They said "nits Pindos" and "fifth column"

In Moscow, the former VGTRK operator Leonid Krivenkov was beaten, who spoke about censorship and corruption on TV. We talked with him

On January 15, it became known that 61-year-old Leonid Krivenkov was greatly beaten in Moscow. Krivenkov worked as a television operator at the VGTRK for more than ten years, after which he quit, and in 2019 gave several interviews (and foreign media too) about corruption and censorship on Russian television - including about the “servants” entering the TV from the Kremlin, how to cover the elections and other events in the country. When beating, the attackers called Krivenkov, according to him, the “fifth column” and “nits of the Pindos”. Medusa talked with Krivenkov about the attack and its consequences.

- Have you received threats before the attack?

- Immediately before the attack - no. I already thought that I was behind me. Because there were threats after my interviews last year - for example, about VGTRK on Radio Liberty . They called me and said that they would deal with me. Of course, they called anonymous. Sometimes even the rooms were not determined.

- What do you think from whom were these threats?

-I think that these are members of some kind of passing movements. Or just some enthusiasts who are ready for Putin to break to anyone.

- Have you tried contacting the police?

- No. I think the police would not help me if I tried to install them.

- There were no attempts at attacks before?

- No, there were no attacks. There were no threats, from about May. After all, since the spring I have not given any interviews.

- What happened on January 11?

-On the night of the 11th there was heavy snowfall. And I really like to ski, I used to participate in competitions. And this year I was really waiting for the snow to fall out and it would be possible to finally open the ski season. So late, I never opened him in my life.

About 16 hours I went to Kuzminsky Park, walked around the territory where there was sand on the paths, put on skis and drove to the far end of the park. On the way back it was already dark, I walked with a plot flashlight and in the place where the skir ended, took off my skis and went to the exit. At 100-200 meters from the exit, I decided to dress warmer - I had additional clothes in my backpack, which can be put on after skating.

I went to the tree to get dressed, stopped in a place without lighting and at that moment I heard the growling of a dog behind. He turned a little back - at that moment he felt a strong blow to his face. Maybe there were several strokes. I was quickly knocked down, because I did not expect an attack. I thought that I was there in general.

I fell in the snow, and two young guys began to beat me with my feet on my chest from different sides. One was older and larger, a very athletic physique - about 1.85 meters tall and a kilogram of 95 weighing. The second was a little younger, 25 years, and lower - probably 180 centimeters. Their faces were open. The clothes are the most ordinary-some dark jackets.

For two or three minutes they kicked me. They did not let the dog go to me - it was small and probably not even intended for this.

“Did they tell you something?”

- Yes. They said: “Pindos nits”, “We will teach you to love your homeland”, “The fifth column, we will kill you all” and a lot of all kinds of obscene expressions. They obviously did not want to just beat me. They wanted to beat me to understand why. This is not hooliganism, they did not want money from me either.

“Do you think they followed you from home?”

- It's hard for me to say. It cannot be ruled out that they learned by chance. In addition to the interview, I participated in the film “Rodchenkov Identification” , which was shown through federal channels - I was friends with Rodchenkov for 40 years and I can’t say anything bad about him. After this film, even random people recognized me after this film on the streets.

“Have you tried to resist beating?”

- It was difficult for me to resist two at once. I focused on the effort that younger. When he kicked me, I grabbed his leg - he fell. In parallel, I shouted "help." At some point, people appeared-a man with a woman and a baby stroller. The man ran up and began to pull the attacker from me older. The woman at that moment shouted: “What are you doing, bandits? Together for one grandfather was attacked. " At that moment, I fell as many as younger, and began to kick him on his chest and face. He got well. Then he jumped up, and we began to fight in his fists.

- How did it end?

- Other people appeared in the park. And the attacker of the older commanded the young man that he had to get out. On the run, they shouted to me: "This is our last warning, we will get you anyway."

- Did you immediately call the police?

