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02


Politics & Society


INTERVIEW MIKHAIL FEDOTOV


A champion for the people, a reformer of the law


THE NEW PRESIDENTAL ADVISER ON HUMAN RIGHTS WANTS TO HELP RUSSIA UNDERSTAND ITS PAST, ESPECIALLY STALIN’S TERROR


Soon after his appointment, Mikhail Fedotov talked of the challenges he faces in his quest to help develop civil society in Russia.


EUGENE ABOV RUSSIA NOW


When someone is appointed to a top position, the first thing people usually focus on is “the first 100 days in office” in order to make an initial assessment of their work. As the president’s human rights adviser, what are you hoping to achieve during this period? If I succeed in stopping peo- ple from getting beaten and roughed up during opposi- tion protests on Moscow’s Triumfalnaya Square at the end of every month with 31 days, this will be an impor- tant achievement. Our human rights and opposition lead- ers have submitted 12 appli- cations to hold protests [on the square] on each 31st day and each time they were turned down by the Moscow authorities. I hope to resolve this deadlock. We Russians know that our greatest prob- lems are fools and roads. I think this combination is the


response to two classic ques- tions in Russian history: “Who is to blame?” Fools. “What is to be done?” Build roads. I think our priority during the fi rst 100 days in office and thereafter will be to turn dead ends into roads. The situation with Triumfal- naya Square is a dead end, which should become a road, of understanding between the public and authorities.


What is your immediate agen- da? We are looking to discuss three issues at our next meet- ing with the president. The fi rst one is about state poli- cy on children, maternity and childhood, while the second is about judicial and police reforms. As you know, Pres- ident Medvedev prepared a draft law on the police.


Is this a reform of the ministry of internal affairs? Yes, it is a reform of the min- istry. And the third issue we plan on looking at is de-Sta- linisation. Conventionally, we call it “de-Stalinising the public consciousness”. In fact, this covers a broader range


of problems, including elim- inating the remnants and be- havioural stereotypes typi- cal of a totalitarian state.


How will you evaluate your de-Stalinisation campaign’s success? In fact we have no plans (no immediate plans, at least) to rename streets, remove mon- uments and destroy any other symbols of our totalitarian past. On the contrary, we want to begin with creation, not with destruction. We want people to remember the victims of Stalin’s regime, erect monuments to them; we want to name streets after them, build museums devot- ed to their memory. We be- lieve that this can be useful for educating society, espe- cially young people, because they should know the truth about their past.


The Western press reports that Russia is one of the world’s most dangerous countries for jour- nalists. The names Khlebnikov and Politkovskaya come imme- diately to mind, as well as those working with journalists, such as Natalya Estemirova. Investi-


People power New mayor says yes to protest Moscow demos – capital idea or capital mistake?


Two of Russia’s most prominent activists, Nikolai Alexeyev and Boris Nemtsov, agree on one thing: public protest just got a little easier.


BEN ARIS SPECIAL TO RUSSIA NOW


Nikolai Alexeyev, a leader of Russia’s Gay Pride move- ment, came directly from court following his arrest for staging an illegal rally in cen- tral Moscow. “I don’t want to wait any more for my freedoms or civil rights as a gay man,” he said, relaxing in a café after his court ap- pearance, a familiar routine for someone who has been arrested 11 times. Speaking shortly after the October sacking of Moscow mayor Yury Luzhkov by Pres- ident Dmitry Medvedev, he paused in mid-interview to answer his phone. “Historic news,” Mr Alexeyev ex-


claimed. “The municipal court in St Petersburg just ruled to overturn a ban on the Gay Pride march planned for July. It is the first time gays can demonstrate legal- ly in Russia.” A tide of special interest pro- test groups has become more visible over the last two years. Since Mr Luzhkov’s ousting , the Kremlin has sof- tened its stance on public protests, and Russia’s politi- cal activists hope to take ad- vantage of this. These activ- ists range from unhappy drivers and pensioners to en- vironmentalists, preserva- tionists and disenchanted liberals. Some say they are hopelessly dispersed, others sense a civil society moment coming on. A week after the Gay Pride march was sanctioned, the Strategy-31 movement, which demonstrates for the


