Беспредел власти

Review of repressions against anarchists in Russia - 2017 and first months of 2018

Moscow Anarchist Black Cross released the review of repression of anarchists by Russian state in 2017 and early 2018. During this period, the authorities continue to frame and persecute the Russian comrades. Anarchists are also a subject of repressions in prisons. Here is the extract of recently published list of repression in Russia.

“The main thing at that moment, in that situation, was to come out alive”

In late January, news that Viktor Filinkov, a left-wing activist and computer programmer, had disappeared (24 January) at St Petersburg’s Pulkovo airport was followed by arrests and searches (26 January) at the apartments of anti-fascist activists in the city.

Anarchists Yelena Gorban and Alexei Kobaidze suspects in Vandalism Committed Outside of United Russia Office Sent to Temporary Detention Facility

Yelena Gorban and Alexei Kobaidze, suspects in the vandalism case (Russian Criminal Code Article 214) opened after a protest outside a United Russia party office on January 31, have been sent to Temporary Detention Facility No. 1 (Petrovka) in Moscow, as reported to OVD Info by their defense lawyers, Svetlana Sidorkina and Maxim Pashkov.

Independent Russian Reporter’s House Searched by Security Services

A Statement by the Journalists’ and Media Workers’ Union

In the early hours of January 31st, Russian security services stormed the apartment of @Pavel Nikulin, a co-chair of the Journalists' and Media Workers' Union. We can assume that Pavel’s apartment was searched in connection with an article he wrote for the New Times magazine in March 2017. The article, titled “From Kaluga With Jihad," was removed from the magazine's website after a court found it was "publicly justifying terrorism."

Ilya Kapustin: “They Said They Could Break My Legs and Dump Me in the Woods"

Traces of handcuffs on Ilya Kapustin’s hands

“They Said They Could Break My Legs and Dump Me in the Woods.” Petersburger Ilya Kapustin Recounts How FSB Officers Tortured Him
Yegor Skovoroda

January 27, 2018

Traces of handcuffs on Ilya Kapustin’s hands. Photo courtesy of his attorney and Mediazona

How “Stability” Has Really Been Achieved in Russia

Viktor Filinkov. Photo courtesy of Filinkov’s wife and OVD Info

Petersburg Anarchist Viktor Filinkov, Arrested in Terrorism Case, Says He Was Tortured

January 26, 2018

Antifascist Viktor Filinkov, arrested for alleged involvement in a terrorist network, has told members of the Public Monitoring Commission (PMC) he was tortured, according to the PMC’s report, which Mediazona has in its possession.

Support anarchist and antifa prisoners in St.Petersburg and Penza!

We are currently fundraising to pay the lawyers working on several cases related to the police raids and arrests of anarchists and antifascists in St. Petersburg and Penza, Russia. 

As of now, two people in St. Petersburg and five in Penza are under arrest, while many others have been connected to their cases as witnesses. The raids and repressions are likely to continue. 

Arrests and searches of anarchists and antifascists in St.Petersburg

On January 23 antifascists Viktor Filinkov was kidnapped at the airport in St. Petersburg and was found two days later in a special detention facility of FSB (Russian Federal Security Service). He  by masked police and forced to give evidence in a terrorist case against himself.

Program published: Father Frost against Putin 2018 is сoming up soon. From 6 to 7 January Helsinki will host the fifth annual festival

Дед Мороз против Путина

Various initiatives and activists from post-soviet countries and the rest of Europe will be part of this event sharing stories and reports on the situation in their regions. There are plenty of reasons for exchanging perspectives: an increase in repression and a new round of political confrontations are accelerating certain historical processes, not giving us a chance to catch our breath.

Pyotr Ryabov, anarchist philosopher imprisoned for 6 days in Belarus, declared a hungerstrike

Petr Ryabov

October 11, the city court of Baranovichi, Belarus, sentenced Russian anarchist Pyotr Ryabov. Petr, an anarchist philosopher and a lecturer of the department of Philosophy in the Moscow State Pedagogical University was sentenced to 6 days of prison for "minor hooliganism" and "distribution of extremist materials" (statutes 17.1 and 17.11 of the Codex of misdemeanors of Belarus). The court  has declared the Belarusian anarchist journal "Svoboda ili Smert issue 6" (published in 2007) an extremist material.

Hundreds of protesters detained after massive wave of repressions in Belarus

March 25 was planned by some liberal opposition leaders as the day of the biggest protest against Lukashenko’s policies this year. The biggest one on the wave of the recent anti-governmental demonstrations that started in February this year. It ended with the biggest police mobilization in years bringing thousands of riot cops to Minsk and detaining hundreds of people preventive and during the demonstration. This Saturday capital of Belarus looked like a war zone created by the police.

Belarus: Dozens of anarchists arrested in Minsk after anti-government protest

Today in three major cities of Belarus – Minsk, Mogilev and Grodno – people took the streets protesting against government attempts to collect tax off the unemployed (details of the story ). In Minsk, demonstrations managed to gather more that 1 500 people, in Mogilev and Grodno 1 000 each. These are the biggest protests those cities have seen in decades.

Anarchist Black Cross’s Annual Overview of Repressions 2016

The Russian authorities continue to prosecute and jail our comrades. In the summer and fall of 2016, demonstrations of solidarity with the convicts were held all across the globe. The anarchists are furthermore suffering repressions in jails, but keep the spirit up. If you think that we have missed something important in our article or are aware of other repressions, feel free tocontact us at   

Free at last  

Belarusian prison. Untouchables in the prison hierarchy.

The topic of prison caste system is often raised in the media in recent times, it is often discussed in connection with the political prisoners. However, almost all who write on the subject, know about it at best from the stories of former inmates or use common social stereotypes. As a result, there are often a lot of blunders and false representation.

The aim of this article is to illuminate some aspects of this complex and multifaceted phenomenon the informal hierarchy in Belarus prisons.

 

Author columns

Short presentation of the Tyumen case, from a benefit event Helsinki 6th of October 2023
Антти Раутиайнен

Short presentation of the Tyumen case, from a benefit event in Helsinki 6th of October 2023. In Spotify Support the fundraising drive of Firefund for the for the lawyers of the defendants in the "Tyumen case". Families and relatives will have to pay for the participation of lawyers in these...

3 months ago
1
Антти Раутиайнен

Anarchist anti-war action and the growing nationalism in Russia Interview with Portuguese Mapa - Jornal de Informação Critica -paper, published in issue 35. Interview by Pedro Morais. Listen this blog in SoundCloud Listen this blog in Spotify After the start of war in Ukraine we have seen...

1 year ago