The new wave of Nazi terror in Russia
An article by Vlad Tupikin about the murders of antifascists. Published on Polit.ru on Dec. 30. 2006 in Russian (http://polit.ru/analytics/2006/12/30/antifa.html)
From knives to explosives
The new wave of Nazi terror in Russia
Last Wednesday, Dec. 27, 2006, the case about the murder of 20 years old (after nine days he would be twenty) antifascist Alexander Ryuchin was taken to court. On 16th of April 2006 he has been slaughtered with the knife in the suburbs of Moscow, on the way to the concert of pank-hardrock music, popular among young Moscow antifascists. A few skinheads attacked Sasha and his friend Egor. Actually there was no fight - there was a murder.
Three attackers have been detained, Nazi attributes and literature have been found it their home apartment. Other three of them went into hiding. It may seem that everything is clear? But don’t hurry to make your judgements. The case has been brought to a court not under the murder clause. The detainees, two members of Slavonic Union - Vasily Reutov and Andrey Anziferov, as well as the member of the group “Format 18” Alexander Shitov are to be charged of “hooliganinism”, conducted by the group of individuals through an deliberate collusion or organized group" (Art. 213. 2 CC RF), “Wilfull infliction of the light damage to a health“ (Art. 115 CC RF) and for “beatings” (Ст. 116 УК РФ). And the case about the murder has been given to separate procedure, those accused under it are Alexander Parinov and Nikita Tikhonov who were gone into hiding and one unidentified person.
The attorney Stanislav Markelov, representing the mother of the killed, Tatyanan Petrovna Ryukhina, has informed the reporter of REGNUM agency: “Everything is being done, in order to decrease the level of social danger of Reutov’s, Anziferov’s and Shitov’s actions. There is a pretty cynical, but working rule: if there is corpse there is a case on ‘Murder”. And I’m very concerned, that the case about the murder of antifascist by the activists of right wing radicals became an exclusion form this rule”.
Another strange thing of the same kind is that, the case about the murder of another 20 years old young antifascist form Saint Petersburg Timur Kacharava hasn’t been given to the court up to this moment. He was also slaughtered by the followers of right wing radical views, who had attacked him and his friend Maxim on 13the of November 2005 in the very city centre of Saint Petersburg, near the shop “Bukvoed”, on Ligovsky Avenue. It’s a busy place, the parking place of tourist buses, leaving for Finland, next to it is the Moscow train station. There was no fight either. They rushed upon him, stabbed him several times with knife. One of them got onto the neck of Timur that became fatal.
The attackers of this widely spoken crime of the last year have been detained already in December 2005. The governor Valentina Matvienko and the speaker of the Federation Council Sergey Mironov were making declarations about the Nazi character of the murder and about the need to combat the display of xenophobia in the Northern capital of Russia. However the case is being hanged heavy, and the Petersburg antifascists begin believing, that this case will also be smothered, by charging the detainees on hooliganism, and by limiting the charge by insignificant, if not even - suspended period.
And finally one more event, completely fresh. On Friday of 22 December, in the south-eastern part of Moscow, in Lyublino, there was an explosion of self-made bomb in the entrance of apartment house. Near the bomb on the wall there was a picture of swastika, the can with explosives itself has been hidden beneath a heating radiator, and apparently it has been activated by the wire, that was connecting the bomb and the tablet with an offensive nationalist inscription: “The residents of the flat … are black…”
The bomb, and rather the tablet, has been detected in the entrance in the day time by 2o years old Tigran, who was living in that flat. He could have touched the bomb, but saw the wires in time. He wasn’t able to see the bomb, but decided to call the police. The police detachment arrived to the place with cynologist and the dog after a while. During a mine-clearing of device it exploded.
This event has been mentioned in press as the next attack of nationalists on non-Slavonic residents of Moscow. Saying, that another Armenian young man was able to escape becoming a victim of right wing radicals - a banal story for the modern Moscow, no matter how terrible it may seem. Quite banally the Office of Public Prosecutor initiated a criminal case on hooliganism - no murderous assault …Tigran has been interrogated as witness (not as a victim!).
However this event is not simple. Tigran - who was born in Moscow is a son of Moscower-parents (in the press there has been already an absurd and false version in circulation, that he is living in Moscow with the family only some ten years). He is not merely “a young man from Caucasus”. He is a - Moscow Antifascist, in the past one of the workers of www.antifa.ru web site. Besides that, he as his dead coevals Timur Kacharava adn Alexander Ryukhin, - is an admirer of punk-hardcore music.
