"In Russia, this is not ready to accept." FSB against the supporter Greta Tunberg

The 28-year-old actress of the Murmansk Puppet Theater, Maria Bogdanova, decided to join international actions against environmental pollution and global warming and, together with her like-minded people, agreed with the administration of Murmansk on September 27. However, on the eve of the action, the FSB officers suddenly came to the theater.

- How unexpected was this visit to you?

They took me to one of the offices for a conversation for 10 minutes. They reported that they were from the FSB

- The fact is that that day I was all the time from an unfamiliar city number and a couple of times from a mobile. I could not answer, since I had rehearsals in the theater. When I called back these numbers, no one picked up the phone.

Toward evening, I realized that I could not participate in the picket, since the performance was scheduled for the duration of the action. Somewhere at six in the evening I went to the service lobby, where two strangers in civilian clothes were already waiting for me. It turned out, while the rehearsal was going on, they were met by one of the theater’s employees, asked what happened. They replied that they came about the event that I organize. The employee said that I have a performance tomorrow, so I can’t go anywhere. That is, by the time of our conversation, they already knew that the picket would probably not take place. But they took me to one of the offices for a conversation for 10 minutes. There in the office they reported that they were from the FSB. But their surnames were not named. And I did not realize what I had to ask.

- What was the conversation about?

Strange questions began: "What kind of organization in which you are seized? Does it have a headquarters? Who is the main one?"

“ They asked if I know that I was responsible for everything that would happen on the picket.” Like, as an organizer, I will have to eliminate any riots at the event. I replied that I know, but I doubt that the picket will be massive and more than five people will come.

In my understanding, they came precisely to tell me about the responsibility for the picket and to some extent to dissuade it from its implementation. If not in direct words, then gradually. Not straight, but they really pressed me. If one of the employees was more or less polite, calmly talked, then the second rolled his eyes, spoke disrespectfully to me, tried to show that I was to blame that I was generally coordinating this picket ...

When I asked what would happen if I can’t have a purely hypothetically myself to come to the picket, they answered me: "If something happens on the picket, then you will have problems." I replied that I would cancel the picket. Then they stated that this must be done officially. And after that, the completely strange questions began: "What kind of organization in which you are seized? Does it have a headquarters? Who is the main one?" I reply that this is not an organization, but an international independent movement that has no and cannot have headquarters and “main”, that all coordination is conducted online between other participants in the action.

And there were questions indicating that they not just found out my place of work, but dug deeply: "You are not from Murmansk, participated in some rallies in Novosibirsk?" And two years ago I moved to Murmansk from Novosibirsk. No, I say, before that I only participated in a pair of rallies, already here.

They ask me: "How do you notify people about the cancellation of the rally? Do you know every person, who will come?"

- Through social networks, as the rally collected. I personally know only one person.

- That is, just in Institute, contact?

- Yes.

- Can I have a page?

I gave the Murmansk account. More polite finally read my paper about the fight against extremist activity: that we cannot bring weapons and other items to the rally that can harm the safety of others. I signed this paper and said that, they say, I, the organizer of the climate rally (!), Not an extremist, and they left.

- Did their appearance frighten you?

- It was not frightened, I was absolutely calm, because I know what I was going out for. I'm not going to do anything bad. But it was very surprised! I would never have thought that the action in the protection of the climate can cause so many suspicions. Of course, these adherents of an ecological lifestyle can arrange this! For example, they will suddenly stop using plastic! They will begin to eat less meat, or drink less milk, or will stop completely?!

It was because of the fact that such a close attention of the FSB officers caused some simple climatic, ecological picket, and I decided to write in detail about this in social networks.

- If it were not for your employment in the theater, would you not cancel the rally?

At one point, the news about Greta Tunberg turned up to me, and somehow everything spin very quickly

- No. Moreover, now, after 40 minutes, we meet with girls and are going to conduct single eco -pickets that do not require coordination with the authorities.

- How did your interest in environmental problems begin?

