Translated material
“How is my mother? Can you find out how my sister is?”
Letters from political prisoner Moskalev, separated from his daughter, Matkheev, a “terrorist” with developmental disabilities, and a lecture on space by engineer Trofimov
Photo: Dmitry Korotaev / Kommersant
Novaya continues to publish letters from political prisoners. In this episode, they share their lists of important books and answer the question of what helps them survive in prison. They also respond to letters from Anton Orech about the slowdown of the Internet, Alexey Polikovsky about the virtual country Nutopia, invented by John Lennon and Yoko Ono and issuing passports to everyone, and Dmitry Muratov *, who wonders how many people in prisons want to exchange their sentence for a contract.
We are publishing these letters with minor abbreviations.
LETTER
“We are not alone in this fight”
Dmitry Gromovoy
- Chelyabinsk journalist. Placed under arrest in July 2020. According to investigators, he planned to purchase and package drugs and make “bookmarks.” At the time of his arrest, Gromovoy was investigating the involvement of the local drug control department in the operation of online drug stores.
“Dmitry, at the beginning of this year there was a letter from you in which you asked to answer several questions and also express your opinion on several proposals. Due to a very busy court schedule, I did not have the opportunity to respond to your letter in detail earlier. Although I may have already answered it briefly, the letter was put aside among those who were waiting in line for a detailed answer. Now I finally have the opportunity to answer in detail, and I decided, albeit with such a significant delay, to write to you.
Regarding the survey conducted on the topic of supporting the SVO, the mood here related to this issue and the number of people willing to exchange the term for a contract. I noticed, to the extent that the environment allows this, that even those who were actively “for” in 2022 began to change their minds. You can’t fool everyone all the time, and those who were in favor begin to understand how the authorities are fooling them. There was no majority that would consciously want the continuation of the SVO, but now the overwhelming majority, in my opinion, are those who are simply afraid (seeing repression against those who were not afraid to publicly express their opinion that does not agree with the opinion "Big Brother") to openly express your opinion. And it is precisely the silent non-resistance of the majority that the authorities are trying to present as the opinion of the majority “for”.
There are plenty of those who want to exchange the term for a contract, but even among them, as a rule, there are very few who are convinced of the need to continue the SVO. Most of them see this only as an opportunity to avoid punishment. Recently, I have begun to notice a phenomenon that immediately after arrest, many end up in a pre-trial detention center with the intention of immediately going to SVO. That is, they have already begun to commit crimes, having in mind as one of the options that if they are exposed, they will still be able to avoid punishment. This is the trend. Well, those who had already been “there” and ended up here began to appear. For them there is no dilemma at all - to sit or go back to the SVO. Most likely, when committing a crime, they also kept this option in mind - if anything, then again to the SVO.
About books.
Yuval Noah Harari. He only has three books, he needs all three (although he has read two so far, starting with the third). After reading, I generally have the opinion that all current Russian opposition leaders of public opinion, when they touch on the same topics that Harari touches on in his book “21 Lessons for the 21st Century,” use his book as a textbook.
Mikhail Zygar*. "The Empire must die." I have only read this book so far, but I am sure that his other books (“All the Kremlin’s Army” and “All are Free”) are also worthwhile. This book made a very strong impression on me, because it describes in a very accessible, interesting, very easy language the key historical events of 1900–1917, which strongly resonate with what our country is experiencing today. And with the help of this book alone, you can eliminate all the gaps in your knowledge related to those events.
Orwell. "1984".
Jack London. "Martin Eden."
Ilf and Petrov. "Twelve Chairs" and "Golden Calf".
Something from Solzhenitsyn.
Natan Sharansky. “I will fear no evil” (although I haven’t read this book myself yet).
Something from Bukovsky.
Kitz. Flowers for Algernon and The Mysterious Case of Billy Milligan.
Shcheglov and Khazin. "Stairway to Heaven".
Regarding the idea of publishing a book about modern trials. The idea is, of course, great. As for my illegal criminal prosecution and the related trial, this process immediately absorbed all the elements of “Basmanny justice” that we are already accustomed to seeing separately in many other trials of political prisoners. This includes the consideration of the case by judges subject to recusal, and the repeated appointment of backup defenders along with defenders by agreement, and the use of administrative resources to interfere with the legal activities of defenders up to the deprivation of lawyer status, and the exclusion of listeners and media representatives from court hearings, and ultimately “ “closing the process” by holding meetings right in the premises of the pre-trial detention center, and depriving the defendant and lawyers of the opportunity to submit motions, etc. (by interrupting, demanding what can be read and what cannot), and removing the defendant from the courtroom until the end of the arguments of the parties. And that's not all I've listed.
