When the Public Square Became Not So Public

Seven times a year the Russian government has to come up with some reason why human rights activists can not exercise their constitutional freedom to gather on Triumph Square in Moscow.  According to the 31st article, coincidentally enough, of the Russian Federation’s Constitution, “Citizens of the Russian Federation shall have the right to assemble peacefully, without weapons, hold rallies, meetings and demonstrations, marches and pickets.”
 
However, recently President Medvedev signed a new bill into law that extends the powers of the Federal Security Service (FSB).  The new law allows officials to warn and punish individuals for “creating the conditions” for crimes.  This law clearly leaves room for flexible interpretation, which will most definitely go to the benefit of the state, and will give authorities the ability to prosecute for thought crimes.  Many argue that by passing this law, Medvedev has put a stain on his liberal efforts.  After Promoting a law that effectively limits the right to freedom of expression and conscience, and enables the KGB predecessor, the FSB, with preventative powers, Medvedev argued that the Russian political system will remain “open, flexible and internally complex” as well as keeping society “free, secure, critical thinking, self-confident people.”

The May 31st gathering on Triumph Square in Moscow was met with strict resistance from the local authorities.  One activist, who attended, Bela, said that when she got off the Metro at the Mayakovskaja station, there stood an abundance of police officers as well as soldiers with Kalashnikovs on their shoulders.  As she came out of the metro onto the street, the square was completely barricaded and full of law enforcement officials.  The only way that she could go was back down into the metro.  It did not matter if you were an activist or a local resident trying to get home, they did not allow any people to exit the metro station.  Bela eventually made her way back from a different area through alley ways, to join only a handful of other activists who were able to make it onto the square, to almost immediately be kicked out by law enforcement.
 
This was a gathering of human rights activists.  Yes, it could be seen as a political opposition to a tyrant ruler, but in reality it was merely a gathering of citizens standing up for their constitutional right of peaceful assembly.

The July 31st gathering on Triumph Square was a different story.  The Russian Ministry of Sport, Tourism and Youth Policy held a series of sporting events on this day.  Was it coincidental that they planned the drifting (a sport involving cars) event on the same square?  When I asked Yuri Samodurov, former director at Andrei Sakharov Museum and Society Center, he agreed that it was most definitely planned.
As we came up from the same metro station that Mrs. Bela had issues with on May 31st, and exited out on to the street, five feet in front of the doors, the square was barricaded once again.  This time they had a reason.  These sports cars were spinning out of control and they needed to keep the public a safe distance away from the danger.  Even though the barricade ran parallel to the building, creating a corridor in which you could walk around the event, there were police blocking from all sides and demanding that we go back down into the metro.  If they really were having a sporting event, then why would they not allow people to come and watch it?

Although the area which was being used for the drifting event was only a third of the square, another third was barricaded off, as a bumper zone.  There was literally no room for any spectators of the sporting event, let alone for the demonstration of human rights activists.  Regardless, the activists still gathered where they could, on the opposite side of the square.  To get from the metro to the other side was near impossible and required going through two lines of police officers and through an area of buses full with soldiers.

The large number of riot police and troops were posted all around the barricade and area, and were ready to pounce on the right activists at any given moment.  Sadly, as the activists started to shout their slogans for freedom of assembly, just this happened, and many were dragged off and arrested.  In total, an estimated 30 people were detained from the event.  Amongst those arrested were distinguished opposition figures to the Kremlin, Boris Nemtsov and Sergei Udaltsov.  There were also many other prominent figures from Moscow’s various human rights organizations, including Yuri Samodurov  and Lev Ponomaryov, director of “All-Russian Public Movement For Human Rights” and a former parliament member.  
 
There were similar rallies held in St. Petersburg and Kiev, Ukraine, in support of the Moscow demonstration. Police also detained several people in both these cities as they struggled to break up the rallies.

By Daniel Adams Jr. A UVU student intern in Russia

Photos Courtesy of: http://www.rferl.org/content/Russian_Activists_Opposition_Apply_For_Mass_Gathering_In_Moscow/2194037.html
http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/content/view/40130/