“Drive up in pickup trucks, shoot - they fight like Colombian drug lords!” INTERVIEW of an eyewitness
Once prosperous Syria now lies in ruins
Photo from Kirill Romanovsky's Facebook account
It is no secret that thousands of Russians are in the ranks of the fighters of the Islamic State, a banned terrorist organization. Very little is known about those who are fighting against IS. Ours are not in Assad’s army, but there are Russian “dogs of war” in the Kurdish militia. Who they are, how they get into war and what they teach the “Kurdish brothers” - a military specialist who recently returned from Syria told URA.Ru in an exclusive interview.
According to Russian intelligence services, today there are from 1,800 (according to the Ministry of Internal Affairs) to 2.5 thousand people (according to the FSB) fighting in the armed ranks of the Islamic State.
There are also volunteers from Russia on the other side of the front. True, not in government troops.
“Where I visited, I didn’t meet a single one of our volunteers,” LifeNews journalist Semyon Pegov admitted to URA.Ru. — The only thing is that I once filmed a report about a Circassian battalion, but these were local Circassians, descendants of those settlers who left the Caucasus 200 years ago when Russia conquered it. Now they are fighting on the side of the state.”
“There really are no Russian volunteers in the Syrian army,” confirms military correspondent of the Federal News Agency Kirill Romanovsky.
In my opinion, those who are rushing there will be more of a hindrance than a help: the language problems are too serious.
Imagine: suddenly some volunteer company or platoon appears, which is not familiar with the terrain or traditions, and cannot communicate normally with the troops. And the status of these fighters will be unclear, especially given the participation of our troops there.”
Journalist Kirill Romanovsky in Syria Photo from Kirill Romanovsky’s Facebook account
However, the main reason why there are no Russian militias in Assad’s troops is the lack of need for them. “The Syrian army does not have such a shortage of people as the Islamic State once had, and there is no such goal as the Islamic State: to crush all Muslim countries,” says the military correspondent, explaining that it was Napoleonic plans that prompted ISIS to recruit supporters through around the world. “They have special preliminary training courses, and I am sure that there are separate Tajik detachments, separate Russian-speaking ones, which are formed from residents of the CIS,” says Romanovsky.
But today Russian volunteers can easily be found in Syria as part of the Kurdish militia, fighting simultaneously against the Islamic State, and against al-Nusra (another terrorist organization banned in Russia - editor's note), and against the Turks. “I know about three of our volunteers in the People’s Protection Units (YPG),” says a FAN correspondent. — The first is a lawyer from Moscow, who became famous in the spring for his interview. Now, as far as I know, he is in the capital and is not making contact with any journalists. The second, Misha Sergeev, died in July in a battle with the Turks.”
The third is volunteer Maxim with the call sign Norman, who came to Syria from Donbass. “I knew him personally, we met in Lugansk,” Romanovsky recalls. “I was very surprised to learn that he was in Rojava, and even more so that we did not meet with him there. And when the command called us and said: “A Russian died here, are you interested?” - of course, we went. It turned out that this is the same Max.”
Militiaman Norman survived in Donbass and died in distant Syria
Photo from the group “Humanitarian assistance of the RBI “Batman””, “VKontakte”
The details of Norman’s death were widely discussed in Donbass social networks. “Max and a friend took the wrong road and went to the Euphrates,” reported in the group “Humanitarian Aid of the Batman RBI.” “At the approach to the bridge (we were driving along the shore without light), a landmine went off: presumably, it was detonated remotely from the other bank. Wheelbarrow flew into the river, some scraps were left from the guys. What they brought is, for the most part, impossible to identify: either clothes, or parts of the unloading."
However, the death of one or even several fighters will not stop the influx of volunteers into Kurdistan. According to URA.Ru, there may be much more than just a few. Georgy Zakrevsky, a military specialist and former combat training instructor for one of the Novorossiya units, told the agency about what our volunteers are doing in Syria. He recently returned from a month-long trip to Syria.
— How do Russian volunteers get there?
— The main route is through Turkey: they fly to Antalya, then along the highway along the coast they get to the city of Tarsus, then to Altinyozu. From there they go with guides to the southwest along the coast, through a narrow corridor that is not controlled. The second option is by boat along the same coast, which is somewhat easier, but longer. From Altinyozu you can also move to the southeast - we also get to the Kurds. The windows, naturally, are fickle: it happens that Turkey tightly blocks, but sometimes it is more or less calm.
In addition, from Turkey you can get to the Kurds through northern Iraq, but this is much further, and therefore more costly in both money and time. Finally, the third option is to fly to Beirut and cross the border: it is absolutely transparent there. But it is much more expensive, and it has its own difficulties: for example, if your passport has an Israeli stamp, you will not get into Lebanon.
However, our people are unique people, especially those from Donbass: some of them don’t even have visas, they don’t have foreign passports.
And they get through Azerbaijan to Turkey and quite normally end up in Syria without documents - with a general Russian passport.
Russian volunteers fly to Antalya under the guise of tourists, travel to border towns, and then follow trails. CLICKABLE.
Scheme: Andrey Guselnikov, google.ru
— In groups or alone?
— They unite in small groups: guides do not lead one person at a time. There, along the way, they get to know each other. Or someone takes someone with them - who has already been there. Just like me, when I went on my second trip to Donbass, I stopped at the base where volunteers were waiting and took two guys with me.
— Do the Kurdish militia already have units of Russian volunteers?
“There aren’t enough of ours there for individual units: there are one or two, five people in a detachment. Russians enjoy certain preferences among Arabs, although depending on who they are. Those who are more experienced are trying to act as instructors, advisors - not just to participate in battles, but to somehow organize this mass.
- It turns out?