I’ve been fighting off all this for four years now, I’m on my fifth year. But what significantly distinguishes my trial from the trials of most other political prisoners is where the criminal prosecution began. And it started with the fact that “werewolves in uniform” at the regional level, carrying out the main directive from above to intimidate those who are too active and silence those who disagree with the government’s policies and think differently, when I went into “their garden” for information about their crimes, just they planted drugs in my home, and did not interpret my words in any way, as happens in most cases.
What helps me most is the ordinary support of people whom I did not know at all before the events that happened to me, and their help to us and our families. This makes us feel that we are not alone in this fight.”
Anton Orek
“Anton, hello. You are absolutely right when you say that everything on the Internet is just like in life. In my opinion, this is now some kind of parallel world. And in this world now - just like in life - there are real battles going on. And what you are describing are elements of individual battles in these battles. And it seems that ordinary Internet users will not see peace there in the near future.
All these blockings and prohibitions have become everyday life, routine. But the idea of slowing down YouTube is something else! If some kind of ban or blocking somehow fits into a logical series (the adequacy and legality of these actions is a separate issue), then slowing down is just the end! You have to be completely bruised to come up with and implement a slowdown! In general, there are no words. And this is where we live.
You really need to be very motivated in order to realize your desire to learn some alternative opinions, overcoming all these thresholds that you write about. But it’s obvious that the majority of our citizens don’t need this... Even without this, they don’t have enough time to live (or rather, survive) in the modern world.”
LETTER
“They will bring freedom closer to everyone”
Sergey Ulukshonov
- A resident of Krasnoyarsk, sentenced by a regional court to 4 years and 8 months in a maximum security colony on charges of attempting to join the Armed Forces of Ukraine. In June 2021, he tried to enter the United States through Mexico to seek political asylum, but was denied and deported.
“Hello, good newspaper. I am very glad that at least some important people are free, although not in their homeland. Still, they are more useful in freedom there; they will bring freedom closer to everyone. I would like to express my gratitude and respect to them and wish them good health.
I have some kind of apathy, or I’ve lost my zest for life, I don’t know for sure. I read, draw, try to gain knowledge that I and Russia will need in the future. Previously, I read various literature about urbanism, more about sociology in the urban environment and planning. Perhaps one of your readers is involved in architecture and urbanism and will recommend literature. There are many foreign urbanists who share their experience and ways to solve the problems of modern settlements. After all, when we become free, we will need to develop, plan and redo everything for a future that is comfortable and happy. I would be very grateful for the list of references. I'm doing relatively well.
***
I am sending you an answer to the question: how to easily and simply begin to understand politics in the country, how to help those in doubt make up their minds and form a personal opinion about the situation around them? It’s great if someone does something similar on social networks like Tik-Tok, in instant messengers. You've probably heard this: “Did you vote in the presidential election?” - “No, they are fictitious, everything has already been decided there!” - “Well, if they were honest, who would you vote for?” “For Volodka, there are no other good candidates. The pension has been increased, they are thinking about the elderly.” - “And the retirement age has been increased, is this normal?” “The standard of living has increased, people live longer.” “But the president said that while he is alive, the retirement age will not be raised.”
And there are many such examples.
First, you need to familiarize yourself with the main written law in Russia - the Constitution of the Russian Federation. It determines how the state and society are structured, what are the rights and responsibilities of citizens, how government bodies, the coat of arms, the anthem, the flag, etc. are formed. If any law contradicts the Constitution of the Russian Federation, it is unconstitutional. The peculiarity of our Constitution is that it has direct effect, i.e. if there is a violation of any of its provisions, we can go to court and this will be a reason to initiate a case. The law is the same for everyone throughout Russia, and it must comply with the Constitution, be guided by its content, and obey it.
With the Internet, you can find so much different information! Look at the promises and election programs of all Russian presidents since 1993, and you will see how much has been implemented during the 31 years of rule of all three presidents.
Retreat. In accordance with Art. 29 of the Constitution of the Russian Federation, part 1: “Everyone is guaranteed freedom of thought and speech.” Part 4: “Everyone has the right to freely transmit, seek, receive, produce and disseminate information by any lawful means.” Part 5: “Freedom of mass information is guaranteed. Censorship is prohibited."
LETTER
“I don’t want it to be like in North Korea”
Alexey Moskalev
- Sentenced to 1 year 10 months in prison under the article of “discrediting the army” for posts on Odnoklassniki. Law enforcement officers drew attention to his blog after Moskalev’s daughter drew an anti-war drawing at school.
“Hello, friends! Thank you for another response, for your attention! I received the letters, thank you. Slowing down YouTube, Signal and other services, of course, will not lead to anything good. I don’t want a repeat of what happened in North Korea. Greetings from me to all like-minded people and friends.”