PETA activists demanded the government ban seal fur imports from Canada earlier this year


right to demonstrate, a right enshrined in Article 31 of the constitution, was given per- mission to hold its fi rst sanc- tioned event in Moscow. Russia’s political leadership now seems to be searching for that elusive balance be- tween promoting civil soci- ety and concerns about em- boldening the opposition. The danger for the Kremlin is getting the mix wrong. A small incident, the withdraw- al of Russian pensioners’ bus passes in 2005, snowballed into a potent popular protest against then president Vladimir Putin. The passes – and order – were restored. But others are not so easily reconciled. Sitting at a chipped table outside a Mos- cow subway station is Boris Nemtsov, one-time deputy head of government under Boris Yeltsin and fabled re- former in the Nineties. Now


Heritage Cityscape under threat beside the Volga


Old lady Samara deserves respect of the young


Preservationists in Samara turn on charm and pressure in their quest to save some of the Volga Region’s most valuable architectural relics.


GALINA MASTEROVA SPECIAL TO RUSSIA NOW


For much of the 20th cen- tury, Samara was a closed city, home to Soviet missile building plants and strictly off-limits to foreigners. Today, this architectural gem 500 miles south-east of Mos- cow is still a well-kept se- cret, as is the growing fi ght there to preserve some of the most charming and quirky buildings imaginable from


the developers’ bulldozers. It’s not an easy fight in a country where money often talks loudest, but it is a strug- gle that is galvanising ordi- nary Russians, particularly young people, in a form of civic activism that is on the rise across country. “The rate of destruction is a shock to those who know the city,” said Vitaly Stad- nikov, a Samara native and preservationist who teaches architecture in Moscow. “Many of its most familiar buildings have been demol- ished, allowed to deteriorate, or been burnt down.” Since the fall of the Soviet


Union, hundreds of distinc- tive buildings have been knocked down here. Others have been hit by fi res, many of them in suspected but unsolved arson attacks that cleared sites for devel- opers. It is a familiar trend in ne- glected towns and cities across the country. But preservationists in Sa- mara are hoping to persuade authorities and local busi- nessmen that economic de- velopment and preservation are entirely compatible. Campaigners point to the Siberian city of Tomsk, which managed to resist the


option of demolition and re- stored many of its wooden houses. But it is also not an easy trend to turn around, given the wealth and clout of con- struction companies vying for prime plots. And there is much for both sides to fi ght for in Samara. In the mid-19th century, the city, which was renamed Kuibyshev in Soviet times, was dubbed the Russian Chicago when it became a major trading point on the Volga. It was a merchant town and the new rich brought in some of the country’s best archi- tects to build their splendid art nouveau houses, grand public buildings and tower- ing places of worship. One of the most famous buildings is a mansion built for artist and businessman Konstantin Golovkin. Over- looking the Volga, the build- ing is guarded by the statues of two gigantic elephants. After the 1917 Russian Rev- olution, the city’s position as an industrial centre saw a


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Historical buildings remain a defining feature of Samara


number of constructivist buildings built here, includ- ing Fabrika Kukhnya (Kitch- en Factory), a giant hammer- and-sickle shaped canteen in the centre of town. And, ironically, it was the fate of this site and not some 19th- century treasure that sparked a modest modern-day re- volt. Local developers planned to level the landmark building and replace it with a multi- storey mall. In September, Mr Stadnik- ov organised a bike ride through the city and around the endangered site which drew hundreds of like-mind- ed activists eager to hold on to their heritage. The jury is still out on the canteen’s fate, but the point was made. Encouraged by the support, Mr Stadnikov, together with the Save Europe’s Heritage organisation and the Mos- cow Architectural Preserva- tion Society, went to City Hall with a separate propos- al to restore one of Samara’s more precious wooden build-


ings under threat. This he hopes would show how res- toration can revive neigh- bourhoods, and even spur tourism ahead of the World Cup in 2018 – boosting Sa- mara’s chances of hosting some of the group-stage games if Russia wins its bid to host the championship. So far, authorities under a new mayor elected in Octo- ber made some approving noises but no more. Still, local campaigners are heartened by recent events in Moscow, where in the face of protests, a planned mo- torway project that would have destroyed the Khimki forest on the city’s edge was suspended. Following the October sack- ing of Moscow mayor Yury Luzhkov, an unashamed champion of development, several controversial projects have been halted. These include an enormous shopping centre under the capital’s Pushkin Square and a much-derided muse- um complex just outside the Kremlin.


