Moscow April 22, 2013

I was directly at the turn and face-to-face with OMON soldiers standing in a chain. I addressed to their commander over soldiers’ heads asking to release a chain a bit since it was a terrible jam in the crowd, but I got no reply, neither verbal, nor actions.

Answer to question No. 15 (EWA No. 143): All demonstrators were enclosed by OMON chains for about an hour before the meeting end, and wouldn’t let them go away from Bolotnaya. They opened the chain only at about 8 p.m. and allowed people to leave.

EWA No. 144

During one of OMON hit-run raids into the crowd all people rushed back, and a girl fell behind me. I was afraid that she might be trampled underfoot and began to help her to get up. Thus, I turned out to be “on the frontline” and was grabbed by the police. Probably I was taken for E. Limonov because of a grey beard and spectacles (I heard someone of policeman said behind me: “That’s not him”). I was held with a baton around my throat, and got several blows with another baton right into my chest (X-ray showed no breakages, but it still ached me for a long time afterwards). We were jammed in a paddy wagon, I was brought among the last arrested, and I was standing. When we were brought to the Sokolnichesky UVD, we still were kept inside of the vehicle and my neighbors in the paddy wagon were watching the events online in twitter. Then there came an order to let us go since the events on Bolotnaya Square got tougher. I left the vehicle among the first (since I was brought the last and was closer to the exit), they drew up a protocol for me under article 19.3 (they gave me only the first page copy). I took a photo of my written evidence at 7.19 p.m., and they let me go in about 5 minutes after that. I received no summons later on, and I didn’t give them my telephone number either, of course.

I returned to the square in front of the “Udarnik”, where OMON soldiers standing in a dense chain, holding each other under elbows, began to press peacefully standing people to the parapet of the Yauza river. Since there stood a lot of old people around me who were simply watching the events without any active participation, they started to clamor and insist on cops stop the violence. At that time OMON began beating people still more aggressively and forcing them to the Yauza parapet with more enthusiasm. There appeared danger of falling people into the river or jamming each other. I started to shout to OMON cops that they might cause a tragedy and it would be a worldwide shame. In a while I managed to find a narrow path and left the cordons. I was watching all following actions from behind the OMON chains.

I was in the park at the bridge first, then when it became clear that the OMON began to try to cut the people column off at the bridge from the square, I went to Bolotnaya and retrieved (we were moving like a pendulum: one step forward, two steps backwards) together with the “wall” trying to keep as far from OMON assaults as possible. I was near a tent which had been put by the ecologists, and heard Chirikova trying to cheer up people, I saw the left-wings trying to create a column and go for a desperate break-through. I stood near drums. Then OMON began approaching from Pyatnitskaya and it became clear that we got trapped in a bowl. OMON soldiers were standing in a row along Luzhkov bridge, and then pressed people away to the other side of the Obvodnoy Canal. Cops started separating us into parts. I was near the park parapet for a while, by the toilets, then I was rushing about the cordoned area without any sense for some time trying to evade batons blows. Then someone announced through a loud speaker that there was a corridor opened near Maly Kamenny bridge and I moved there, then I walked through side-streets, reached the “Kropotkinskaya” station and went home. The procedure of clearing of the “Bolotnaya” side was coming to an end by then, and cops were beginning enclosing people from the opposite side of the channel.

After the conflicts when people tried to build a barricade of toilets (I was next to them and hardly managed to jump out of one of them). The situation stabilized for a while, but we were enclosed from all sides. Suddenly someone started to talk over a loud speaker offering to leave, in a context “if you are not anxious about your health”, something like that. And the announcer waived in the direction of Maly Kamenny bridge. One could get to the bridge there and reach Yakimanka walking through it, along OMON cordons. I didnt’ go the “Oktyabrskaya” station since I was afraid that people might be arrested there too, and headed to side-streets passing the Cathedral of Christ the Savior by to the “Kropotkinskaya” station. People still were kept at the embankment opposite to the Bolotnaya Square.