- Fifty-fifty. They already know how to sit in the mountains in their fortifications. Another question is that this is almost all they do - there are no offensive actions, this, of course, must be taught to them. Like in Novorossiya, when I taught the militias from scratch how to carry weapons on a belt. It's even worse in Syria. Remember the Soviet times, when our instructors taught and taught them - infantrymen, pilots, and equipment were pumped there, and Israel defeated them within a few days. The Kurds, of course, are more motivated than ordinary Arabs, but it’s still very sad. Military affairs, after all, require knowledge and intelligence, and the Kurds are peasants from the plow, most of them illiterate.
- What language is the communication in?
— The Kurds don’t even speak Arabic - they have Turkic dialects. Someone speaks English poorly, but sometimes you come across someone who speaks Russian with difficulty. And sometimes without language at all - at the level of gestures and smiles.
— Attitude towards Russians?
— In the former “our” countries - Lebanon, Syria - Russians are remembered from Soviet times, they are treated well and expected.
— Do many Russian volunteers become instructors?
- Very little. In any case, I don’t know any professional instructors there. There are those who had some real experience of combat operations, for example, paratroopers who fought in Chechnya, but they are also few. There are practically no professionals with good command experience.
“Then what kind of people are in the Kurdish militia?”
- Different. Everyone is accepted. Either civilians who had to take up arms, or those who like to shoot - either from Russia or from Novorossiya, who are going there just for this. There are “professional riders” who have already been to many places - Yugoslavia, Chechnya, Novorossiya, and now Syria. They, of course, have combat experience, and this is already good. If a person fights for a long time and remains alive during all this time, it is natural that he acquires some skills and abilities.
Losses in Syria are serious on both sides
Photo from Facebook of Kirill Romanovsky
— What is happening at the front now?
— Until recently, there were mainly positional battles, which cannot even be called battles - so, periodic skirmishes: no one moves anywhere. But in recent days, due to the participation of the Russian Aerospace Forces, the situation has changed: now it is no longer the ISIS fighters who are attacking, but government troops and the Kurdish militia; in recent days, about 50 settlements have been taken. The offensive took place in the provinces of Aleppo, Lataxi, Idlib, Homs, and Damascus. Government troops are now preparing to encircle the city of Al-Khazer, which is an al-Nusra stronghold in the province.
The terrorists are now demotivated: as far as I know, most of the same fans of shooting and traveling to hot spots, only on their part, are now simply running away: no one expected what our aviation is doing.
A serviceman of the Russian contingent in Syria.
Photo - soldier
— Do you think our airstrikes are really helping?
- Certainly! The American raids had no effect, but with us everything is very precise, massive, at specific points, with good intelligence data, almost every strike finds its target. Among the IS fighters, not all are crazy fanatics; for them this served as a very good demotivator: some refuse to fight, some are trying to leave there, and some are simply sitting in place without the desire to attack. Moreover, there are no ISIS fighters. They should drive up in pickup trucks and shoot - they fight like Colombian drug lords. But opponents of terrorists are even less fighters. The offensive that is currently underway on the fronts of Syria is successful precisely thanks to our airstrikes.
— How do you assess the possibility of creating a state of Kurdistan?
- Unlikely. The most that Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad can do is give them broad autonomy, and they will agree to it. Maybe not as wide as they hope, but they will not be allowed to create a separate state. And we are not interested in turning the territory of Syria and Iraq into several wild appanage principalities - everything will be done to ensure that these countries survive.
— Is the story protracted?
- In any case: we won’t get in there with a ground army. We participate exactly as much as necessary. If at first we explained to the West and America what is right and wrong, now we have shown it in practice. They showed it abruptly, and, as always, unexpectedly for them. And it’s not just about Syria, or even that it’s one of the few remaining regions where we have influence. The point is a global confrontation: today we are showing who is who.
— How do you assess the freezing of the conflict in Donbass?
— This is probably the best option, otherwise there was complete uncertainty: no one said “yes” or “no.” Now we will advance a little more in our geopolitical positions, deal with Syria, do some other things, and then at any moment we will be able to unfreeze the conflict in the South-East of Ukraine - right up to the borders of the regions. In addition, no one canceled “work” with other regions of Ukraine. As in Syria: “We went a little forward, gained a foothold, then a little further forward” - the same will happen in our entire foreign policy.
16285
Gathering into power
The country experienced another single voting day. On the eve of the elections, information appeared that United Russia nominated 55 former criminals on the lists for the Altai Republic. People with criminal records are on the electoral lists in many regions. Why are they striving for power? And why do partycrats willingly accept them into their ranks, and why do voters vote for them?
Six years ago, Vyacheslav Volodin, then the first deputy head of the presidential administration, and now the speaker of the State Duma, asked fellow United Russia party members not to nominate candidates with a criminal record, even if it had been expunged. However, the Altai incident showed that it seems that they did not listen to him. To be fair, it is worth noting that previously convicted candidates are running for elections not only from United Russia. They are also on the lists of other parties, and the largest percentage is among self-nominated candidates. In general, the share of people with a criminal past amounted to 2.2% of all those who decided to run for regional and municipal deputies on September 9. That is, every 50th candidate has a criminal record. For comparison: in the 2017 elections there were 1.9% of the total number of people participating in the elections. According to the law “On Basic Guarantees of Electoral Rights and the Right to Participate in Referendums of Citizens of the Russian Federation,” candidates are required to indicate information about their criminal record, including those expunged and expunged. This information is included on the ballot.
Thieves, racketeers, rapists
Let's take a closer look at that same list for the Altai Republic. Nikolai Ebechekov, who has a criminal record for rape, was nominated to the council of deputies of the Beshpeltir village council. Vladimir Tebekov, a candidate for deputy of the Beltir village council, was convicted of complicity in organizing a criminal community. Vladimir Aidunov, who ran for the council of deputies of the Djektiek village council, received a conviction for theft of state, or public, property back in Soviet times. And Amyr Kaltashev, a candidate for the council of deputies of the Ust-Kansky district, found a whole “bouquet” of articles: theft, illegal acquisition, storage, transportation, production, processing of narcotic drugs, violation of the inviolability of the home. At the same time, it seems that two of the five convictions at the time of his participation in the elections were not yet expunged.