LETTER
"It's sad that I'm not here"
Alexander Matheev
- Resident of Irkutsk with special needs. According to the lawyer, he is passionate about military uniforms and uniforms, but does not understand politics. He was arrested as a result of a long correspondence on the Internet with a stranger, with whom he discussed serving as part of the “Freedom of Russia” legion** of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. The stranger turned out to be an FSB officer. Matkheev was detained and in April 2024 sentenced to 10 years in prison for treason, terrorism and participation in a terrorist organization.
“I send a big hello to you all. And may the sun smile at you and star rays guard your dreams. How is it in Moscow, what's new? Yes, it’s good to have a Family to support each other. How's my mom? Can you find out how my little sister is? I know and feel that everything is fine with them, I want them to take care of themselves. It’s sad that I’m not here... It’s stuffy in our cell, but there’s a good breeze outside. It will rain again soon, soon.
...I love the beautiful landscapes that nature gives us. If we were together, we would go on a nature trip to Lake Baikal. We sat on the shore and ate bread and sausage, I love milk sausage, “doctor’s” sausage. And I, mom, our grandmother and dad looked at the beautiful landscapes, and my sister ran, looked for something in the water, she didn’t go far, because we were all looking at the landscapes, then at Dasha, and then she ran to me and showed me gave me various pebbles from Lake Baikal, we took half of them home. I love nature. Baikal is beautiful in winter.
Did you like ice skating as a child? I rode twice and I fell, but it was fun. My Dashenka likes to skate and ride a bike. But I think I already said this. Sometimes you think that family is a joy for everyone. Yes, it’s sad that I didn’t have my own Family, but all is not lost. Your whole life is still ahead. That's why I say: take care of yourself. Everything will be fine.
[…]
I want to know if it really rains diamonds on Jupiter? And that the surface is black, that is, instead of land there are black waters and there is no land there. […]
And do you think there is a bottom in the Mariana Trench? And what is behind it, what mystery is hidden there?
And take care of yourself! And may joy be with you!
It’s stuffy here, I hope it will rain soon. Yesterday we were transferred to another cell. But there's a good view here. Here you can see the city, and from the previous camera you could see the forest, it’s also beautiful.”
LETTER
“Most people are sure that the Americans have not been to the moon”
Andrey Trofimov
- A resident of Tver, sentenced to 10 years in prison in a case of “military fakes”, calls for extremism, and an attempt to join an illegal armed group.
Letter to Boston students at MIT
“Hello, colleagues!
I am addressing you this way because I am also an engineer by training. In 1989, I graduated from the Bauman Moscow Higher Technical University: the modern abbreviation is BMSTU, and during the Cold War, our university in the United States was called “Rocket College.” This was true, but incomplete: guns, mines, shells, tanks, radars, etc. - this is all about Baumanka too. “Rocket College” is more about our department, and my department was called “Spacecraft and Launch Vehicles.” Therefore, today there will first be a lecture about astronautics (and then a lecture about modern Russia).
I was 8 years old when my parents divorced and my father left Moscow. The next time we saw each other was when I turned 10 (1976 is the year of birth of Alexei Navalny). I will remember my father’s gift for my birthday for the rest of my life. This was a block of postage stamps issued in the USSR in honor of the Soyuz-Apollo flight, which took place in 1975 - the first joint space project of our countries. In Russian prisons, prisoners do not have access to Wikipedia, I just remember these stamps: the Soyuz crew - Leonov and Kubasov, the Apollo crew - Stafford, Slayton, Brand. In those years, my stepfather smoked Soyuz-Apollo cigarettes and said that these were the best cigarettes that could be freely bought in the USSR. But I didn’t smoke, I was a smart Soviet schoolboy, I read books at home after school. One of my favorites is the thick collection “I Want to Know Everything” (in the Soviet Union, the state printed not only fiction and not only communist propaganda for children; the budget for children’s literature was managed by very smart people).
In my book there was a detailed article about the Apollo 11 flight. Check me out on Wikipedia again: Neil Armstrong and Edwin Aldrin were the first to reach the moon, and Michael Collins was waiting for them in lunar orbit. As Armstrong descended the ladder to the surface, he said: “One small step is one giant leap for all mankind.” On the Moon they left not only your Stars and Stripes flag, but also a photograph of our Gagarin. It was these childhood impressions that later led me to “Rocket College” - to move humanity into space. All of humanity, not just my country.
I was in my third year when the Challenger shuttle exploded during its launch into orbit, killing the entire crew. No one was happy in Baumanka that day. These were the times of Gorbachev, and you were colleagues for us, not enemies. In 1987, I almost went on an internship to Boston, to MIT. Before Gorbachev, no one in the USSR could even dream of a student internship in the USA. My internship fell through then. A guy from our course came to visit you, also an excellent student, who did not get involved in politics. And I successfully completed my studies and managed to touch practical astronautics. Lavochkin’s company was then working on a project for the Soviet Mars rover (the English word “firm” was used in the USSR, but meant only “design bureau + defense plant”). My piece of that work is the mechanism for opening the doors, which were supposed to verticalize the descent vehicle after its soft landing on the surface of Mars. My drawings (still paper, without Auto-Cad) did not turn into metal: the Soviet Union collapsed, and no one cared about space.
