Translated material
Organs clean chats
How the next case is spinning about the declension to the riots in the Telegram messenger
On the eve of the beginning of the three -day voting in the State Duma elections, the Investigative Committee announced the initiation of a criminal case under the article “Bowing to the riots” (part 1.1 of article 212 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). So far, at least nine accused of five regions of Russia is known.
They are charged with that they planned to “psychologically influence” and “ideologically process” the audience during voting days so that people go to an inconsistent action. The first person involved was the 44-year-old Dmitry Chebanov, the creator of the Telegram channel “What to do!”, In which the calls appeared “to go out on September 18”. The lawyers surveyed by the “new” believe that the current case of preparing protests on the eve of the elections is similar to other loud processes, such as the “network of“ network ”*and“ the “artillery” case **.
It all started on September 16 with the publication of a press release from the Investigative Committee to open a certain “group of persons” from 11 people who allegedly “created a network of Telegram channels” in several regions and campaigned to organize mass riots. Then the TFR revealed the name of Dmitry Chebanov. By that time, he was already in the interrogation, where he was delivered directly from the special reception. He served 15 days of administrative arrest for disobedience to the police (Article 19.3 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation), appointed after trying to hang a poster to the building of the central children's store on Lubyanka. Together with him that day, September 5, his comrades were detained - Alexander Kuranin, Nikita Khreshchuk (later will also become accused in a criminal case), Alexander and Natalia Zauchenko.
Soon it became known about another accused in a criminal case from Moscow. She became a 20-year-old student of the Higher School of Economics Maria Platonova. She worked as a designer at the headquarters of a candidate for deputies of State Duma Anastasia Bryukhanova.
In addition to two defendants, the investigation charged the civil wife Chebanov Jeanne Chernova. Not without detention in the regions. In St. Petersburg, Vyacheslav Abramov was detained, in Krasnoyarsk-Alexei Yanochkin, in Tomsk-RusNews journalist Igor Kuznetsov. Also, a resident of the Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Okrug Dmitry Lamanov came into the view of the security forces. According to media reports, it should be transferred to Moscow for investigative actions. All the accused were searches, they seized computers and phones.
What did you do?
Telegram channel "What to do!" It was created on February 3, 2021, but the first entry in the group appeared on May 6. Whether before that there were some records that could be deleted is unknown. The first publication began with high -profile words that “Russia falls deeper into a rigid dictatorship,” but this “can and must be fixed”. “Let's unite, no matter who you are, the main thing: for all the good against everything bad!” - The text ends.
All subsequent entries in the group were also with a clear “opposition” bias. The authors regularly repeated that “Russia would be free and happy” complained about “political repressions that overwhelmed the country”, and reposted publications of famous human rights NPOs and videos from the media. The channel, obviously, was not popular: in the record of June 7, the authors admitted that at that time there were only 32 people in their group, and "there were four yesterday."
On June 20, the channel participants moved to active actions and opened a separate chat for “coordination and local consolidation” for supporters from St. Petersburg. On the same day, a message appeared, where the authors of the channel are preparing a “demonstration action in all large and medium cities”, it was proposed to distribute roles among themselves and draw up an action plan. From the posts in the group, it is difficult to unequivocally understand what the organizers planned specifically. The purpose of the protest is described vaguely, and the text itself is stated in the official language: “We determine the units and groups that will engage in their specialized actions. To do this, we will determine the professional and physical abilities of the participants in our movement. The specificity of the work of each group will have its own, in accordance with their skills and purpose. ”
Now the Telegram channel has more than 11 thousand subscribers. In early September, as a “September 18 rehearsal”, subscribers from Voronezh, Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, Stavropol, Yekaterinburg, Zheleznogorsk, Krasnoyarsk and other cities made videos on which the firefights lit. In Moscow, Chebanov himself was going to hold the action. Just on that day, it became known about his detention in the building of the Central Children's World.