In addition, three people from the United Russia list were convicted of threatening to kill and causing grievous bodily harm. Probably, in this case we could be talking about racketeering. Who are these wonderful people? Candidate for deputy of the Kurai rural settlement Eduard Kukpekov, candidate for deputy of the Mendur-Sokkon rural settlement Amyr Matin and, apparently, candidate for deputy of the Ynyrginsky rural settlement Alexander Ozhogov. Against this background, Vladimir Novikov, who participated in the struggle for the seat of deputy of the Karakokshinsky rural settlement, stands out somewhat - he has a criminal record for “torture.” Vladimir Karmanov, a party nominee for deputy of the Ust-Kansky district, could have appeared on the United Russia lists, but he was removed from the elections for concealing information about his criminal record.
Forgiving voter
Can a criminal record turn voters against a candidate? This is probably what the political strategists were hoping for when they produced leaflets and posters with the name and photograph of the rival candidate, accompanied by the slogan: “My criminal record has been expunged! (Article 228 – sale of drugs).” This technique was common in many regions. But practice shows that Russian voters are merciful and forgiving. It seems that in the same Altai Republic, the current head of the Dmitrievsky rural settlement, Alexey Popov, was once convicted of theft. And nothing, I won once and decided to run again. Why not? In 2016, Anton Sekerzhitsky, convicted of rape, was elected to the Tver City Duma from United Russia.
Previously convicted candidates are running for elections not only from United Russia. They are also on the lists of other parties. Overall, the share of people with a criminal past was 2.2% of all those who decided to run for office.
Of course, it happens that people with a criminal past take the path of reform. But not always. Here's a very recent story. Evgeny Surnin, who was convicted three times, sits in the meeting of deputies of the city of Rezha, Sverdlovsk region. He participated in the elections as a self-nominated candidate, but supported the United Russia program. He gained fame not so much due to his legislative activities as to his tattoo in the form of a spider, spread over the entire surface of his bald head. Evgeny Surnin is a local entrepreneur. He received two convictions for hooliganism and one for malicious violation of the rules of administrative supervision. At the same time, the residents of Rezh - it is unknown, themselves or thanks to the efforts of political strategists - speak of him as a man of action. Like, he promised to install a memorial plaque for veterans - he did. He is credited with building a bridge across the river and organizing tea parties for local grandmothers. Criminal records are attributed to youthful mistakes. True, there are rumors that Surnin allegedly did not give up crime and tried to become a “city watchman,” but something didn’t work out, so he became a deputy.
And now he is suspected of stabbing either a drinking companion or his employee, who allegedly stole tools from the sawmill. True, Surnin himself came to the police and declared his non-involvement in the incident.
Large fish
However, we are all talking about rural and urban deputies. In the 2016 elections, as many as 10 people with a criminal record entered the State Duma – such data was provided by the deputy chairman of the Central Election Commission of the Russian Federation, Nikolai Bulaev. But he then refused to name specific names.
It is known that Pavel Dorokhin, a deputy from the Communist Party of the Russian Federation Duma of the sixth and seventh convocations, has a criminal record. In 2000, he was convicted of illegal possession of weapons and was subsequently amnestied. Apparently, Dorokhin is still ashamed of his past, and therefore did not indicate this controversial fact of his biography when he was nominated by the Communist Party for governor of the Tyumen region, which is why he was refused registration. Now Dorokhin continues to work in the Duma. If you look at his income statements, you can understand why people, including those with a dark past, are attracted to parliament. In 2010, when Dorokhin was just getting ready to run for election, his annual income was 2.9 million rubles. He had one apartment with an area of 30.64 square meters and one passenger car - a Toyota Camry. And here is the declaration from 2017, after six years of parliament. Now the deputy’s income has already amounted to 4.6 million rubles, and he also has a land plot with an area of 292 square meters. There are already three apartments: the deputy owns one himself, the other two are registered to his wife. And there are also three cars. BMW and Lexus are registered to Dorokhin, Rover is registered to his wife.
Perhaps the most famous deputy with a criminal past is Andrei Lugovoy from the LDPR. Let's put aside the suspicions of the poisoning of Alexander Litvinenko, which the British put forward against Lugovoy and thanks to which, as many believe, he could get into the Duma - Lugovoy has a “domestic” article for organizing an unsuccessful escape from the prison of Aeroflot manager Nikolai Glushkov. The media wrote then that Badri Patarkatsishvili could have ordered the escape. Glushkov himself claimed that all this was set up by the FSB in order to leave him in prison, and Lugovoi was carrying out the assignment of his own “office”. Be that as it may, his criminal record did not prevent him from becoming a deputy. At the same time, Lugovoy is a member of the Security and Anti-Corruption Committee. Everything is fine in his life - the deputy’s declaration for 2017 shows an income of 4.5 million rubles. Together with his wife, they own three plots of land, four residential buildings and two apartments, the third is registered in the name of the child. The Lugovoys also own a swimming pool with an area of 151 square meters. Both vehicles - HYNDAI Grand Santa Fe and Infiniti - are registered to the wife.
Red herring
There is a version that all these exotic initiatives are nothing more than a distraction. Law enforcement agencies have long been interested in Mikheev; a trail of scandals follows him from his native Volgograd. While still studying at the Bauman Moscow State Technical University, he was sentenced to three years in prison with confiscation of property for speculation. But then he was lucky: the future spravoross spent only a few months in prison, after which the article was removed from the Criminal Code and Mikheev was released.
Years passed, he went into business, headed the Diamond group, specializing in the construction of shopping and entertainment centers. In August 2007, searches were carried out at 53 enterprises of Oleg Mikheev, and he himself was detained in a criminal case for tax evasion on a particularly large scale. Apparently, in those days the businessman became interested in politics. Moreover, the status of a federal deputy gives immunity, and this is very important in case of problems with the law. Mikheev joined A Just Russia and began to actively build a party career. In 2010–2012, he became the party’s chief of staff, heading its federal headquarters in the State Duma elections. However, law enforcement officers continued to dig. In 2013, the Investigative Committee opened a case against Mikheev under three criminal articles at once - attempted fraud, fraud on an especially large scale and pressure on the court. The deputy himself called Senator Dmitry Ananyev the mastermind of his persecution. In February 2013, the State Duma, on the recommendation of the Prosecutor General’s Office, even deprived Mikheev of parliamentary immunity. He appealed to the Supreme Court, but it was rejected. And in February last year, the hiding Mikheev was put on the federal wanted list by the Investigative Committee of Russia.