But I still want to talk a little about what contribution my country has made to astronautics. If we remember not the pilots, but the engineers, then the greatest personal contribution on your part was made by Wernher Von Braun (rockets from V-2 to Saturn-5). On the Russian side, Tsiolkovsky and Korolev should be named.
Konstantin Eduardovich Tsiolkovsky is a scientist and philosopher, he lived at the turn of the 9th and 20th centuries. He derived a formula for the terminal speed of any rocket and proposed using multi-stage rockets for space flight. In old age, Tsiolkovsky met with Queen and was able to infect with his faith: humanity will not remain forever on earth, you can’t live in a cradle all your life.
Sergei Pavlovich Korolev - Ukrainian by birth (raised in Odessa, and began to study as an engineer in Kyiv) and Russian in his native language. He received an engineering diploma in my Alma Mater (Earth-Building Faculty of MVTU named after Bauman). Now we do not have such a faculty, in 1930 it became the Moscow Aviation Institute (MAI, your colleagues are also studying there too). And Korolev, after a meeting with Tsiolkovsky, switched from planes to missiles. Under his leadership in 1957, the R-7 missile was created. This launch vehicle brought to orbit the first artificial Earth satellite (10/04/1957) and the first cosmonaut of the Earth Yuri Alekseevich Gagarin (04/12/1961).
The modification of the “seven” - the Soyuz missile - is flying now, leads to orbit the Russian Shipyards “Soyuz” (this is also the development of the queen, which he did not have time to see in flight). Sergey Korolev died in 1966-in the year of my birth. But I am familiar with him "through one handshake." My school teacher Gennady Alekseevich Khodatelev greeted the Korolev’s hand (in the middle of the 20th century he was a party secretary of the aviation plant), my institute teacher Konstantin Semenovich Shustin (the course “Design of space objects”, in the Korolev Korolev Korolev, he was engaged in the same) and my head The department, the close associate of the queen, the Hero of Socialist Labor Vsevolod Ivanovich Theodosyev (a specialist in the resistance of materials, he counted on the strength of the R-7 and the ship of Gagarin "Vostok"). Here we will make a coffee pause, and then we will talk about the sad.
In modern Russia, the vast majority of the population is confident that the Americans were not on the moon. Conspirological nonsense about Hollywood staging of lunar videos and photos here everyone considers the truth, and what I wrote above is nonsense. Because losing in the lunar race (like losing in the Cold War) is not reflected and is rejected by consciousness. The vast majority of my fellow citizens hate and curse Gorbachev aloud. Because "he ruined the Soviet Union." They want to go back to the USSR, even those who have never lived in it. Half -free under Gorbachev and absolute freedom under Yeltsin by the majority of the population of the Russian Federation did not bring any benefit, but brought only material hardships and loss of a sense of stability and safety of life (and for me in the USSR that I found, the main one was a feeling of boredom, but I generally out of the minority ).
Even the most optimistic sociological studies say that the values of personal freedom and dignity are the main for 15% of the adult population of modern Russia (sociologists call this group “Russian Europeans”). And the events of the last two years have shown that these 15%are not ready to defend universal values (this is the terminology of Gorbachev). Yes, because of *** about a million people left Russia, they are all “Russian Europeans”. There are a lot of them, but there are less than 1% of the whole country. Thousands remained and chose the path of resistance (I think by the number of administrative fines for anti -war protests, and if I was very mistaken, I ask you to send me real numbers).
We went to the end and went to jail of about one thousand people. Can I not consider our percentage of the country's population?
If only Putin and Patrushev were to blame for what was happening, for two years this story would not drag on. And then Ukraine will bury its dead and rebuild its cities again. And on 1/7 part of the earth's land, tens of millions of frustrated people will remain, who did not understand anything and hate the rest of the world.
Before the beautiful Russia of the future, they will need to lead the desert for 40 years, as Moses led Jews to the promised land. But who will need it and who will take it?
Today we have this: I am writing this letter in a single chamber of the pre -trial detention center. Neither my knowledge nor my ideas were needed by my homeland, my homeland believes that my place is in a strict regime colony.
Since so - the worse for the homeland. I am a Russian Politzek and Muscovite in the third generation, but the battle for the future of mankind is now conducting another country. And Putin pushes us in the Middle Ages. I will fight to the end. I write this text on May 9, in Russia this date is celebrated as a day of victory over fascism. The victory over fascism is inevitable.
09.05.2024 ".
Prepared by Olga Kirillova