"My life has changed catastrophically." How to become an emigrant at 65

Co -chair of the public organization "Eco -Protection!" Alexandra Korolev lives in a camp for migrants for several months in Germany. She was forced to leave Russia when she became a defendant in five criminal cases at once. Things were initiated by environmental disagreements to recognize their organization as a “foreign agent”. Koroleva believes that she is pursued for political reasons.

Alexander Korolev has been holding the post of co -chair of the Kaliningrad group "Eco -Protection!" For 25 years. Her forced emigration did not paralyze the work of the team, just the second co -chair, Vladimir Slivak, now she has to work more.

“We turned out to be perspicacious, and we have two co -chairs with equal rights and obligations in our organization,” says Koroleva.

In the life of my family, this was already when, after the shot of my grandfather in 1936, my grandmother with two children fled from home

A quarter of a century Alexander Korolev defended the right of residents of the Kaliningrad region to a normal environmental environment - under her leadership "Eco -Protection!" She opposed the construction of a Baltic nuclear power plant and a coal thermal power plant, defended the preservation of green spaces. In Kaliningrad, ecologists held educational actions, collaborated with schools. There were projects in other Russian regions.

In May 2019, five criminal cases were instituted against the queen under Article 315 of Part 2 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation-malicious evasion of the execution of a court decision. In Russia, she faces up to two years in prison. In June, the ecologist left for Germany and asked for political asylum there.

- I left everything that I had - a house, interesting work, friends, loved ones, like -minded people, even my dog is not with me. I miss every minute by sea, I am looking for features of Kaliningrad in Dresden. My life has changed catastrophically, ”says the queen. - In the life of my family, this was once when, after her grandfather’s shot in 1936, my grandmother with two small children fled from home where she looked, just to save the children. It’s happiness that I had to answer only for myself when I left. For example, our friend from the Chelyabinsk branch of Eco -Protection!, Accused of espionage, fled from the country with three children.

Germany as a place of emigration was no coincidence. Here, "Eco -Protection!" Most of the partners - public organizations with which ecologists are associated with many years of projects: against the import of nuclear waste to Russia, in defense of alleys, in support of the inhabitants of Kuzbass, fighting against open coal production, and others.

This is not the best place for a woman of 65 years

The queen has not yet received an answer from Germany’s migration services, whether she will be provided asylum. According to her, you may have to wait more than one month.

- Now I live in the center for migrants. This is not the best place for a woman of 65 years old, but the experience of pioneer childhood with pioneer camps and years of life in a student dormitory facilitate stay here, ”she says. - As for work, then in the current age of the Internet you can work anywhere. It is even possible to end the projects begun. This year we planned to make a film about the Curonian braid: part of the filming took place in February-April when I was still in Russia, and then the film crew continued their work without me, including on the Lithuanian side. Now there is installation, remotely I can make adjustments, and we hope to present the film to the public at the beginning of next year.

Double penalty

In Russia, the ecologist fell under the persecution as an official. The reason for initiating affairs was non -fulfillment of "eco -protection!" The so -called law on "foreign agents". The organization included in the register of "foreign Agents" in 2014 should submit reports to the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation four times a year. However, environmentalists do not recognize themselves in foreign agents and submit reports once a year, as an ordinary Russian non -profit organization.

For each episode, the deficiency of the report by the Ministry of Justice automatically opened an administrative case that ended in a fine. In December 2018, the organization’s account was arrested. And in May, criminal cases were already opened for five cases of non -payment of fines.

According to the queen, the amount of fines of 2.2 million rubles was originally charged to her. But then the numbers were adjusted.

“In July 2019, the Federal Bailiff Service admitted that as a result of confusion, the requirements for the payment of fines were sent to the bank several times, and the real amount of unpaid fines did not exceed the amount of 680 thousand rubles,” she notes.

The difficulty of the situation is that fines cannot be paid by means of the organization. "Eco -protection!" He receives targeted financing from foreign charitable foundations, and if project money goes to fines, the organization will violate the law.

According to logic, the bailiffs could close criminal cases

After the queen left for her, the Kaliningrad governor Anton Alikhanov stood up for her. In his Instagram, he made an appeal to residents, where he called for collecting funds to pay for environmental fines, and he himself made an impressive donation.

- Alikhanov not only called to pay fines for us, but also transferred a solid amount to the organization, 100 thousand rubles. So, in fact, the collection of money for the payment of fines began, ”says the queen. - Thanks to Kaliningraders, 460 thousand rubles were collected, which blocked the amount of fines in which criminal cases were instituted (it is 270 thousand). That is, according to logic, the bailiffs could close criminal cases. Crimes - which consisted of non -payment of fines - now not. But the bailiffs are in no hurry to do it.