I witnessed plenty of acts of violence from OMON soldiers who were rushing into the crowd, slicing it into parts, beating people indistinctly, rather heavily. I saw people lying on the ground, bleeding, someone was lying with a broken head, people were crying and calling for a doctor. When I left the bridge, people started running from the direction with watering eyes, they said cops had sprayed a tear-gas. I saw some smoke indeed, but I’m not sure whether it was gas.

There was no confrontation, but quite peaceful negotiations with officers standing behind OMON cordons. In most cases people asked cops to let them go.

EWA No. 148

I tried to walk through Luzhkov bridge, but OMON soldiers were standing there and wouldn’t let anyone go to the opposite side of the bridge. Then I moved further, to Maly Kamenny bridge where I could walk in the direction of the “Udarnik” without any difficulty. By the way, there was no control there at all. Neither metal detection arches, nor anything like that. Any persons could come from there easily and bring any objects with them. Before the column arrived at Bolotnaya Square, there had been not less than 500 people, I believe. I saw there about 20 young “nashists” spreading different abusive leaflets probably trying to provoke arguments and conflicts. But they were doing it somehow inertly, to tell the truth.

OMON soldiers were pushing people by small groups. They walked in a file, attacked a person by groups of 4–5 cops, two were dragging the person, the other beating, then drove that person to a prison truck. They beat women too often, for some reason. Cops pressed people from several sides: from the “Udarnik” and Bolotnaya Square – and then whacked that crowd. A cop was whacking a woman pressed to a fence, rather furiously. She was dressed in a white jersey and a lilac-brown skirt. She was pressed by people and cops so tightly that couldn’t even raise her hand to protect herself from blows. I saw about 6–8 men wearing masks, cops didn’t detain them.

There was heard an order over a portable cop’s radio transmitter: “Active crackdown!”, and cops started chasing us.

EWA No. 153

It was a planned and thoroughly prepared action, with exact reckoning on people reactions: if innocent people – elderly persons, women – were being whacked, who would pass by without any reaction?! And go further to the stage for a meeting?! One and the same scheme had been repeated: “spacemen” ranks pressed people masses, then “assaulting wedges” ran out from behind cops cordons, beating violently anyone on their way, other people rushed to protect those who were beaten, “spacemen” stepped some 100–150 meters back quickly arousing euphoria in the crowd, and then with shouts “they are running! Forcing them away!” cops collided with the crowd again, again beating someone, grabbing someone, retrieving for a while… They had an obvious task (read the FSS manuals): “shake” the crowd up until it becomes unrestrained and outraged! Thanks God, separate people and activists were wise enough to prevent the real hell: they coupled into dense ranks and protected themselves with placards. People created a living wall from the park up to the river, while facing the “Udarnik” and enraged OMON soldiers. But the stage had been destroyed by that moment, and “crusaders” came from the rear dispersing and forcing away the last bastion of common sense.

One elderly woman was passionately trying to persuade “spacemen” that it’s a nonsense to behave violently towards own people! Cops were swiping people so furiously that some were even losing their helmets and armor in the process, which people would pick up without any delay and throw into the Moscow-river waters. I use a helmet myself (I’m a pilot), and it’s a real puzzle for me how it is possible to take a fastened helmet off someone’s head?? Only if with a head inside it!

EWA No. 156

I was moving among an extremely cheerful crowd. I saw people with kids: one child was sitting on his father’s shoulders. There were many babies in strollers. I heard a woman calling to someone and saying: “Come here, the weather is fabulous, we shall have a nice walk”.

Having left my wife at the parapet I decided to go and find out whether there was a way out to the stage at Bolotnaya Square. But I didn’t manage to reach the stage. When I returned, my wife told me what she had witnessed while I had been away: a young man had been selling canned beer which he had been taking out of a large sports bag (it was strange how he managed to pass through the metal detection arches); then another boy had run up, his head bleeding, he had laid down on to the grass. Women who had been standing nearby had carried out first-aid procedures.

Principal events started after OMON demanded to “clear” the square since the meeting was over. We got indignant: the meeting had not even started yet. People were not going to leave since the meeting was concerted and approved. OMON standing in files started to force us away from the square in an extremely rude manner, in spite of the fact that there were plenty of women and old people among us. We got separated with my wife at some moment. Someone helped her to climb a sloped lawn. And I was caught by cops (I’m 75), they began to wring my hands and press onto my neck. Other demonstrators stood up for me. Cops (there were two of them) left me alone when they saw how many guys were going to protect me from them.