To all appearances, Tigran should have been the third in the list of killed young antifa. His photograph has been posted in Nazi web sites, he has been threatened several times, on the walls of the construction site in from of his house one could see Swastika, with writings: "Tigran, say hello to Timur". Several times he has been attacked in concerts, several times he was bumping into people with bonehead outlook (boneheads, in Russian bons, - are named by antifa which are Nazi-skinheads, to avoid confusion with skinheads-antifascists, who exists). The guy is quite tough one, Tigran was always the winner in any skirmish.
And now there was a bomb.
The politics, which is being ignored by the Office of Public Prosecutor, through initiation of the criminal case on relatively slight clauses in Tigran’s case, is being followed by the Federal Defence Service of RF. While police was interrogating him as a witness, the members of FSB visited his mother at home (the door has been deformed by the explosion, it wasn’t closing) and, using woman’s emotional shock, they took of some things like: badges with the crossed out swastika, stripes, but most importantly - the computer, said Tigran.
Tigran has even a certificate of impressments of the computer from FSB members - all materials for the term papers before examinations are not unavailable now, something has to be answered in the Institute.
I would like to emphasize: as far as I know, neither Timiur Kacharava, nor Alexander Ryukhin were any members of any antifascist organisations, they were just following their own antifascist views and were people, of quite active living positions. Timur was playing in antifascist hardcore group, on Sundays he was feeding the homeless people with hot food (homeless, or, according to old militia terminology, bums, if anybody doesn’t know yet - they are another object of hatred by young Nazi, along with non-Slavs and representatives of several youth subcultures - punks, rappers). Sasha was carrying out the Propaganda on his own: he was designing on computer and distributing self-made antifascist stickers (some of such stickers were found in his pocket after his murder). Tigran was also not a member of any organisation, but was helping an antifascist web site, when he was not busy with education.
To my question, whether Tigran was taking part in fights with Nazis, he answered with affirmation: "Of course, if they are attacking? Should we give up then?".
"Nazis made us antifascists, - a former member of antifa.ru contitnues. - We are all belong to some subcultures, to some groups, whose representatives were clashing with fascist violence, and thus becoming a target for their attacks. In one particular moment you stop respecting yourself if you re not responding the strike with a strike. Especially if police and the state as a whole don’t do anything in general, in order to stop the street fascist danger”.
"We, young antifascists, are sometimes being accused, - Tigran continues, - that, if we were not present, Nazis would already calm down. Saying that we are acting - as a teasing red flag to them. If there would be no antifascists, say those who accuse us, - the street Nazi violence would come to naught. Everything is completely opposite. Antifa was not present and obvious long enough and finally they appeared, owing to that Nazi violence was not stopping, but rather getting larger and larger. And everybody knows that at first Nazi were attacking people of non-Slavonic outlook and normal representatives of youth subcultures, that were weaker. Atifa appeared later - as a reaction, as a response of informal antifascists youth ".
"Look, - Tigran says, - fascists, when attacking, often pursue an objective of mutilating or killing their victim, they use knives and even guns. Atifas, when fighting with fascists, do not pursue an objective of physical elimination or disabling. Fascists should just understand, that they are also not eternal, they are not immortal, they have to understand the value of human life, the value of every individual on their of example. Maybe, small, underage Nazis, teens, who shaved their heads because its cool, because now everybody will be afraid of them, after getting it several times in the neck from normal guys, will understand that there is nothing cool in it, to be a fascist, - no. Maybe at least some of them would stop ".
Tigran thinks, however, Nazis in general - as a street violent movement - couldn’t be stopped by just fights. This is just containment, the defence of youth subcultures against Nazis. "If they wouldn’t be put into jail, Nazi idiots following their sense of impunity will begin doing much worse things. In their closed forums in internet they are already discussing the preparation of terrorist acts on markets and even in state departments, but didn’t decided yet - whether make the newcomers guilty of it or whether take the responsibility on themselves". "How do you know?" - I ask Tigran. - "Our antifa hackers have broken such forums several times ", - he answers. According to him, on the same forums there are reference books on preparing and using self-made explosives, same as the one that exploded in the entrance of his apartment house.