"It was not possible to call mass dynamics"
After a failed action, when Chebanov was under administrative arrest, the rollers regularly released on the channel. Several times photos with him were published in the IVS, although it is strictly forbidden to have mobile phones there. September 7, the day after the trial, on the channel "What to do!" Chebanov’s video showing appeared with a call to protest on September 18.
The announcement of the action on their streams was given on YouTube channels Vyacheslav Maltsev, Mark Feigin and Alexander Sotnik. In turn, their speeches were repostated in the group “What to do!”. When it became known about the initiation of a criminal case, publications in the community still continued to appear. In one of the last posts, another video with Chebanov was released. In this video, he already speaks a little more radical than in the previous ones.
On the day of X, September 18, a group published a report that they entered the action in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Khabarovsk and Ufa. Although the authors of the post themselves admitted that "it was not possible to cause mass dynamics." “Our comrades who initiated the process will really spend some time in conclusion. They knew what they were going on, we were also ready for such a development of events, ”the report said.
Oppositionist from mines
The 44-year-old Chebanov turned out to be the most ideological on the channel “What to do!”, He is called the creator of this group. Under the nickname of Chednotdead, he has accounts on YouTube and Instagram. Judging by social networks, I used to shoot photos and videos about his life, about traveling in India and participation in various conferences. After some time, more and more political posts began to appear on Instagram, one of the photos with politician Ilya Yashin.
Chebanov himself is from the city of Mine, the Rostov Region, lived in Moscow for the past 20 years with 65-year-old mother Elena Viktorovna. In a conversation with the “new” Chebanova admitted that she was still in a state of shock from what was happening. She does not believe in the involvement of her son in an incriminated crime.
According to his mother, in a small homeland, Dmitry graduated from the trade college. After graduating from the school, the family decided to change the situation and move to the capital. In Moscow, Chebanov took different courses, studied for a psychologist, worked in advertising and PR. At one time he lived together with his mother, entirely paid for rental housing. And before the detention, he completely kept his mother. From time to time, he worked part -time in different places, in particular, he was engaged in the design of restaurants, worked as a self -employed one. “He did not have any particular profession. He survived as he could. Where there is work, and it works there, ”Elena Viktorovna said.
She was not interested in the circle of Dmitry’s communication, says that everyone was doing his own business. Chebanova’s mother saw the videos that the son shot. She supports his opposition activity. “Policy was not particularly discussed, I myself know everything very well what is happening in the country. I did not know what exactly my son was doing. What he did, I support and are proud of him, he is well done. It is necessary that someone begins to do something to change the situation in the country, ”Chebanova believes.
She added that her son has two children from the past marriage. Before his arrest, he lived with Jeanne Chernova.
Now Elena Viktorovna is left alone, except for her son, she has no one in Moscow. She works as a concierge, but it is impossible to live on her salary and a meager pension.
Moreover, she cannot fully pay for the rental of the apartment. “I am now in such a situation that I can be on the street. I am looking for housing. I have nothing to pay, ”Elena Viktorovna cries. - I paid for the rent for September, and now in very serious condition. I don’t know how to gather strength and continue to live. ”
Arrests in Moscow
On September 17, the Basmanny Court imprisoned Chebanov, his girlfriend Zhanna Chernov, Alexei Kurlov and Nikita Khreshchuk. Maria Platonova, the only one, was sent under house arrest. The girl denies any attitude to the Telegram group Chebanov. So far, the investigation has not determined what kind of role Platonov played. She, in turn, claims that she did not know about the existence of Telegram channels, and not one of the arrested by her is familiar.
Chebanov’s lawyer Sergei Bizyukin could not talk about any details of the criminal case due to a non-disclosure subscription. He only added that his client did not plead guilty and refused to testify under the 51st article of the Constitution.
The coordinator of the “Apology of Protest” and lawyer Alexander Porruk explained to “New” that the lawyers of their associations defend several defendants. However, the defenders also gave a non -disclosure subscription, and so far none of them can comment on the criminal case. Farm and friends of some defendants did not give comments.
