Russian National Guard going out to bid for sonic cannons to use against protestors
Last week, Fontanka, a St. Petersburg online newspaper, reported that the Russian Ministry of Interior went out to bid for Long Range Acoustic Devices to be used by the National Guard. The tip came from Lubov' Sobol', an attorney with the Anti-Corruption Foundation (an organization founded by anti-corruption activist navalny). While the LRADs can be used simply to broadcast messages, the screenshot of the bid document in Sobol's post specifically says that "the device must provide (1) cover for the most vulnerable spots guarded by law-enforcement divisions in order to preserve safety and decrease the need for staff (2) non-lethal effect on law-breakers and extremist individuals who pose a threat to the safety of the citizens and their property." So yeah - they are definitely going to be used against protestors.
Sobol' thinks they are specifically meant to be used during the September 18, 2016 federal parliamentary elections.
LRAD-equpped truck in Pittsbugh (via Youtube/Fontanka)
As the wikipedia article on LRADs notes, using them against protestors isn't unprecedented in Western countries. Here in Chicago, the police bought some to use during the May 2012 anti-NATO protests, though I haven't found any evidence that they were used for anything other than broadcasting messages. (As someone who was there, at least for a while, I can tell you that those announcements were loud, but not, like, ear-splittingly loud)
Fontanka's article has an embed for an English-language Youtube video about when LRADs were used against protestors.
The video makes LRADs sound very annoying rather than ear-shattering - but Dr Yakov Nakatis, the head physician at Sokolov Clinical Hospital, told Fontanka that, if used at maximum capacity, the effects can be pretty dangerous.
120 decibels in a volume on the edge of pain threshold. Such system is truly a non-contact weapon. At 120 decibels, your ear drums can shatter. What's more, its effects can cause damage to the inner ear. One should also mention that infrasound vibrations - they can enter into resonance with the heart beat frequency and lead to its stoppage. I can't say for sure close it has to be to affect a person, but you'll feel the discomfort as soon as you hear the sound. And that can have irreversible consequences on one's health.
Now, I can practically hear the counter-argument. "So what - the Western countries do it, too." But I have a problem with Western powers using it, too. All non-lethal crowd control measures cause pain, but LRADs can cause permanent damage.
Besides - when your whole platform is that Russia is morally superior to the decadent, oppressive West, comparing yourself to the West doesn't exactly do you any favors.
Sobol' thinks they are specifically meant to be used during the September 18, 2016 federal parliamentary elections.
LRAD-equpped truck in Pittsbugh (via Youtube/Fontanka)
As the wikipedia article on LRADs notes, using them against protestors isn't unprecedented in Western countries. Here in Chicago, the police bought some to use during the May 2012 anti-NATO protests, though I haven't found any evidence that they were used for anything other than broadcasting messages. (As someone who was there, at least for a while, I can tell you that those announcements were loud, but not, like, ear-splittingly loud)
Fontanka's article has an embed for an English-language Youtube video about when LRADs were used against protestors.
Click to viewThe video makes LRADs sound very annoying rather than ear-shattering - but Dr Yakov Nakatis, the head physician at Sokolov Clinical Hospital, told Fontanka that, if used at maximum capacity, the effects can be pretty dangerous.
120 decibels in a volume on the edge of pain threshold. Such system is truly a non-contact weapon. At 120 decibels, your ear drums can shatter. What's more, its effects can cause damage to the inner ear. One should also mention that infrasound vibrations - they can enter into resonance with the heart beat frequency and lead to its stoppage. I can't say for sure close it has to be to affect a person, but you'll feel the discomfort as soon as you hear the sound. And that can have irreversible consequences on one's health.
Now, I can practically hear the counter-argument. "So what - the Western countries do it, too." But I have a problem with Western powers using it, too. All non-lethal crowd control measures cause pain, but LRADs can cause permanent damage.
Besides - when your whole platform is that Russia is morally superior to the decadent, oppressive West, comparing yourself to the West doesn't exactly do you any favors.