himself to the social service. It is worth noting that neither I nor my son are registered in the area to which this “social service” allegedly belonged. ”

Catherine did not open the door for them. On October 3, she was detained on the street and taken to the department.

Participants in the Nizhny Novgorod political red cross have long been participating in promotions and rallies, organize assistance to political prisoners and make transfers to special receptions and colonies. Their names are well known to law enforcement agencies, but this does not prevent them from continuing to work.

Nizhny Novgorod political red cross

The NPCC founded four people: Ekaterina Maksimova, Vladimir Kravtsov, Ilya Myaskovsky and Dmitry Kalinchev. The idea to create an organization came back in 2011, but on an ongoing basis they began to work only in 2015.

Nizhny Novgorod was inspired by the history of the organization “Political Red Cross”, which arose in imperial Russia. Its participants helped the arrested participants in "Walking to the people." After the revolution in Moscow, the PKK again opened and helped political prisoners before closing in 1937. The idea of ​​the organization was also promoted by Soviet dissidents. The PKK not only managed to help political prisoners in prisons, but even to soften sentences and achieve their liberation.

In 2011, on July 31, the Strategy-31 action was held in Nizhny Novgorod. Then about 20 people were detained, three were sent to a special -reception. Compared to previous detentions on shares, it was quite a lot. And then a long campaign begins against the elections, and detention is constantly taking place.

“We are familiar with the protests of 2011-2012,” says Ilya Myaskovsky. - I and Ekaterina Maksimova then beat the same policeman with a club. He really hit her head. We have known each other for six years when the protest began.

In 2012, on promotions in Nizhny Novgorod they often detained: screwed at rallies, came to arrest activists of the house. On September 15, 2012, about 100 people were detained. A criminal case began, which, apparently, was supposed to be another “swamp business”, but in the end they put only one person: another Russia activist Yuri Old Belo was charged on the 1st part of Article 318 of the Criminal Code-the use of violence against a police officer.

The creators of the NPCK went to rallies, made programs to specialists. Since 2011, it became clear that it was simply necessary, since people began to be detained more often than before. Initially, these were scattered initiatives, who could - he walked. And on December 25, 2015, four activists gathered and decided to create an organization.

“We started working,” recalls Catherine. -Firstly, because a person can simply be left without help, because no one will know about him. He does not know who to contact. Or he does not know at all who could help him.

We decided to call themselves the “Nizhny Novgorod political red cross” and help political prisoners. NPKK helps everyone, regardless of political views and beliefs. Ilya Tyskovsky notes that the organization’s successes are still very modest, but they will continue to work.

Activity

The NPKK has several areas of activity: humanitarian, legal and informational.

“We have pages on Facebook and VKontakte,” says the organization coordinator Vladimir Kravtsov. - There are wallets and map numbers, citizens transfer money to them. They are spent on transferred to a specialist, in prison and colony. Sometimes we spend money on lawyers if the box office allows.

The humanitarian part includes the collection of everything necessary for the prisoner. Most often, people need food and warm clothes, and can also be needed personal hygiene items, medicines, cigarettes, books, for those who have been given a deadline, and so on. Humanitarian assistance is provided by all NPKK wards. Rids are made both to the police department and in the special -reception. As well as those who are judged by the criminal article. The programs are made in jail during the process, and also sent to the colony. In fact, the activities of the NPCK are not limited only to the Nizhny Novgorod region. If the Nizhny Novgorod was condemned and sent to the colony, for example, to Mordovia, then the programs will still receive him.

“I remember my feeling when I was in the department for the first time,” Ilya Myskovsky recalls. - After the first detentions. And when the girl went into this dirty, smelly department with some kind of bag of water and something else, it was a feeling as the angel from heaven went down. And I understand that this is absolutely necessary for the person who got there. Both psychologically and physically. And this is the simplest reaction when someone was detained.

Ilya Tyskovsky gives a comment only a few hours after he was released from the special reception, where he served 20 days for the action against the pension reform on September 9. This is already the third landing of Myaskovsky this year. He says that it is very important for the detainee to know that he is not the only one that supports him. And also, according to Tyaskovsky, there really are not enough many things in the special reception.

Socialists and escorts begin to treat the detainee differently if they see that he is supported from the will. They begin to respect him, because they understand that he is “not a renegful of some kind,” says Tyskovsky.

The programs also need to be controlled. Firstly, for everyone to eat food and things. Secondly, in special receptionists and prisons there are certain transmission rules and a limit for transmission. It is necessary to ensure that the limit is not scored in the first couple of days, so that the person does not stay in the next 30 days without help.