"How do you feel after that event?" - I asked him. "Its ok. Friends helped me to repair the door, the gathered some money. Now we need money for a good attorney, we got to search for them. Now we have something to be busy with. But somehow it seems that my door is just about to be blown up ".
Doesn’t he afraid that the unexpected guests will come upon again? "They were already here - in the night after explosion, when the door was not closing. On four o’clock a ring on the remote entrance phone - a young cheeky voice, saying a telegram. Later on, walking in the entrance. Some of them were hiding their faces under a scarf or hood, poking by the door, up along the staircase and down. The cat in my flat pricked up its ears, I looked into the peephole, and I saw - "guests". I called the sister to call the police again, and rushed to the staircase to chase them. But in home slippers you can’t run fast, I couldn’t catch them up. And the police too, even if they came with automatic-guns quite quickly, apparently they were guarding somewhere close".
All this phantasmagoria is really taking place now in Moscow before New Year. And crowding it out of comprehension, by referring it to a raging of the young blood, desire to kick up a row and team fight, is getting harder for me personally. Knives were already in use. Now explosives are in use.
Its absolutely obvious, that the question requires not only the consideration of the police, but of the politics, and pedagogy too. Is the official initiative of „Nashy“enough that declared themselves as a democratic antifascist movement? Obviously, not.
Politicians, that don’t want to give up the antifascist theme to Kremlin and its political agents, must think about, how to react to new circumstances avoiding standardized methods.
Fascism and xenophobia - its not merely another trump-card in election campaign in the marked pack of cards of authorities, its a social reality. Those who were not brought to reason by the “Russian March”, should have been brought to reason by the street Nazi terror. But, apparently, opposition politicians, coming in their cars to carry out discussions or joint demonstrations with nationalists (which they think, to be “moderate”) don’t take the streets into account in general. The fact that these streets are being bossed by Nazis too.
Often this is being ignored by mass media too. In one of the respected newspapers I have been told, that the statement of some antifa.ru out there, regarding the murder of Sasha Ryukhin - is not yet an informational couse. "Moreover, they should be certainly registered", - said the editor looking strictly into my eyes. I don’t’ know, whether they are registered or not. I know that in order to take the knife and make a bomb, there is no need for registration. And Nazis know it very well.
30 December 2006, 09:29
Vlad Tupikin
Polit.ru
Original text on Russian:
http://polit.ru/analytics/2006/12/30/antifa.html
From knives to explosives
The new wave of Nazi terror in Russia
Last Wednesday, Dec. 27, 2006, the case about the murder of 20 years old (after nine days he would be twenty) antifascist Alexander Ryuchin was taken to court. On 16th of April 2006 he has been slaughtered with the knife in the suburbs of Moscow, on the way to the concert of pank-hardrock music, popular among young Moscow antifascists. A few skinheads attacked Sasha and his friend Egor. Actually there was no fight - there was a murder.
Three attackers have been detained, Nazi attributes and literature have been found it their home apartment. Other three of them went into hiding. It may seem that everything is clear? But don’t hurry to make your judgements. The case has been brought to a court not under the murder clause. The detainees, two members of Slavonic Union - Vasily Reutov and Andrey Anziferov, as well as the member of the group “Format 18” Alexander Shitov are to be charged of “hooliganinism”, conducted by the group of individuals through an deliberate collusion or organized group" (Art. 213. 2 CC RF), “Wilfull infliction of the light damage to a health“ (Art. 115 CC RF) and for “beatings” (Ст. 116 УК РФ). And the case about the murder has been given to separate procedure, those accused under it are Alexander Parinov and Nikita Tikhonov who were gone into hiding and one unidentified person.
The attorney Stanislav Markelov, representing the mother of the killed, Tatyanan Petrovna Ryukhina, has informed the reporter of REGNUM agency: “Everything is being done, in order to decrease the level of social danger of Reutov’s, Anziferov’s and Shitov’s actions. There is a pretty cynical, but working rule: if there is corpse there is a case on ‘Murder”. And I’m very concerned, that the case about the murder of antifascist by the activists of right wing radicals became an exclusion form this rule”.
Another strange thing of the same kind is that, the case about the murder of another 20 years old young antifascist form Saint Petersburg Timur Kacharava hasn’t been given to the court up to this moment. He was also slaughtered by the followers of right wing radical views, who had attacked him and his friend Maxim on 13the of November 2005 in the very city centre of Saint Petersburg, near the shop “Bukvoed”, on Ligovsky Avenue. It’s a busy place, the parking place of tourist buses, leaving for Finland, next to it is the Moscow train station. There was no fight either. They rushed upon him, stabbed him several times with knife. One of them got onto the neck of Timur that became fatal.