Similar work
The path from “authorities” to deputies became a traditional “springboard” for many active figures of the 90s. By the way, their work specifics are similar. Both “godfathers” and deputies are engaged in accepting the population and helping to solve problems. If the path to power is closed to the “dons” themselves, the careers of “respected people” are open to their children and other relatives.
At the end of March in Tuapse, unknown persons opened fire on an Audi car, driven by a member of the council of the municipal formation “Tuapse District” from the United Russia party, deputy chairman of the Committee on Entrepreneurship, Small and Medium Business, Artur Podolsky. Despite the fact that the people's representative was hit by two bullets, he was able to leave the scene and get to the hospital, where he was treated. Before this, killers attempted to kill his brother. Arthur Podolsky is considered a respected person in the city - according to SPARK, he owns companies involved in construction and waste disposal. According to the declaration of 2015, the deputy owns 37 apartments, 18 different premises, three non-residential buildings and a fleet of prestigious cars. What was the reason for the assassination attempt - perhaps the business activities of the people's representative in power? Perhaps so, although there is another version. Some recall that Arthur Podolsky is the son of an “authoritative” figure from Anapa, Walter Harutyunyan, who was shot dead near Anapa in the fall of 2013. Therefore, the shots were associated with the redistribution of spheres of influence, which began after the security forces detained another Anapa authority deputy, Sergei Zirinov.
On this topic
US President Donald Trump called for an investigation into the leader of the Democrats in the US Congress, Nancy Pelosi, who lied when she said that she had never met with the Russian Ambassador to Washington, Sergei Kislyak.
In 2016, the ranking of the most wanted criminals compiled by the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation was headed by Nikolai Emelyanov, nicknamed Emelya, who is called the “watchdog” for the Bryansk region. Emelya is suspected of organizing many murders. At the same time, many are surprised how such a person could grow up in a family characterized by decency and law-abidingness. Emelya’s older brother Alexander, for example, first headed the Zhiryatinsky, and then, in 2009, the Bryansk region. Emelya’s nephew Viktor, soon after Denin’s victory in the elections, took the position of assistant to the governor, then received the post of director of the Bryansk Guarantee Fund, and then ended up in the leadership of the city of Fokino. The son of an authority figure became a deputy of the Seltsovo City Council from United Russia, writes the portal gorodbryansk.info.
There are other examples. In 2013, Chelyabinsk police detained Anatoly Fedorchenko, deputy of the Troitsk city assembly, on charges of creating an organized crime group that extorted money from local businessmen. By the time he came to power, he had already been convicted twice - for rape and for forcing a victim (witness) to give false testimony. Fedorchenko died last year. Now his son has decided to take his place on the city council. He went to the elections under the slogan “I continue the best.”
Or take Rostov-on-Don. Who among the townspeople in the 1990s did not hear about Sasha Sobol, who controlled the largest car market in the south of Russia and at the same time, according to various opinions, a “boxing” organized crime group? And in 2015, the Donnews portal reported: 27-year-old Evgeniy Sobolev, the son of authoritative businessman Alexander Sobolev, known to the generation of the 90s as Sobol, was running for elections to the Rostov City Duma. By the way, he won the elections and is currently engaged in lawmaking with the mandate of a member of the United Russia party.
In this regard, experts say: there is nothing surprising in this turn of events; Russia is just repeating world experience. We have lived through the period of primitive accumulation of capital, and now the time has come for its legalization. How can one not recall Don Corleone, who reasoned with satisfaction: “We are lucky in this country. Most of our children found a better life for themselves.
I hope that my grandchildren’s children will become governors, and maybe even president – who knows?” And that’s true - I’m lucky with the country.
SPECIFICALLY
The most famous dictators and the most charismatic rulers were in prison. Everyone who studied in a Soviet school knows the story of how Lenin wrote his prison letters with milk, making an “inkwell” from bread crumb. Stalin was imprisoned six times, and only the first time for political reasons. The rest of his sentences were for robbery. Hitler was serving his sentence for organizing the Munich Putsch on November 8–9, 1923. Fidel Castro was sentenced to 15 years for organizing the attack on the Moncada barracks in Santiago de Cuba. South Africa's first black president, Nelson Mandela, was accused of organizing a workers' strike in 1961 and illegally crossing the state border. In 1962, the court sentenced him to five years in prison. The President of Venezuela from 1999 to 2013, Hugo Chavez, served two years for attempting to seize power.
Coming out after the summer holidays, the Constitutional Court immediately took up a high-profile case, finding out whether Russians previously convicted of serious and especially serious crimes can become deputies, governors or heads of municipalities.