In the base of federal bailiffs "Eco -Protection!" It continues to be the debtor, despite the fact that the organization paid fines.

The absurd law

The leaders of "Eco -Protection!" They still refuse to recognize themselves as foreign agents.

- We consider the law to be absurd, its requirements meaningless and taking away resources from organizations, therefore we decided not to obey the law, not fulfill its requirements, work, as if nothing had happened. We worked in this way for five years, ”says the queen.

We consider the law to be absurd, its requirements are meaningless

Back in 2013, "Eco -Protection!" Together with other public organizations, she appealed to the European Court of Human Rights, saying that the law on foreign agents violates the rights guaranteed by the European Convention on Human Rights: to freedom of expression and to freedom of assembly and associations. The collective complaint, which was already joined by 61 organizations, was communicated in March 2017.

Then environmentalists actively fought against the construction of the Baltic nuclear power plant. They initiated a large-scale campaign aimed at counteracting Rosatom’s attempts to find co-financing in European financial and credit organizations. The campaign was successful, and in 2013 the construction was closed. Immediately after this "Eco -Protection!" She was subjected to prosecutor’s verification, but the prosecutor’s office did not find signs of a foreign agent. And in 2014, the Ministry of Justice received the right to independently, without the participation of the prosecutor's office, to bring public organizations to the register. And immediately "Eco -Protection!" She became an in agent who conducts political activity. This is "the impact on the adoption of decisions aimed at changing the state policy they pursue."

A fine of 300 thousand rubles we challenged

Then the organization received its first fine of 300 thousand rubles - for not submitting an application for entry in the register.

- We tried to appeal the inclusion in the register through the court. In August 2014, a statement was sent to the Zamoskvoretsky court of Moscow, which was later lost in court. The statement was not accepted again in connection with the lost date of submission. We challenged a fine of 300 thousand rubles, the court reduced the amount of the fine of to 100 thousand rubles, after the certificate was presented on the absence of funds in the organization’s bank account, ”says Koroleva.

Irritation of the Kremlin

For the past five years, environmentalists have actually worked under the threat of closing, but they worked successfully, which repeatedly caused irritation of the Kremlin. In 2015-2017, "Eco -Protection!" She collaborated with African activists. The result of a large -scale information campaign was that in 2017, under pressure from the public, the Court of South Africa was canceled by the intergovernmental agreement between South Africa and the Russian Federation on the construction of eight atomic reactors in Africa. The deal was estimated at $ 100 billion.

In 2016–2017, environmentalists organized a powerful protest in the Kuzbass against open coal mining, and the license was ultimately canceled for the development of a new coal deposit.

Transferred a complaint to the court, in which they prove that criminal cases were initiated unlawfully

In Kaliningrad, environmentalists, led by the queen, actively obtained from local authorities to protect unique alleys along the roads, initiated the process to give alleys the status of protected.

"Eco -protection!" She conducted educational projects, held exhibitions. And she continued to receive fines. Some of the court decisions were chained legally, others were not. Illegality of criminal proceedings against the queen The lawyers of the Public Verdict Foundation prove .

- "Public Verdict" is our longtime partner. It was included in the list of foreign agents shortly after us, and the lawyers of the Fund initiated and prepared the appeal of public organizations in the ECHR. And then they protected us in the courts when the state wrote out fines. Accordingly, when a new round of pressure began, which ended with criminal cases against me, the fund appointed lawyers. They successfully challenged the last fine, which was appointed to me in May 2019, before the initiation of criminal cases, and now they prepared and transferred a reasonable complaint to the court, in which they prove that criminal cases have been instituted unlawfully, ”says the queen.

Many foreign human rights organizations such as Human Rights Watch and Front Line Defenders have supported the ecologist. In Europe, a media campaign was organized.

Alexander Koroleva continues to work remotely and even begins new projects. For example, a campaign against the transportation of nuclear waste to Russia, which was resumed by Rosatom.

- These are the transportations that we, together with the German colleagues, stopped in 2009. Now a new round, and I can actively participate in the development and organization of the new protest campaign with German friends, meet with journalists, give an interview, ”the ecologist explains.

According to her, today in Germany they know little about the activities of public organizations in Russia, and her speeches about Russian civil society are in constant success. The queen cannot return to Russia, where she threatens two years in prison.