Translated text by Ilya Shakursky from April 13, 2020, published on the website novayagazeta.ru.
The day before the verdict was read to me and the guys, three unidentified individuals attacked journalist Pavel Nikulin in the center of Penza. He was standing alone in a picket in support of the imprisoned antifascists. “Penza is a right-wing city!” shouted the attackers. In the Penza prison, you are more likely to hear a different definition: “Penza is a red city!” That’s what the inmates say, meaning that power in the pre-trial detention center belongs to the law enforcement officers and informants.
There is no contradiction here; both epithets are accurate. Both “right-wing” and “red” harmoniously reflect the reality not only of the small town on the banks of the Sura River but also of the entire vast country.
Talking to me about Penza, one of the Chekists delved into history, saying that our city has always been a stronghold of populists, revolutionaries, anarchists, and “leftists.”
Then he looked at me, handcuffed, and with a smirk said, “Now we’ll cleanse the city of you.”
Being in their offices with portraits of Dzerzhinsky, you can learn a lot about their views on life. I remember one of the Chekists admitting that he dreamed of shooting “shavoks” (ultra-rightists call antifa “shavoks”), because he was bored. At that time, a song by one of the neo-Nazi groups was playing from the speakers. At that moment, I realized clearly that I was in captivity.
For the Chekists and the Ashniks, all this is not an exception, but rather a regularity. Their propensity for xenophobia and sympathy for neo-Nazis have been confirmed repeatedly. The Department “E” (fighting extremism) was nicknamed “Estapo,” and they seem to be proud of it themselves, calling themselves that when communicating with detainees (as was the case in the “Rostov case”). Materials from high-profile cases, such as the BORN case (Combat Organization of Russian Nationalists, responsible for dozens of murders and assassination attempts, including the murder of lawyer Stanislav Markelov and journalist Anastasia Baburova), also indicate the connection of neo-Nazis with the authorities.
Felix Edmundovich Dzerzhinsky was the first head of the Soviet KGB, responsible for mass repression and the murder of political prisoners.
In 2015, in Moscow, a antifascist concert was disrupted by law enforcement. All participants of the event were detained and taken to the station, where they had to meet with grinning Ashniks. There are many similar stories, giving the impression that Nazis and law enforcement are competing in the number of disrupted antifascist events. When so-called “right-wing” groups organize tournaments in large arenas and open stores with “correct” clothing, they remain without vigilant attention from law enforcement and behave very confidently.
The mixed martial arts tournament among antifascists “Don’t Give Up,” organized by Ivan Khutorskoy (killed by Nazis in 2009), was created in memory of Fedor Filatov (killed by Nazis in 2008). Now it has become more difficult to hold this tournament; the hall administrations immediately receive calls from the “E” department or, alternatively, mass arrests begin at the event itself. Law enforcement actively prevent even ordinary meetings, thereby driving antifascists and other leftist activists into the underground.
Events in Ukraine, where armed neo-Nazi groups are involved in combat, and the physical elimination of antifascists by groups like BORN, have influenced the antifascist environment in Russia. Antifascists have begun to engage in mixed martial arts, airsoft, and tactical shooting to protect themselves and their loved ones from armed thugs with a diagnosis of “Nazism” if necessary.
Provocateur Vlad Gresko (a secret witness in the “Network” case under the pseudonym Vlad Dobrovolsky) repeatedly told me that some right-wing groups are training to eliminate antifascists in case of a Ukrainian scenario.
Gresko did not mention the names of the participants in the training sessions but talked about a supposedly existing radical armed group in Tyumen and the activities of the “Chernolesye Partisans.” According to Gresko’s words, his role in our and other criminal cases is already clear to everyone.
However, videos from training sessions and forest gatherings of Nazis can still be found freely accessible.
If we compare their recordings with those videos for which we received huge sentences, we can see where there is real preparation for radical actions, and where there is amateurism and frivolity. But even overt right-wing radical organizations that participated in combat have been recognized as “extremist” rather than “terrorist.”
Obviously, the mutually beneficial relationship between the “right” and the “red” is a temporary phenomenon. They will be disposed of as a used resource. This happened with nationalist formations that fought on the side of the “DPR” and ceased to be needed, and it was the same with groups of Nazi skinheads that were used for political purposes or to eliminate competitors.
Today’s antifascists, imprisoned and dying from shots in the back, maintain their dignity. But the “white” pride of modern Nazis is measured by the size of the leash they are on. Now they say they are glad I am in prison, thus approving the work of the Chekists, who in turn are grateful to the Nazis who helped them. Their hatred towards me is a reward for me. During the Victory Day celebrations, no fireworks will hide the multitude of administrative punishments for demonstrating a crossed-out swastika, no ribbons will conceal the scars of antifascists obtained as a result of torture. But I continue to be proud of the victory and consider myself a descendant of those who defended humanity from global evil. Unfortunately, it is awakening again.
13 April 2020