Putin Mopped Up Moscow from Disbelievers

The police detained oppositional activist Edward Limonov and about 50 his supporters for attempt to hold unapproved action on Lubyanskaya Square in Moscow, it was planned. As Edward Veniaminovich wrote in LJ the day before: "By 19 o'clock I will go to Lubyanskaya Square to protect honor of opposition. Well, naturally, I will be detained (last night I was called up by polite colonel who invited me to join their meeting at 9 in the morning. I politely refused from invitation)".

Detentions on Pushkin Square could also be treated as "protection of honor of opposition" as there was no mass arrival of the deceived voters as it was expected – of course, people come, but not in the quantity which allows to talk about opposition with the authorities: the Municipal Department of Internal Affairs told 14 thousand, Yashin 20. In reality the figure is somewhere in the middle. Very decently for meeting in general, but essentially less, than, say, one month ago. Some known activists climbed up into the fountain and refused to go away – they were detained. All in all there were about 100 people detained.

It is possible to consider that liberally-democratic stage of opposition of the power and people ended.

The authorities operated within the limits of usual police policy and that was planned – people were grasped, dragged by the ground, made painful in general. No one was anxious to find motivation - all the same the court will finally choose article 19.3, the penalty or imprisonment - to the discretion of the judge. Though such simple question - whether unarmed person, let’s note, not Schwarzenegger, to show any appreciable resistance to several employees of OMON in full military equipage? Putin’s courts don’t bother themselves with questions of common sense.

At the end OMON’s Z-car with arrested people was left without supervision near to District Department of Internal Affairs “Vojkovskij”, someone from passers-by opened back door - and people run away. Fighters of OMON rushed to catch them - someone was caught, someone managed to escape. But the figure of arrested persons appeared under the threat of convergence – so they detained casual passers-by... Almost for certain these casual people will also be recognized infringers under article 19.3.

Whether the power can behave like this if it’s afraid of citizens? No, the power isn't afraid - the protest is leaked and there is nothing to be afraid of. For three months writers, actors, TV presenters and a small group of the politicians adjoined them have been leading citizens on the way to freedom - and led to the fountain on Pushkin Square.

At once two judicial precedents took place also on March, 5^th could serve as illustration of the reaction which will follow.

In the morning, as it was already written, the Moscow City Court confirmed a sentence to the activist of the Left Front Grigory Torbeev - 1,5 years of colony-settlement. Grigory already spent half a year in a pre-trial detention center - ostensibly during one of the meetings he dabbed with a missile in the face of the employee of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (militia then). There were traces of damage found, but the term appeared to be quite real. On some bureaucratic irony that very day president Medvedev published on his site instructions connected with arrangements reached at the meeting with non-system opposition - there was also a list of political prisoners whose cases should be studied. Grigory Torbeev was also among them.

- They didn't listen either to me, or to the lawyer in the court, they just told: "Let’s make it short!" - Grigory told me. – They made the decision very quickly, that is they affirmed the judgment, that’s all.

The second precedent - Tagansky Court authorized arrest of the participant of pank group "Pussy Riot" Nadezhda Tolokonnikova who was detained after the action in Christ the Savior Cathedral. Тolokonnikova is arrested for one month and 20 days – up to April, 24th.

- It impossible to talk about any rights there, - the lawyer of Tolokonnikova Mark Feygin told me. - Inspector doesn’t understand at all that there’s no crime structure under article 213 which is incriminated. They pronounce such words as "blasphemy, sacrilege" as though there are such concepts in our Criminal Code. I am the believer myself and I also don't approve act of girls, but it is within the limits of moral estimations, not judicial ones. Maximum which is present there is administrative offense, but it’s also should be proved. While it threatens to end up with 7 years of imprisonment! They are a bit older than twenty years, it is simply behind the limit of elementary humanity. I’ll repeat we can’t talk about rights here!

These things are, of course, interconnected. Tomorrow we will see same "triumph of justice" in relation to arrested people on Lubyanka and Pushkin Square. I don't exclude that there will be attempt to qualify someone's actions under criminal article - for example, in Z-car with Alexey Sahnin one of the persons found themselves there out of a blue sky was openly on keef (it was found out later that this "arrested person" went from the Department accompanied by the police officer – note from author). It is possible that drugs will be planted then on someone. What will prevent?

It’s abundantly clear that the won Putin will try "to crack down" - fabrication of criminal cases in relation to the activists of opposition is obviously within this scheme. What will be the "carving" at it? Actually, reaction of the society will be key one here - if we will endure or not. How much rationally and thoughtfully we will act. Today's "leaders" obviously don’t add optimism: to make people come to the streets is big business, but it’s more complicated question where to bring them at last. For today targets and aims are formulated extremely indistinctly. But society is capable to grow wiser very quickly, literally before one’s very eyes.

Аnatoly Baranov, editor-in-chief of FORUM.msk

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