“We know what we need to do,” Ilya Myskovsky confidently declares. - We have a template. We do not cry, do not sob. We do a normal work that is necessary for absolutely everyone.

There are no clear divisions of duties in the NPCK. Everyone performs the work that can. Ilya Tyskovsky often goes to court sessions of the wards of the organization, together with Ekaterina Maksimova and Vladimir Kravtsov makes programs to special receivers. Employees of special receivers will already recognize them.

“I can say about my experience,” says Ekaterina Maksimova. - I come every week with transfers. Well, how do they react? Laugh, of course. “Ah, well, of course, everyone has a relative. This is half a prison relative. ”

Transmission is the main area of ​​the NPKK. The organization pays for lawyers, only if there is enough money. All the activities of activists are on a voluntary basis. Since the organization does not have permanent sponsors, they can only provide only humanitarian assistance.

“Another of ours is legal,” explains Catherine. - This is a search for lawyers. It is not so much developed, although it, of course, must be developed.

If there are not enough funds from the Red Cross cash desk, its participants are looking for money for legal services through social networks or finding charitable organizations that are ready to pay for the protection of a political prisoner.

“We also organize pickets in support of the political zones,” says Dmitry Kalinchev. - Although not only members of the NPCK participate there. At first, we were not going to organize shares, NPKK was conceived as a project that provides financial and social assistance. Well, and we monitor the detentions and news from the courts, write posts to the NPKK groups.

NPKK also has groups on social networks, where they publish news about the detentions, illuminate court hearings and talk about their wards. Posts on social networks are written by Ekaterina Maksimova and Vladimir Kravtsov. Firstly, by their posts, activists want to draw public attention to persecution for political reasons. As Ilya Tyskovsky notes, people often come up during pickets and ask in surprise: "Are there any political prisoners in Russia?"

Secondly, thus NPKK collects donations. Subscribers learn that someone needs help right now, and send money to the organization’s account.

Wards

Most often, NPKK begins to help someone after a mass event passes in the region and police officers detain people. After the action, it is not difficult to find out how many people were detained and what terms they received. There are also cases when the prisoners themselves or their relatives are associated with the coordinators and ask for help.

But there are no more cases that human rights activists are not known about for various reasons, or the NPCK coordinators learn about them by chance: from the press or from social networks. Or, on the mouth, a rumor of political prisoners reaches.

The most difficult and important business to organize the business, all NPCK participants called the Anarchist Ilya Romanov. In October 2013, Ilya Romanov exploded in his hands. The explosion damaged his face and the left eye, and his left hand had to be amputated. Investigators took Ilya directly from the hospital and charged him - supposedly it was not firecracker, but a home -made explosive device. He was accused of trying to commit a terrorist act. Romanov was given 10 years in colony. True, later reduced the term for a year. Already in the colony, a new criminal case was brought against him, now for the call for terrorism.

Judges from Moscow came to judge Romanov. NPKK helped him, made programs and wrote on social networks about his business. Tyskovsky was at almost all meetings:

- Then I first encountered a criminal court. He saw all this process: who is participating in court, saw all these strange faces of the loafers whom our state feeds in order to put a person. It's all terrible and scary.

But more often the NPCC works with those who are not pursued on criminal, but in administrative cases. Often, the NPKK coordinators themselves fall into specialists. Starting from the protests of 2011, each of them has already acquired a reputation as a professional oppositionist. Everyone is regularly detained at rallies because they believe that they are one of the organizers. The arrests of activists are very inhibited by the organization’s work, and there are not so many people who want to carry transfers in the departments.

“I am leaving now (from the special receptionist- OVD-info ),” says Ilya, “and some stupid aunt regrets my mother that I sat down for 20 days.” It is necessary to drag this aunt to the court so that she saw all this disgrace. So that she understands what Russian justice is.

Pressure on activists

The participants in the organization themselves argue that they do not feel much attention to the NPCK.

“If they are Winty, they press,” Ilya Tyskovsky explains, “it’s not as a representative of the NPKK.” I will be pressed like Tyskovsky. I have a certain local reputation here. So I came to the action or just walked past the shares of the navalists. And I will already vinte. And with Katya (Maksimova- OTD-info ) the same thing. They do not believe that the action of Navalny passed, and I accidentally passed there that I am not an organizer.

And when asked if there is some kind of aggression on the part of the police to those who make the programs, Ekaterina Maksimova replies: “Most often there is aggression for everyone. Therefore, what is the separation between those who make the programs political and not political - no. ”