- A year ago, I was traveling from vacation on the train and suddenly realized that I was taking a bunch of garbage with me. She began to watch a video on this topic, read various foreign bloggers, to study how they solve the problem of excessive consumption in their lives. And gradually I began to develop the habit of taking care of the ecology, at my own level. At first I just sorted the plastic, then I found out that in Murmansk there is really nowhere to pass it: they only take bottles or heavy plastic with a serious weight. I decided to exclude plastic from life if possible, replace it, buy products in another container, and so on. Now I never buy a plastic bag at the cash desk of the store. If possible, when you can buy something in my container, I use it. Until the fact that she even began to buy spices in her jars. Even if just all people at least stop just buying plastic bags at the checkout and replace them with reusable bags - there will already be a grandiose contribution to the environmental protection case. Then somehow I turned up the news about Greta Tunberg, and somehow everything spin very quickly-literally in one or two days I decided to join the street protest.

- How do you feel about her last performance at the UN summit on climate change?

They perceive only the shell, discuss the external image of the activist girl. And do not listen to the essence of her words

- I believe that she says that many are simply afraid to say aloud. But most perceive it as ... That is, they perceive only the shell, discuss the external image of the activist girl. And do not listen to the essence of her words. And this is a sign, a huge thing - what she says! Unfortunately, many do not perceive the information that the UN publishes at all, although the organization’s reports are very accessible and evidence -based crisis, about the problem with ecology, and so on. Strange, but in Russia many people think that this is nonsense, and do not believe scientists and activists. I do not quite understand this position.

- What do you think about a rather negative reaction in social networks to perform the Greta of many in Russia?

How can you cut off the importance of information, appealing to the fact that a person is supposedly unhealthy?!

- I see a lot of posts in which Greta is compared with the left radicals. The accusations are that those who support her are also “left”. How is it at all? I do not understand why people do not want to recognize a national problem. Suppose take this situation with garbage collection in the Arkhangelsk region. It's just obvious that the problem is huge!

And how can she draw attention to such problems in a different way that no one wants to notice?! If she behaved friendly, not a fact ... Naturally, to some extent there is a provocation in her image. But how many reports that this is a sign of illness and discussion of her appearance ... How, in general, you can concentrate attention?! Recall the same Stephen Hawking, spent his whole life in a stroller, and what contribution made to world science?! How can you cut off the importance of information, appealing to the fact that a person is supposedly unhealthy?! It is simply unacceptable.

Yes, most likely, this is due to the fact that people in our country are not ready to accept this information in our country.

- How is Siberian in the past and a resident of the north of Russia now, can you compare the environmental situation in Murmansk and Novosibirsk?

- Before leaving Novosibirsk, I was not so much involved in environmental protection issues. And now, with joyful surprise, I find out that Novosibirsk, it turns out, is a leader in Russia for separate collection of garbage. And the activists are strong there. For example, Sasha Shugai, whose speech was broadcast about forest fires in Siberia on the screens during the UN summit.

Now the Novosibirsk eco -moving is involved in the involvement of scientists from the local Akademgorodok to his projects. Firstly, to promote ecotem among the townsfolk, in order to adapt scientific theories, make it accessible and understandable, and most importantly, that people realize that the words about the environmental consciousness are not just some fiction of rabid activists, but confirmed facts, and the climatic crisis actually threatens the planet.

Here, in the north, I still do not notice such activity among eco -defenders. Of course, I am pleased that in Murmansk there is such an eco -organization as "nature and youth", which arranges the collection of waste paper and so on. But in other regions of Russia there are already many other eco -projects that already need to be introduced here. I hope that I myself will begin to do it.

-The theme of eco-perest has somehow suddenly shot recently. Why do you think?

- In the world - yes, she shot. Now there is a week, from September 20 to 27, when Fridays for Future and Greenpeace activists will jointly organize pickets in defense of the climate, the environment as a whole. It is impossible not to notice them. Last Friday, quite a lot of people went out onto the streets, today too. However, in Russia, this movement has collected a rather modest number of picketers. If you take numbers around the world-about 4 million people, then in Russia with our population-only 200 people came out over the past week. It is difficult to understand what the reason is. Maybe such a mentality among a modern Russian man, or maybe a certain fear of the very word "rally", "picket" interferes. As if it is something terrible and illegal.

Nevertheless, in our common eco-comments you are happy to stumble upon a message from a 15-year-old girl: she already has some kind of Eco-propaganda projects, a high level of English, to communicate on these topics with activists from other countries, and she is ready to devote her time to this. Young people are quite active in this regard - this, of course, is very cool and very encouraging.