Gennady Egorov from the Moscow region, Alexander Kazakov from Orel, Igor Kravtsov from Vladivostok, Alexander Kupriyanov from the Kirov region, Alexey Latypov from Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, and Viktor Sinkov wanted to participate in the regional elections held on October 14, 2012. We note that all of them had convictions for serious and especially serious crimes expunged or expunged. Some went as self-nominees, collecting signatures, others - as members of federal parties, applying for various posts, but mainly at the municipal level or, say, for the seat of a deputy at the regional level. However, the registration of all six was canceled in court, because when checking the data, the applicants came across amendments to the electoral legislation adopted literally a couple of months before the start of the active election campaign. These changes directly prohibit those who have been sentenced by a court for committing serious and especially serious crimes from running for office. The law does not provide exceptions even in cases like that of applicant Latypov: he was convicted of grand theft - in 1997, the value of the stolen property was 101,100,000 rubles, after denomination, three zeros were crossed out from the amount, and the crime became of medium gravity, but the mechanism There are no changes in qualifications in the legislation. “It turns out that we have such a beautiful big door to a bright future and it is not forbidden to enter it, but there is neither a key nor workshops in which such keys are made,” summed up his lawyer Anastasia Rastorgueva. Therefore, together with the others, Latypov’s complaint was considered yesterday by the Constitutional Court. “Direct power is concentrated in the hands of elected officials,” insisted State Duma representative in the Constitutional Court Dmitry Vyatkin, “and very, very much depends on who will represent our citizens. Unfortunately, in 2010-2012 there were very disappointing statistics: although the number grave and especially grave crimes decreased - from 684,347 to 569 thousand, but the number of crimes committed by previously convicted persons increased - from 92,687 in 2010 to 102,657 two years later. All this required the adoption of legislative measures. Penetration into representative bodies authorities and local government representatives of criminal communities represented and pose a real threat."
“I did not understand the motives of the legislators,” Mikhail Barshchevsky, the government representative in the Constitutional Court, honestly admitted. - The motive is to prevent criminals from coming into power - this is clear to me, and I completely agree with it. By the way, all the crowned thieves in law for whom I was able to find information did not have particularly serious charges.
He considers the lack of consideration of individual situations to be a major drawback of the contested norms. For example, human rights activist Sergei Kovalev would not be able to become a deputy under the new norm. Two teenagers converted a traumatic pistol into a combat pistol - they will not be deputies for life, but if they did the same thing individually, they can. Barshchevsky believes that in this case the legislator could well introduce restrictions on each article, prohibiting, for example, permanent election to power for those convicted of high treason, terrorism, drug trafficking, as well as repeat offenders, “a barrier must be put in place, because that relapse is a way of life."
Member of the Central Election Commission Maya Grishina partially confirmed Vyatkin’s position with real figures, noting that “attempts to nominate persons with a criminal past continue.” Indeed, among approximately 146 thousand candidates in 2009, there were 22 previously convicted of serious and especially serious crimes; in 2010, out of 203 thousand applicants, there were 55 of them; in 2011, 73 out of 104 thousand nominated candidates; and According to the preliminary results of the elections on September 8 this year, there are 150 candidates. Grishina also told a real case when the head of one of the municipalities in the Magadan region became a former killer of a policeman, convicted before the adoption of the Russian Constitution, in Soviet times, although in this entity there is a school named after the deceased policeman. “The electorate itself has the right to decide who it needs and who it doesn’t,” one of the lawyers, Vladimir Suchkov, firmly stated. “The population knew that he had committed a crime, but years passed, the man changed, and people believed him,” added lawyer Evgeniy Korovin. “Look at the attitude of the person who committed the crime,” Rastorgueva supported, “this more clearly shows the need for an individual approach.” “This example is terrifying in its cynicism,” Vyatkin was indignant, “and it is a disaster for the country if we say that this is normal.”
The Constitutional Court will check for compliance with the Basic Law the norms of the Federal Law "On Basic Guarantees of Electoral Rights and the Right to Participate in a Referendum of Citizens of the Russian Federation", the Criminal Code, as well as the provisions of the electoral legislation of the Kirov Region and Primorsky Territory. A decision on the case will be made within a month.
In response to message No. 33 from Tatyana: Tatyana, let her assign herself to whomever she wants. She must bear responsibility both for herself and for the people to which she considers herself. Jews, too, as is known, as a result of persecution, for the sake of profit and survival, and achievements to get a better job, were recorded as Russian, Caucasian nationalities, and even Kalmyks (I read in one book). If you watch old films, starting from the 60s (after the death of Stalin), then all the heroes and heroines of the films, whom all viewers of different nationalities of the USSR perceived as Russian, in fact, as it turned out over time, all these artists and performers were Jews, half-breed Jews.)) That is, Jews portrayed Russians, to educate peoples - they portrayed heroic, lyrical-romantic personalities, and they themselves lived their mercantile life, laughing at simple-minded Russians and other peoples. And now Russian television, cinema, and pop music consist of descendants of Jews, half-Jews in different variations: half-Krainians, half-Caucasians, half-Tatars, half-Russians, half-Germans, and so on. Purely Russians in this area must be looked for during the day with fire. And also, if you look through all other areas of activity, especially where it is profitable, in management, you won’t find much Russian there either.)))) Those who declare themselves Russian are precisely those who are looking for some kind of benefit to settle down. And then, when circumstances change, and they begin to recognize their own nationality, without a twinge of conscience they will foam at the mouth to prove their belonging, appealing to their blood ancestors. Like the Jews of the Soviet Union, who were described as “Russians,” when given permission to travel to Israel, they began en masse to look for proof of their Jewish “roots,” even concocting false documents. When a person is internally weak, he has fear of the outside world. And he is looking for something that will give him a feeling of security and survival benefits, so he attributes himself to an external force, raises the flag of nationalism, religion, in order to be at least somehow involved, and to exalt himself. All these tribal-clan survival mechanisms have worked for centuries, what do you want from weak people?)) Take a German, because living in the USSR, he was happy with his “white” appearance, it was convenient for him that in appearance He was considered Russian, but didn’t he shout on all corners that he was German? Of course not, it was to his advantage that everyone considered him Russian. After all, back then, people didn’t always carry passports with them, where their nationality was written. And as soon as it became possible to go to Germany, he proved through the court his German surname and that he was German. And now he’s calmly bashing Russians.)) Reflecting on this topic, one can understand that we are small nations and have not seen real Russians (if only in our personal, family, friendly connections), because all those who “pretended to be Russians” did not they were not Russians, whether on the TV screen or in life, but were Jews, Ukrainians, Belarusians, Germans and various half-breeds with “Caucasoid” facial features.)) And since there are more such “supposedly Russians” both in power and in legislation, that’s why the fifth column was removed.))))) In the USA, everyone is American, and we are all Russians.)) It’s more convenient and profitable for them to hide their belonging to their people. Honest people have no need to hide their nationality. And belong to others. And it’s profitable for the dishonest.)) For example, in Moscow, guest workers from Central Asia sometimes introduce themselves as Kalmyks and Kalmyks.)) The Kalmyks themselves working in Moscow write about this. That’s why they appeal to everyone: if a person speaks Russian poorly or is engaged in unworthy activities, keep in mind that these are not Kalmyks. Due to the similarity in appearance, it is advantageous for these dishonest Asians to be called Kalmyks, to hide behind their backs. Firstly, Kalmyks are Russians, and secondly, Kalmyks always defend their priorities, and no one really picks on them. Etc. Therefore, in order to avoid earned “stardom,” in different situations, they declare themselves Kalmyks and Kalmyks, which naturally disgraces us Kalmyks. That’s why Kalmyks deal with such people. But the problem with the Russians is that everyone is “cunning” or “cunning”, even with such a clearly Asian face as Laska-Mercedes, can declare that she is Russian, or he is an Old Russian, all sorts of Ukrainian-Jewish and other half-breeds will disgrace the real ones Russians, and who will figure it out?)) Even the Nazis are deliberately set against other nations so that they do not understand their own environment, among the “self-called Russians”. But since this mess has been going on for centuries, and the devil himself is already breaking his leg, in the intertwining of the blood of different nationalities, from above they decided to solve the problem in a different way. And now, the law has been adopted without the fifth column, right on time. In short, due to acceleration, everything superficial, invented, false, worn out and outdated will fall off from every person like husks. And whoever clings to their past, imaginary attitudes of their own rightness will also go, fly away from this cycle. As a result of such violent cleansing from lies and self-interest, spiritual scabs, etc., we will have real Russians.
