Translated material
A dream about Zelensky, glass prices in Russia and a joke about a “Molotov cocktail”: how a Chita resident was fined for discrediting the army
It was an ordinary Friday afternoon, late November. I was driving to work when I received a call on my work phone from an unknown number. I picked up the phone, and at the other end of the line was a policeman: “So, they say, and so, Ivan Aleksandrovich, we want to call you for an interview. We saw in your posts discrediting the Russian army.”
First, the policeman mentioned VKontakte: supposedly I distributed anti-war publications there. I answered him that I practically don’t sit on VKontakte and don’t publish anything. The investigator rummaged through his papers and said: “Oh, no, I got it mixed up. We're talking about Instagram." After that, we agreed on the time when I was supposed to arrive at the police department.
I immediately told my followers on Instagram about what happened. Many sympathized and wrote that it was terrible and scary. On the contrary, I reacted calmly to the call from the police. Despite the fact that in life I am a very anxious person, this time I was not afraid at all.
I am convinced that the discrediting of the Russian army happened like the law on “foreign agents.” There is a “foreign agent” badge, which in fact only shows that this is a decent person. The same goes for discrediting. If you were convicted under this article, then you can be considered a decent person.
Besides, I am still quite optimistic about the outcome of this war. I am sure that the Ukrainians will win and this will happen as soon as possible. Accordingly, all of us who are being tried for an anti-war position, even if we go to jail, will come out very quickly - and we will come out as heroes. While all those who hid, were afraid, kept silent or supported the regime and carried out its cannibalistic laws will hide their eyes and blush.
The time has come - the fear has disappeared. It is much more important for me to realize that I will not be ashamed of my actions when the war is over. And if many years later my children or grandchildren ask who I was at that time, I can proudly say that I was never an accomplice of the regime.
***
On Monday, at the appointed time, I went to the police department. I was preparing to be met there by a typical impudent cop - the kind they usually show in TV series. I expected that I would have to argue with him, proving my position.
But this did not happen. I was greeted by a pleasant young investigator. It was clear that deep down, he might even agree with my position. There was shame in his eyes [at what was happening]. He asked me to write an explanatory note.
I said that I considered myself a pacifist, a liberal and a man of peace. I explained that for me this war is disgusting and wretched and that I am unpleasant because my country, which I love very much, is now engaged in genocide of the Ukrainian people. Being a patriot, he could not remain silent and published those posts in which the police saw discrediting the Russian army.
Nobody argued with my words at the police department. The employee wrote down the text, gave it to me to re-read, and then asked me to sign if I agreed with the version stated. Then I was informed that I had to have a trial on December 8th.
I asked for the materials of the administrative case to find out for which posts I was being held accountable. Not long before, I used the word “war” in a story about my car - I was sure that it was this story that became the reason for the administrative case.
She didn’t even appear in the materials. My other stories were mentioned there: a joke about the “Molotov cocktail”, arguments that mobilization is pathetic, a call to surrender addressed to Russians who went to fight, criticism of [Defense Minister Sergei] Shoigu with reference to the fact that he lied about the number of Russians killed in Ukraine, and a retelling of a dream about [Vladimir] Zelensky. I was shocked. I didn’t think that anyone would follow stories on Instagram; they disappear after 24 hours.
As I understand it, the FSB began monitoring my page in the summer. The story about the “Molotov cocktail” dates back to this time.
I am the owner of a sauna - visitors often drink and leave empty bottles behind. And so in 2020, my friends and I began to think about how much money you could earn if you saved these bottles for several years - I had a warehouse nearby, and in two years I collected more than 20 thousand bottles there.