"I will take me for a long time"
The 35-year-old Petersburger Vyacheslav Abramov, who works as a seller in the Magnit store, was detained on the same day as the defendants in the case of preparation of protests in other regions of Russia.
As Abramova’s common -law wife told the “new”, the security forces came to their home in the evening, September 16. We conducted a search during which stickers were found and seized in the apartment with the inscription “Against Power”. They also took a computer technique and mobile phone of a man. According to the woman, with her, the investigators threatened her wife 8-10 years in prison. During the detention, Vyacheslav himself managed to tell his wife: "Apparently, they will take me for a long time."
After the search, Abramov was taken to the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia in St. Petersburg and the Leningrad region and left for the night in the insulator. The next day, the Leninsky District Court chose him a measure of restraint: the maintenance of the detention until November 13th.
The Petersburger, like other defendants, was charged under Part 1.1 of Art. 212 of the Criminal Code. According to investigators, Abramov was in a closed chat in Telegram with a group of accomplices, together with accomplices he created and administered the channel “What to do!”. It was there that political materials allegedly appeared, as well as calls to participate in unauthorized shares. Later, when the number of subscribers in the messenger amounted to more than 9,000 people, as the investigation assures, the defendants began to distribute a video that prompts to commit riots and violent actions on the Internet.
“So far I have not seen the case file, I can’t know it in meaningfully,” lawyer Sergei Loktev told the “new” Abramov defending Abramov. -However, the version of the investigation, which is currently presented to Vyacheslav about involvement in the sane crime, is built exclusively at a certain correspondence in Telegram channels. Moreover, neither information about the carrier of this correspondence, nor about how to withdraw this information from the Internet channels, was not presented. Therefore, how reasonably everything is in the case is confirmed, now it’s hard to judge. Based on the materials that I saw while the seizure of something related to the case under Art. 212 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, the accused was not carried out. "
According to Loktev, Vyacheslav, with whom he managed to meet twice (before the election of a preventive measure and after), is in a depressed state today.
“He did not expect,” the defender explains, “that the correspondence and something else can get from 8 to 10 years of real imprisonment. He doesn’t fit in his head, as this can be at all. ”
Nevertheless, Abramov, already having two criminal records in 2012 (part 4 of article 111 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation - “intentional infliction of grievous bodily harm” and part 2 of article 158 - “theft”) and spent 3 months in the colony, fully pleaded guilty. Currently, the issue of transferring his case for further investigation to Moscow is being decided.
“Technically, the preparation of protests is very similar to the“ network of network ”,” says lawyer Sergey Loktev. - The only thing is different articles, but it is precisely how the process develops, how the tracking, initiation of the case and, apparently, further consideration, is the case with the “network of the Network” echoes. I see some stable trends: a group of persons connected by common chat in some messenger, finding special services in this chat, or the operatives of these services themselves. The removal of information probably took place through screenshots with this chat with those persons who have some relation to the bodies engaged in operational-search activities-this is either the bodies of the Ministry of Internal Affairs or the FSB. ”
“In my opinion, this case is more reminiscent of the“ ART PROBLECTION CASE ”in 2017,” says lawyer Alexander Porruk. - There is also an ideological inspirer and head of the organization, blogger Vyacheslav Maltsev, published calls to go out on a certain date - November 5, 2017 with provocative goals. All his calls were eventually regarded as preparation for the organization of riots. It ended in the fact that in different regions of Russia people received real terms, and quite large, and Vyacheslav Maltsev himself went to permanent residence abroad. The case of preparing protests on scale, of course, is not comparable to the “ART -BEARD DOSTENT” - this is a smaller reincarnation, in the statements of the participants of the chat, everything is abstract, streamlined, there are few specifics. Nevertheless, it is not worth counting on the condescension of power structures in today's conditions. ”