“Why did you run away?”: the author of the Moscow metro logo had his leg broken before the protest at the mayor’s office

I take part in [protest] rallies, I’ve been to almost all of them, but I’ve never been detained before. I won’t hide it, I was going to attend the rally. I live in the center and run every morning. Osip Bove Park, which is next to my house and right next to the Moscow City Duma, was closed for the whole day, although it is always open on weekends. Security explained to me that there was an action in the city, and the park was closed just in case. You can see on Strava (mobile application for running enthusiasts - OVD-Info ): every day I run five kilometers either around the city or in the park. I ran around the city. Since I was planning to go [to the rally], I decided to run to Tverskaya to see what was there and how it was.

I ran several circles around the city hall and took photographs. The police came at me several times: Why are you taking pictures? Although it seems that it is possible. I stopped and started taking pictures of the paddy wagons that were parked in huge numbers in Voznesensky Lane. Two policemen slowly walked toward me. I decided: okay, I’ll keep running. I ran a block, then Russian Guards began to come at me from different directions.

I had to jump onto the roadway; from behind hog jumped out a the paddy wagon and kicked me in the leg as hard as he could. The others knocked me down and started beating me. It was at 11:50 am. I took the contacts of the guys who were also detained. They say they can act as witnesses, they saw it all.

They pushed me into a paddy wagon, and a policeman asked:

- You were just running?

- Well, yes.

And the police started laughing. They said they thought I was running away. When they knocked me down, I shouted:

- For what?

- Why did you run away?

Maybe it was a mistake, but I weigh 73 kilograms, these guys would have stopped me with just two of them, and there was no need to beat me. First they beat me on the road, then on the sidewalk.

Then they transferred me to another paddy wagon, I sat there for probably one hour. The paddy wagon drove somewhere , drove up to another paddy wagon, and I was forcibly transferred there. My leg immediately started to hurt. As soon as I was detained, I contacted OVD-Info , where they told me that I could call a doctor. I asked for a doctor, but they didn’t give me one.

The doctor arrived at the police department and said that we needed to take him for an x-ray. The police didn’t want to let me go and demanded an explanation from me. I refused, citing Article 51 of the Constitution, and demanded to communicate in the presence of a lawyer. They say that I don’t have a lawyer, I replied that the lawyer is standing at the entrance and they don’t let him in.

As a result, I went by ambulance to the emergency room, they took an x-ray at the emergency room, said that I had a fracture, and took me to the hospital. I'm currently undergoing examinations. The doctor said there were some abrasions on my back. I don’t see the back, I don’t know how global it is. But they kicked me on the back. I have bruises on both legs, one of them is broken.

I'm running five kilometers, Strava shows that I ran 4 kilometers 900 meters, after 100 meters I had to stop. After running, I was dehydrated, but they didn’t give me water. I sat and freaked out in a hot paddy wagon. Maybe they had reasons to find out if I was filming, maybe they really thought I was running away. But the way I was beaten covers it all. I have a feeling: if I was detained, I was in something wrong , I’m trying to find logic. I’m lying now with a broken leg, but I’m trying to treat it with humor.