Several cardboard dummies were smuggled in “Okhotny ryad” shopping mall and successfully installed there: two dummies of police special squad (“OMON”) men and two “free people”, participants of Strategy-31 campaign. Inventive poet from Oborona created the slogan “OMON – that season is bygone”. Ingenious artists from Oborona depicted the aforesaid typical characters of every “31th-day” rally at Triumfalnaya square. “New fashion is FREEDOM”, the signboards on the pictures told.  “Cancel your lazy stupid shopping wandering, come to the rally at Triumfalnaya square on May, 31th” – was the clear implication directed to consumerism-surfeited visitors of rich boutiques,  that’s really cool for true citizen!

“United citizens of 31”, “Just do it” and “Be free” also became the slogans of our direct-action performance. The dummies fitted smoothly in respectable entourage and stood in place for an hour at least; dazed passerby-customers fervently took pictures of each other embracing our cardboard characters.

We remind the public that the rallies of Strategy-31 permanent campaign are intended to defend the freedom of assembly declared by 31th article of Constitution, and they take place on all 31th days of the months (if the date exists) in Moscow and other cities of Russia.

Be stylish, be FREE!

Shortly after this spectacular performance brave angel was brought to earth and temporary detained by mundane police devils governed by very aggressive plain-clothed FSB officer Streltsov.

Three activists were arrested. One of them – Tivur Shaginurov – was beaten up by a policeman in civvies. The others said his face was bleeding. He is presumably accused of disorderly conduct and might be sentenced to 15 days of arrest.

Since March 2011 militia (Russian law enforcement officials) was renamed to police. As we found out, that made no difference: police violates the rights of detainees as well as militia did it before and knows as little about law as the majority of Russia’s population. The lecturers told about all stages of detention. For example, the activists were reminded that policemen as well as militiamen must introduce themselves and explain the reason of detention. The law enforcement officials have no right to execute an illegal order. Even if they do it and arrest the activists, policemen may not take activists’ mobile phones which is very common.

Oborona reminds that legal literacy can help opposition activists in many situations. We shall continue to organize such seminars.

About  30 activists of the two Russian opposition movements, ‘Oborona’ and ‘Solidarity’, came to meet and speak with their Belarusian colleagues.

In the course of the meeting guests have spoken about present situation in Belarus, including dramatic events of December 2010. A qualitative comparison of development, functioning and ways of liquidation of the authoritarian regimes in Russia and Belarus attracted audience’s great attention.

Moscow activists asked questions on the following political and economic issues:

– How the Belarusian youth organization “Young Front” has survived arrests of its leaders (Nasta Palazhanka and Zmitser Dashkevich) and whether there is any hope for their release;

– How the Belarusian opposition managed to lead about 30-50 thousand people who hadn’t been involved in civil-political movements before, to the streets;

– Which agitation methods can be used in Russia, where the opposition members have no access to media and cannot speak in public to their voters as officially registered candidates;

– What makes the budget of Belarus as a country;

– How comfortable the conditions for private business in Belarus are;

– Which requirements (political or social-economic ones) can be considered as basic factors for the people to go out to the streets with protest actions in Belarus;

– Whether there has been any progress in the issue of the opposition’s unity (in comparison with Russia), how to achieve unity;

– Where the line between violent methods and non-violent resistance lies and who broke the glass in the House of Government in Minsk – the opposition members or the provocateurs;

– Whether there has been any harassment of political activists in Belarus, how this harassment looks like and what to do to avoid it;

– Whether it is possible to combine democratic and national values, taking into consideration the fact that the grounds for the democratic national movement were established in Belarus long ago, when the liberation movement was closely connected with the national movement, while in Russia democrats and nationalists strongly contradicted each other;

– What the main reason of the temporary failure of the Belarusian “velvet revolution”-2010 was and what lessons the Belarusian opposition has learned from it;

– What the plans of the “Young Front” are now, after the temporary failure of democrats in December 2010.

After the meeting the whole audience thanked their Belarusian colleagues with applause. Our organizations agreed on further close cooperation.

Activists Rybachenko and Shaginurov were detained and conveyed to Zyuzino police-station. There officers violently wrested the photocamera from Anastasiya by brute force, not bothering to explain on what grounds they are doing it and without writing confiscation protocol (which is compulsory). Another officer (who refused to give his name) tried to confiscate Tivur’s passport. Anastasiya and Tivur were charged with being responsible for “illegal rally”.

After 9 hours of detainment, about midnight(!), Rybachenko and Shaginurov were brought before J.P. court #99 of Zyuzino district, although maximum time of detainment for “non-arrestable offence” is 3 hours sharp. Only after midnight activists were released because JP, unwillingly, postponed the trial to another day due to the inconsistency of evidence and professionalism of defence lawyer.

The action took place as a part of Oborona’s federal campaign for returning governor elections in Russia. The campaign is particularly successful in St. Petersburg. It has been 6 years since the governor elections were cancelled. We shall not tolerate this anymore.

On the 9th of November Moscow-branch of “Oborona” celebrated 21st anniversary of the Fall of the Berlin wall. Activists came to disreputable ”Berlin wall” of our city – a fence encircling the Triumfalnaya Square. We are sure that within this fence no building activities are actually taking place, and it is only a flimsy pretense for the authorities to allow no protesters (who defend here the freedom of assembly) to the Square on every 31th date.

Coordinators of “Oborona” Tivur Shaginurov and Ilya Mishchenko glued the updated Dmitry Vrubel’s collage onto the fence of Triumfalnaya Square. Brezhnev and Putin, passionately kissing, are represented on the picture. 20 years ago the same artist depicted Brezhnev’s and Honecker’s kiss on the Berlin wall. Now, on the face of it, our political agenda has changed, but the official course hasn’t become less absurd.

The appeal of the developer (building company) looked like a cruel joke under the banner of “Oborona: “Dear Moscow citizens! We apologize for causing temporary inconvenience”.

 We don’t need the Berlin wall. We need the free city!