The attackers of this widely spoken crime of the last year have been detained already in December 2005. The governor Valentina Matvienko and the speaker of the Federation Council Sergey Mironov were making declarations about the Nazi character of the murder and about the need to combat the display of xenophobia in the Northern capital of Russia. However the case is being hanged heavy, and the Petersburg antifascists begin believing, that this case will also be smothered, by charging the detainees on hooliganism, and by limiting the charge by insignificant, if not even - suspended period.
And finally one more event, completely fresh. On Friday of 22 December, in the south-eastern part of Moscow, in Lyublino, there was an explosion of self-made bomb in the entrance of apartment house. Near the bomb on the wall there was a picture of swastika, the can with explosives itself has been hidden beneath a heating radiator, and apparently it has been activated by the wire, that was connecting the bomb and the tablet with an offensive nationalist inscription: “The residents of the flat … are black…”
The bomb, and rather the tablet, has been detected in the entrance in the day time by 2o years old Tigran, who was living in that flat. He could have touched the bomb, but saw the wires in time. He wasn’t able to see the bomb, but decided to call the police. The police detachment arrived to the place with cynologist and the dog after a while. During a mine-clearing of device it exploded.
This event has been mentioned in press as the next attack of nationalists on non-Slavonic residents of Moscow. Saying, that another Armenian young man was able to escape becoming a victim of right wing radicals - a banal story for the modern Moscow, no matter how terrible it may seem. Quite banally the Office of Public Prosecutor initiated a criminal case on hooliganism - no murderous assault …Tigran has been interrogated as witness (not as a victim!).
However this event is not simple. Tigran - who was born in Moscow is a son of Moscower-parents (in the press there has been already an absurd and false version in circulation, that he is living in Moscow with the family only some ten years). He is not merely “a young man from Caucasus”. He is a - Moscow Antifascist, in the past one of the workers of www.antifa.ru web site. Besides that, he as his dead coevals Timur Kacharava adn Alexander Ryukhin, - is an admirer of punk-hardcore music.
To all appearances, Tigran should have been the third in the list of killed young antifa. His photograph has been posted in Nazi web sites, he has been threatened several times, on the walls of the construction site in from of his house one could see Swastika, with writings: "Tigran, say hello to Timur". Several times he has been attacked in concerts, several times he was bumping into people with bonehead outlook (boneheads, in Russian bons, - are named by antifa which are Nazi-skinheads, to avoid confusion with skinheads-antifascists, who exists). The guy is quite tough one, Tigran was always the winner in any skirmish.
And now there was a bomb.
The politics, which is being ignored by the Office of Public Prosecutor, through initiation of the criminal case on relatively slight clauses in Tigran’s case, is being followed by the Federal Defence Service of RF. While police was interrogating him as a witness, the members of FSB visited his mother at home (the door has been deformed by the explosion, it wasn’t closing) and, using woman’s emotional shock, they took of some things like: badges with the crossed out swastika, stripes, but most importantly - the computer, said Tigran.
Tigran has even a certificate of impressments of the computer from FSB members - all materials for the term papers before examinations are not unavailable now, something has to be answered in the Institute.
I would like to emphasize: as far as I know, neither Timiur Kacharava, nor Alexander Ryukhin were any members of any antifascist organisations, they were just following their own antifascist views and were people, of quite active living positions. Timur was playing in antifascist hardcore group, on Sundays he was feeding the homeless people with hot food (homeless, or, according to old militia terminology, bums, if anybody doesn’t know yet - they are another object of hatred by young Nazi, along with non-Slavs and representatives of several youth subcultures - punks, rappers). Sasha was carrying out the Propaganda on his own: he was designing on computer and distributing self-made antifascist stickers (some of such stickers were found in his pocket after his murder). Tigran was also not a member of any organisation, but was helping an antifascist web site, when he was not busy with education.
To my question, whether Tigran was taking part in fights with Nazis, he answered with affirmation: "Of course, if they are attacking? Should we give up then?".
"Nazis made us antifascists, - a former member of antifa.ru contitnues. - We are all belong to some subcultures, to some groups, whose representatives were clashing with fascist violence, and thus becoming a target for their attacks. In one particular moment you stop respecting yourself if you re not responding the strike with a strike. Especially if police and the state as a whole don’t do anything in general, in order to stop the street fascist danger”.