| Transformation | 2016-09-28 09:13 | Answer |
Today, at a meeting of the State Duma in the second reading, a bill is to be considered, according to which candidates for elected positions will have to indicate their criminal records in all election documents. Amendments will be made to the law “On Basic Guarantees of Electoral Rights and the Right to Participate in Citizens’ Referendum.”
– First of all, we should start with the history of the adoption of this bill. Several years ago, we made changes to the legislation and wrote that persons who have ever been convicted of serious and especially serious acts (banditry, for example, or murder) will never be able to run for deputies at any level - from the village council to the State Duma.
Then one citizen turned to the Constitutional Court (CC) and said: “Wait, but we cannot be deprived of this right for life. What does our Constitution say? It says that people in prison cannot run for office.” The Constitutional Court considered the issue and said: “For life – it’s impossible. Therefore, gentlemen, deputies, set a deadline.” Then the State Duma met, considered the bill in the first reading and said: “Whoever was imprisoned for serious crimes, that is, more than 5 and no more than 10 years, after the removal of a criminal record, cannot run for deputy for 10 years. And those who were imprisoned for especially serious crimes – murderers and terrorists – cannot run for office for 15 years after the conviction is cleared.” And they decided that this norm would do. This bill was adopted in the fall in the first reading. The State Duma is currently preparing a second reading. Why is it important to emphasize the phrase “second reading”? Because according to the regulations, amendments can only be made in the interval between the first reading and the second.
However, United Russia member Vladimir Ponevezhsky introduced, according to lawyers, scientists and public figures, an anti-constitutional amendment. He proposed supplementing the law “On Basic Guarantees of Electoral Rights and the Right to Participate in Referendums of Citizens of the Russian Federation” with the provision that any criminal record of the candidate, not even medium or grave, but small.
At a meeting of the State Duma Committee on Constitutional Legislation and State Building, two deputy chairmen of the committee, Vadim Solovyov from the Communist Party of the Russian Federation and Sergei Ivanov from the Liberal Democratic Party, told Ponevezhsky: “Wait, a whole number of acts have been decriminalized.” That is, the new Russian code does not contain such articles from the RSFSR code as, for example, speculation, private enterprise and commercial intermediation, usury, anti-Soviet agitation and propaganda. But in response to this, the committee deputies were told: “No, let the voters figure it out themselves.”
But this violates the Constitution and the Criminal Code! Article 86 of the Criminal Code says: “The expungement or removal of a criminal record eliminates all its legal consequences.” But they didn’t care about Article 86, just as they didn’t care about the Constitution. According to the State Duma's work plan today, many amendments are being considered for the second reading, including this amendment by Ponevezhsky. This is a classic technique - when society is busy with something more important, to smuggle in an “atomic bomb” on the sly. Since everyone is stuck in these 10-15 years, which are prohibited, and now they are no longer prohibited, they are trying to slowly push through this amendment.
But this bill is of a very large caliber. In particular, it amends the basic law “On Basic Guarantees of Electoral Rights...”, paragraph 58 of Article 2, and concerns elections at all levels, including the village council in the tundra. Moreover, almost half of our candidates usually have a criminal record. Our Criminal Code is structured in such a way that the court qualifies the same act in different regions of the country differently. But now, even if a person was given a suspended sentence, they will not write this. They will write that he was sentenced, for example, to 3 years under Article 209. And only a few will know that in the old, “shaggy” code of the RSFSR this is hooliganism.
I think that the election documents will contain the year, article and term without specifics. What are the hidden objectives of this bill? Who among us has small articles now? “Bolotnaya” prisoners who got into a fight with riot police and received a year of probation. Or, for example, Pussy Riot. They are getting involved in politics now, right? And what kind of article they have - go figure. And now it will be written “candidate such and such was convicted in such and such a year under article, say, 213 of the Criminal Code of the RSFSR for a period of 2 years.” Grandma will take the ballot and think: “Why am I going to vote for such people?” And in fact there will be no voting.