- I jumped up. I realized that my nose and tooth are staggering. He corrected them himself. Blood flowed from my nose, I washed my face with snow. There was a shock state. I decided that I would go home. Moreover, I was then visiting a relative from another region who did not have a key from the apartment. And if I had not come home in time, it would not be known with her what would happen.

I came home, went to bed, and at night it became very bad. The chest was very ill. The next morning I went to the emergency room. Then it was slippery outside and there were a lot of people there. In the emergency room, I spent five hours, they made an X -ray. It was found that I have bruises and my nose is broken, they did not draw any conclusion about the concussion. They offered to go to the hospital. I have signs of a concussion, but I decided not to go to go there if the ribs are still intact.

I turned to the police after the emergency room. They took a statement from me, interrogated, drew up a protocol and said that they would contact. Yesterday the investigator called me. We met, went to the scene of the attack, talked, he once again recorded the testimony. But there is no criminal case yet, there is a check.

The investigator left a pleasant impression-I was pleasantly surprised that he reacted humanly to me. But I think that even if he dies something, they will tell him not to touch these people from above. It is clear that in power structures there are a lot of people who support Putin, and they will try to prevent the detention of people who, obviously, for Putin.

- Do you have versions as to who and why attacked you?

-Maybe some amateur athletes who are unhappy that I told the truth about Rodchenkov. Now everyone is so that because of him our team will not be at the Olympics.

The second version-the attack was due to an interview about VGTRK. The third is due to the fact that I turned due to corruption at the VGTRK to the Investigative Committee. As a result, I received a reply that there was no corruption at the VGTRK.

- How do you feel now?

- The nose aches, the tooth sways, the chest hurts quite a lot. When I get up, the head begins to spin. In the morning it is generally sick.

-One of your versions is an attack due to an interview about VGTRK. In it, you said that you always did not particularly support power. But they worked out the operator on the state of state for more than 10 years. How so?

-Firstly, I was interested to know how Russian television works. Secondly, the operator is a technical specialty, and my activity was in no way connected with the support or undecising power. I just stood behind the camera and shot.

-You still left there in 2016. Why?

- From the very beginning it was unpleasant to take part in the misinformation of the viewers. But I did not have enough willpower to abandon work and be left without a livelihood. A few years ago, as part of the fight against sanctions products, the Russian authorities began to destroy imported products. I sat at work and every hour was forced to watch and listen to news releases about what a wise solution it was - to put pressure on cheese and apples in a country where half of the population has never tried normal cheese in life. In a country where pensioners rummage through the garbage dumps in search of food. On that day, I came to the final decision that my civic duty was not on the way with the Russian authorities - to do everything in my power in order to inflict maximum harm to the ruling regime in Russia.

Plus, there would be no happiness, but misfortune helped. I worked there under an annual contract. Every year I was fired on January 8 and again received on January 9. And when you sign a contract, it was necessary to pay [a bribe]. I paid 10 thousand, and in 2016 they told me that I had to pay 20. I was outraged: my salary was 42 thousand rubles per hand - and why should I give creep? In the end, I thought and left. He said that I do not want to work there.

“You even tried to sue VGTRK.”

- Yes. There were several ships. For example, I tried to get compensation for vacations, officially I have not been on vacation for seven years. But in the end, I lost all the courts.

- Why did you decide to talk about censorship and corruption in an interview in three years?

-I think that over the years of work there I was still a little zombie, although I always treated the authorities with doubt. But he had no opposition views, as now. A year or two after the dismissal, this changed, and I decided to tell everything. I turned to the FBK - I thought that [Alexei] Navalny would be interesting - but nothing was moving. Then he turned to the journalists of many publications, but nothing happened. As a result, Radio Liberty made an interview - I used to give them an interview about Rodchenkov.

- What was the reaction to the interview? You said there were threats.

- Yes, they were. Some former colleagues supported me. But there were those who said that I betrayed them.

- After beating, are you not afraid to give an interview?

- I immediately understood that, giving the first interview, I was in danger. It is clear that these people will stop at anything. Two young people attacked a pensioner behind and began to beat with their feet! But I give you an interview. So, I'm not so afraid of them.

Pavel Merzlikin