"We, young antifascists, are sometimes being accused, - Tigran continues, - that, if we were not present, Nazis would already calm down. Saying that we are acting - as a teasing red flag to them. If there would be no antifascists, say those who accuse us, - the street Nazi violence would come to naught. Everything is completely opposite. Antifa was not present and obvious long enough and finally they appeared, owing to that Nazi violence was not stopping, but rather getting larger and larger. And everybody knows that at first Nazi were attacking people of non-Slavonic outlook and normal representatives of youth subcultures, that were weaker. Atifa appeared later - as a reaction, as a response of informal antifascists youth ".
"Look, - Tigran says, - fascists, when attacking, often pursue an objective of mutilating or killing their victim, they use knives and even guns. Atifas, when fighting with fascists, do not pursue an objective of physical elimination or disabling. Fascists should just understand, that they are also not eternal, they are not immortal, they have to understand the value of human life, the value of every individual on their of example. Maybe, small, underage Nazis, teens, who shaved their heads because its cool, because now everybody will be afraid of them, after getting it several times in the neck from normal guys, will understand that there is nothing cool in it, to be a fascist, - no. Maybe at least some of them would stop ".
Tigran thinks, however, Nazis in general - as a street violent movement - couldn’t be stopped by just fights. This is just containment, the defence of youth subcultures against Nazis. "If they wouldn’t be put into jail, Nazi idiots following their sense of impunity will begin doing much worse things. In their closed forums in internet they are already discussing the preparation of terrorist acts on markets and even in state departments, but didn’t decided yet - whether make the newcomers guilty of it or whether take the responsibility on themselves". "How do you know?" - I ask Tigran. - "Our antifa hackers have broken such forums several times ", - he answers. According to him, on the same forums there are reference books on preparing and using self-made explosives, same as the one that exploded in the entrance of his apartment house.
"How do you feel after that event?" - I asked him. "Its ok. Friends helped me to repair the door, the gathered some money. Now we need money for a good attorney, we got to search for them. Now we have something to be busy with. But somehow it seems that my door is just about to be blown up ".
Doesn’t he afraid that the unexpected guests will come upon again? "They were already here - in the night after explosion, when the door was not closing. On four o’clock a ring on the remote entrance phone - a young cheeky voice, saying a telegram. Later on, walking in the entrance. Some of them were hiding their faces under a scarf or hood, poking by the door, up along the staircase and down. The cat in my flat pricked up its ears, I looked into the peephole, and I saw - "guests". I called the sister to call the police again, and rushed to the staircase to chase them. But in home slippers you can’t run fast, I couldn’t catch them up. And the police too, even if they came with automatic-guns quite quickly, apparently they were guarding somewhere close".
All this phantasmagoria is really taking place now in Moscow before New Year. And crowding it out of comprehension, by referring it to a raging of the young blood, desire to kick up a row and team fight, is getting harder for me personally. Knives were already in use. Now explosives are in use.
Its absolutely obvious, that the question requires not only the consideration of the police, but of the politics, and pedagogy too. Is the official initiative of „Nashy“enough that declared themselves as a democratic antifascist movement? Obviously, not.
Politicians, that don’t want to give up the antifascist theme to Kremlin and its political agents, must think about, how to react to new circumstances avoiding standardized methods.
Fascism and xenophobia - its not merely another trump-card in election campaign in the marked pack of cards of authorities, its a social reality. Those who were not brought to reason by the “Russian March”, should have been brought to reason by the street Nazi terror. But, apparently, opposition politicians, coming in their cars to carry out discussions or joint demonstrations with nationalists (which they think, to be “moderate”) don’t take the streets into account in general. The fact that these streets are being bossed by Nazis too.
Often this is being ignored by mass media too. In one of the respected newspapers I have been told, that the statement of some antifa.ru out there, regarding the murder of Sasha Ryukhin - is not yet an informational couse. "Moreover, they should be certainly registered", - said the editor looking strictly into my eyes. I don’t’ know, whether they are registered or not. I know that in order to take the knife and make a bomb, there is no need for registration. And Nazis know it very well.
30 December 2006, 09:29
Vlad Tupikin
Polit.ru
Original text on Russian:
http://polit.ru/analytics/2006/12/30/antifa.html