Since United Russia also has a majority in the State Duma, this bill will most likely be adopted, but it will be possible to argue about the wording later. For example, if there is no speculation in the new code, then it can no longer be mentioned. Or if someone is 70 years old and has been imprisoned for 20 years under the article “Anti-Soviet agitation and propaganda,” then now they cannot run for office? Lyudmila Alekseeva, take it, she has so many articles on anti-Soviet propaganda. Now, if she wants, she won’t be able to run for elected office? According to human rights activists, this law is aimed exclusively at the opposition, which constantly gets into some kind of conflict and receives prison terms for it.
Those previously convicted may be eligible to be elected
Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Committee on Constitutional Legislation and State Building Sergei Ivanov (LDPR) prepared amendments to the law “On Basic Guarantees of Electoral Rights” (available to Izvestia). He proposes to exclude the clause expanding the list of citizens limited in the right to be elected, but at the same time oblige candidates to indicate the presence of even expunged criminal records on the ballot.
We are introducing a bill according to which absolutely everyone has the right to be elected, except for those who, as specified in the Constitution, are in prison or declared incompetent. But voters should know whether candidates have been convicted or not and, if so, under what article. Therefore, even if the criminal record is expunged, the ballot will still indicate that he was convicted under such and such an article,” the deputy said.
The Law “On Basic Guarantees of Electoral Rights” introduces four additional categories of persons limited in passive electoral rights. These are those convicted of committing serious and especially serious crimes, convicted of committing extremist activities, persons subjected to administrative punishment for propaganda and public display of Nazi or extremist paraphernalia or symbols or for their production and distribution, as well as persons recognized by the court as having abused freedom of speech during the election campaign. agitation.
In October, the Constitutional Court of Russia already recognized as contrary to the Basic Law of the country the amendments imposing a lifelong ban on persons convicted of serious and especially serious crimes from running for office. According to Ivanov, this is not enough.
The Constitutional Court answers only those questions that are put to it. This means that you are asking - does this article comply with the Constitution? And he answers yes or no. If you don’t ask about the other one, he doesn’t touch her. And the amendments being introduced make it possible to solve the problem comprehensively, the parliamentarian is sure.
According to Ivanov’s colleague on the committee from the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, Vadim Solovyov, “the amendments do not make a big revolution,” but they can be a good clarification if the articles are given with a transcript.
Simply listing articles does not give anything. It is necessary to indicate the transcript of the article and what the candidate was imprisoned for, for example, “for participating in the riots on Bolotnaya Square.” But just the title of the article will tell voters little,” the communist emphasized.
First Deputy Chairman of the Duma Committee on Constitutional Legislation and State Building, Alexander Ageev, is against making the indication of criminal record mandatory.
It happens that a man at the age of 20 defended a girl and was convicted because of this. So why should he point this out at 55 years old? I am against being banned for life from being elected, but I am also against having a criminal record indicated. In my opinion, it is quite reasonable to limit the possibility of being elected for 10-15 years for those previously convicted, while providing exceptions, for example, for those pardoned by the president or those released under an amnesty. Here it is important to find a middle ground in order, on the one hand, to avoid the criminalization of power, and on the other, not to violate the constitutional rights of citizens,” Ageev argues.
According to Rafael Mardanshin, a member of the State Duma Committee on Civil and Criminal Legislation, the time barrier best reveals the inclinations of those previously convicted of crimes.
For persons who have committed crimes, including those who have served their sentences, a barrier must exist. At least after this period it will be clear whether the person is prone to relapse or not. Time will tell whether the person has corrected himself or not. If you simply indicate the presence of a criminal record on the ballot, then by using financial and other means, a candidate even convicted, for example, of violent crimes, can get into power. And if he is prone to relapse, then this will manifest itself, and it is much more difficult to fight a person vested with authority,” warns Mardanshin.
Currently, according to the law “On the Election of State Duma Deputies” adopted in the spring, the ban on people with a criminal record from being elected applies to parliamentarians. The proposal to expand the list of positions that those convicted of serious and especially serious crimes will not be able to occupy for life was found by the Constitutional Court to be contrary to the Basic Law of the country. However, only the provision on lifelong deprivation of passive suffrage was recognized as unconstitutional. This was interpreted as an acknowledgment of the possibility of imposing a temporary ban on participation in elections.
Maybe I don’t understand something, but why are there so many deputies with convictions in our power or striving for power? I came from the elections out of 11 candidates, two with, although expunged, criminal records. Moreover, the articles are serious, what kind of trend is this or do our parties not have the opportunity to elect a person with a clean reputation? Is this done on purpose?
- Best from top
- First on top
- Current from above
238 comments
If a deputy has no criminal record, that means he is even more cunning than the one who was imprisoned))
It’s just that before you join the mafia you must prove your loyalty and professional suitability.
Bayan is EXACTLY two years old) what kind of elections were there 720 days ago?)
Konstantin Podsukonnykh! My criminal record has been expunged!
It seems to be the same scheme.
Pushed opium for the people?
These bitches even called on the phone at 8 a.m. on Sunday.
From this district just myself.
Prove that he is a victim?
what did he wear? boots?
It’s just that those in power now are mostly the ones left behind from the nineties. So they pull the “lads” to the feeding trough.
It’s a shame you don’t read history books.
This was the case even in tsarist times - those who were smeared in mud up to their necks and had grown a whole beard of incriminating evidence were more willingly appointed to high-ranking positions. If something like this happens, grab that beard and he’s obedient and will do whatever you order.
But if you put an honest person without sin, he will not live according to the laws of the authorities; he will think of bringing benefit to the people, and not to those superior.
What is important for the king? Obedient retinue. She may be corrupt and cynical, but she is manageable. But a good person in power is dangerous, because he will find the dirt of a barn in the royal penates.
Autocracy has always been like this.
Do you really think we want these laws to be enforced? - Dr. Ferris began. - We want them to be violated. You'd better remember: you're not dealing with a group of Boy Scouts, and the time for nice gestures is over. The power is behind us, and we know it. Your friends are good boys, but we know the true state of things, and you should be smarter. It is extremely difficult to control innocent people. The only power the government has is the power to break the criminal element. Well, if there are not enough criminals, you need to create them. So many laws are adopted that it is impossible for a person to exist without breaking them. Who needs a nation consisting entirely of law-abiding citizens? What's the use of it? But make laws that can neither be observed, nor enforced, nor objectively interpreted, and you will get a nation of violators, which means you can make money from crimes.