an opposition gadfly, he is here to sign copies of his scathing report, Ten Years of Putin, and a queue quickly forms. “This is the biggest op- position project in 10 years,” said Mr Nemtsov, who has distributed 100,000 copies of the book. Containing chap- ters such as “Corruption is Devouring Russia”, he de- scribes it as “modern samiz- dat”, the underground pub- lishing of the Soviet-era. While Mr Alexeyev believes the internet will become a major force for change in the country, Mr Nemtsov is more sceptical. But both men agree that despite the protests, the state retains control over Moscow. And with far high- er income levels here than in the rest of Russia, Muscovites are the least likely to rebel. Some analysts suggest that the rise in activism stems from the explosive econom-


ic growth of the last decade that has improved the over- all standard of living. This is coupled with the fact that the state did little in the way of specifi c reforms aimed at improving public services. And the population, especial- ly a rising middle class, now expects more. The drudgery of surviving in the Nineties has given way to concerns over career, education, prop- erty values and retirement. Where will these movements go from here? No one knows. But the Russian internet is exploding with discussion and the Kremlin has already been forced to respond to some online campaigns. No- tably it even initiated an in- ternet debate over the police law. Pundits say the 2012 presidential election season could be the ultimate test of the new-found tolerance of dissent.


gations into journalist murders are slow in Russia. What has to be done to ensure greater se- curity for journalists? What is known so far about the investi- gations into the Politkovskaya and Estemirova killings? Before my appointment as presidential adviser, I was di- rector of the Russian Union of Journalists’ Centre for Journalism in Extreme Sit- uations. I dealt with all kinds of cases involving attacks on journalists, their persecution and dismissal, and any other instances of their rights being violated. Unfortunately, killings of journalists are indeed inves- tigated very poorly, but I do not think the authorities are doing this on purpose. These kinds of crimes are very com- plicated, it is difficult to in- vestigate them, and the au- thorities can do little if anything, even if they want to fully investigate them. I think they really do want to know the truth. But today it is simply not something we are capable of doing. Things are made even worse by our law enforcement agen-


Mikhail Fedotov on Triumfalnaya Square, where the October 31 demonstration went smoothly


cies simply having forgotten how to do their job, and they only show any desire to work when they understand that there is something in it for them.


In other words, this is not just about journalists, but also about our law enforcement agencies in general? Yes, this is a general prob- lem. I know of cases when law enforcement officers named a price from the vic- tim for fi nding the perpetra- tor. Pay us, and we will fi nd them. I think it shows just what a disgrace our law enforcement system has become. Unfortunately, corruption is not exclusive to our law en- forcement system. Corrup- tion corrodes the state from within. It is the biggest evil that exists in Russia today.


Speaking of the law enforce- ment system in general, what


are you, as council chairman, going to do with respect to the law enforcement agencies? At our next meeting with the president we plan to raise a whole number of issues re- garding the police and judi- cial reforms. During these discussions we will propose some ideas on how to make our law enforce- ment system more effective, more transparent and more palpable to people. For example, I am going to propose that the president’s law on the police should en- vision the creation of an in- dependent commission to deal with complaints against the police. There is a special commis- sion in Britain that consid- ers complaints against the police. The idea is to take the so-called internal security system within the ministry of internal affairs out of the ministry, making it an inde- pendent body, de facto inde-


pendent of the government but state fi nanced.


There has been much talk re- cently that the Federal Secu- rity Service (main successor to the KGB) has excessive powers, and the ministry of internal af- fairs also has broad powers in all matters concerning the fight against extremism. How do you understand extremism? Can public protests and dissatisfac- tion be seen as extremism? Under extremism I under- stand everything having to do with violence or the threat of violence that puts people’s lives and health in danger. Oliver Wendell Holmes, a judge on the US Supreme Court, once noted that one should not cry “fire” in an overcrowded theatre, since it could cause panic and chaos, and people could die in the ensuing stampede. Yelling “fire” in an over- crowded theatre in order to cause panic is extremism.


Overturning cars, smashing shop windows and beating passers-by is extremism be- cause it is violence, no mat- ter what noble slogans you dress it with. Unfortunately, our law on countering extremist activi- ties does not support this concept, because it offers a very broad defi nition of ex- tremism, from defaming civil servants to terrorism. I do not understand how events such as September 11, 2001, and defaming some paltry mu- nicipal official can be juxta- posed. I believe extremism implies violence that threat- ens people’s lives and health. Therefore, we will see what we can do to amend the law on counteracting extremist activities. I have been dealing with this issue for eight years already, but so far to little avail. How- ever, I was not then a presi- dential adviser, which I am now.


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