Clearing a criminal record will not free you from restrictions on rights // Deputies will remove contradictions between the Criminal Code and federal laws
United Russia deputies have prepared draft amendments to the Criminal Code (CC). According to these amendments, the expungement of a criminal record will not free citizens from all consequences, but only from those specified in the Criminal Code. Now, election candidates with an expunged or expunged criminal record will not be able to challenge the refusal to register, citing contradictions in the law, RBC reports.
The bill proposes the following version of paragraph 6 of Article 86 of the Criminal Code: “The expungement or removal of a criminal record cancels all legal consequences provided for by this code related to a criminal record.” Such an amendment will remove existing contradictions in the legislation, deputies believe. In some cases, it is not clear what to follow: the Criminal Code, which removes all consequences of a criminal record, or federal laws that introduce additional restrictions for those with a criminal record. For example, citizens with a cleared or expunged criminal record cannot serve in the army, run for parliament, or obtain the status of a judge.
Last year, the Constitutional Court (CC) twice upheld the ban on access to certain types of activities for persons with a previous criminal record. One of the prohibitions concerned the right to be elected for persons who have ever been convicted of committing a serious or especially serious crime (for more details, see here). However, then the Constitutional Court noted that such a ban cannot be automatic for all convicted persons and must be limited in time. The terms of restrictions on passive voting rights must be correlated with the terms of a criminal record, the judges said. In another decision, the Constitutional Court supported the ban on the right to engage in teaching activities for persons who had or have a criminal record for committing serious, especially serious crimes and crimes of a sexual nature (for more details, see here).
The authors of the amendments also plan to introduce into the Criminal Code all the restrictions that are introduced by federal laws on the issue of criminal records. People are not required to study all the legislation in order to understand exactly what consequences an expunged or expunged criminal record will have for them, deputies believe.
Is it possible to become a deputy if you have a criminal record?
Candidates for elected positions are required to indicate the fact of a criminal record, even if their case was closed under an amnesty, but may not remember this if the relevant composition is no longer considered a crime, the Constitutional Court explained. This is stated in two rulings on the complaints of Dmitry Babich and Alexander Barsukov, published on Tuesday on the court’s website. Both were denied registration for municipal elections due to the fact that they forgot to mention their criminal record: Babich in 1997 received six months of correctional labor for defrauding consumers (the article is no longer in effect), and Barsukov in 2000 was convicted of violating traffic rules movements. Both believed that they should not have indicated a criminal record: Babich had it expunged long ago and, in accordance with Part 2 of Art. 86 of the Criminal Code, he is considered unconvicted, and Barsukov was amnestied.
The Constitutional Court did not agree with Barsukov’s arguments. For the purposes of election legislation, the very fact that a candidate has committed a crime is important, since this affects voters’ assessment of the candidate’s personality, the judges believe. In the Babich case, the situation is different: previously, the Constitutional Court had already partially invalidated restrictions on teaching activities for those who were convicted under subsequently decriminalized charges, since those previously subjected to criminal prosecution would have found themselves in unequal conditions with those who suffered only administrative liability. But a forgotten criminal record was not the only basis for denying Babich registration, so the question of the possibility of his participation in the elections remains within the competence of the court of general jurisdiction, the Constitutional Court believes.
Judge Sergei Knyazev, who issued a dissenting opinion, disagrees with the position of his colleagues regarding Barsukov’s complaint. He does not question the right of voters to get acquainted with the details of the biography of candidates, but the legislator prescribed such a requirement very vaguely, the judge believes, hence the mutually exclusive interpretations (the Central Election Commission does not count a criminal record if the amnesty act is applied before the verdict comes into force, but the Supreme Court does) and contradictory law enforcement practice. “As long as such a requirement is not clearly and unambiguously reflected either in the contested or in other articles of the federal law, presentation to persons considered according to Art. 86 of the Criminal Code are unconvicted, claims regarding the silence about the relevant facts are not based on the law, and therefore cannot be considered as consistent with the constitutional principles of the rule of law,” Knyazev insists.
Concealing information about a criminal record has become a fairly common reason for refusal of registration in recent years: according to the Central Election Commission, in 2014, the Ministry of Internal Affairs identified 240 candidates from 28 parties who provided false information about their criminal record. All parties had problems, confirms the head of the legal service of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, Vadim Solovyov: the requirement to indicate a criminal record does not raise objections, conflicts arose due to the lack of clear and unambiguous rules. For example, State Duma deputy Pavel Dorokhin last year was nominated for governor of the Tyumen region from the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, but was refused registration: in 2000, he was convicted of illegal possession of weapons and received an amnesty, so he quite sincerely considered himself unconvicted, Soloviev recalls.
This is interesting:
- Federal Law of June 13, 1996 N 64-FZ "On the entry into force of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation" (with amendments and additions) Federal Law of June 13, 1996 N 64-FZ "On the entry into force of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation" With changes and additions from: 27 […] Laws of Business If you know the laws of business, then your activity will flourish. Business is a human activity like any other - painting pictures, playing sports, working for a company. And like any other activity, it also has its own specific laws [...] LIST OF SOURCES AND LITERATURE USED 1. The Constitution of the Russian Federation (taking into account the amendments made by the Laws of the Russian Federation on amendments to the Constitution of the Russian Federation dated December 30, 2008 No. 6-FKZ, dated December 30. 2008 No. 7-FKZ). 2. Tax Code of the Russian Federation (Part One) dated July 31, 1998 No. 146-FZ (as amended from […]
- On the rules of passenger transportation in domestic traffic Travel of children on long-distance trains Free of charge - for children under 5 years old without occupying a separate seat (1 child per 1 passenger), a ticket is issued. If a child under 5 years of age travels on a long-distance train [...]
Loading...