We noticed that cops were whacking people to the left and to the right, disregarding the fact whether those people had done anything wrong or not. They were beating everyone around, completely indiscriminately. They were swiping with their feet and batons even those who were lying on the pavement.

When we arrived at Bolotnaya Square, cops sprayed some gas. My 85-year-old friend and I sat down right onto the pavement. We felt unwell. Passing by people asked us to get up, since cops could have arrested us having decided that it was an act of a sitting protest. We stood up. Natalya Fateeva was standing near us. There were no barricades constructed of toilets, we were just standing in a queue. My friend asked people to let her go out of turn. We were told that cops wouldn’t let us go back. But we felt unwell.

We were in a real trap in the park of Bolotnaya, without any possibility to leave. We were embarrassed and frightened.

Some man saw that we were unwell and helped us to climb a high fencing having persuaded an OMON cop standing there. We came up to the fountain. One more man and a woman were brought here – they came from Chernobyl. The woman was vomiting because of gas. OMON soldiers in helmets were standing along the fencing perimeter. At last we could recover a bit our breath near the fountains, where regiments were being drawn up. We heard orders: “Company! Line up!” They were ready to crack down the demonstrators. They were waiting for a signal, talking over phones, and reported that the regiment was ready. There were several of them. And which was most shocking – there stood women with dogs along the perimeter, about 15 of them. Nobody could see them but for us. Suddenly a signal came, regiments rushed to demonstrators, followed by women with dogs. Our hearts shrank: could they really use dogs against people? But fortunately they stopped, and troops kept forcing people out from the square, violently, we heard shouts and brave slogans. Drums sounded really encouraging at that, even after the square was cleared from people completely. Demonstrators with flags were seen at Kamenny Bridge.

On the other river bank OMON soldiers were chasing people with batons – the people who were driven away from the square. Light-green water cannons drove through the square. We tried to pass through the principal entry by the fountain, but cops wouldn’t let us go. The bridge was closed too. We went out only through the far park end, though backup regiments were standing there too.

EWA No. 160

The strangest thing was that OMON soldiers did their best to provoke people to conflicts without giving a possibility to leave the square. We got enclosed from all sides, with no exits left. People were pressed, beaten, wringed. It all looked like a previously thoroughly planned action from the authorities’ side.

I’ve got the following impression after the procession: a festive crowd of people, with kids and balloons. I even was taking snapshots of people, most of them came there with their families. Even with babies. No aggression at all.

Nobody knew what to do, meanwhile people kept coming, the crowd grew more and more dense. At that moment, one man and I came up to a colonel of police and asked where we could go. And he gave a sarcastic answer: “wherever you wish”. All happened in an eyewink: people got worried, probably in anticipation of a jam, and began scanning: “Pass through! Pass through!” People rushed beyond the fence, carrying me out too, since I was still standing close to the colonel. But when people got beyond the fencing, cops started forcing them back, while using batons. At that moment, I found myself in an open space, standing between the crowd and the front line, and someone threw flame liquid directly at me. Thus, I got injured. I could see the rest out of the corner of my eye only: cops forced people away to the embankment parapet, beating them with rubber batons, and people were trying to protect themselves as much as they could.

When the fire on me was extinguished, I went to look for an ambulance. Cops were swiping people at the embankment already at that time, and I left the site without difficulty.

EWA No. 167

I was standing among the front lines when the ring was broken. I told a cop that a whole crowd is pressing me from behind and that I could hardly breathe, but he answered: “I can’t let you go, I have an order”.

I was standing on Kamenny bridge and saw a demonstrator escaping from two cops from the traffic road of Bolotnaya Square (very close to the bridge) through the lawn, in the direction of the embankment. Cops were hitting him with batons at his back as they were chasing him. The demonstrator reached the fence where was a dead end actually – only water behind the fence. Cops drove him several blows with batons and he fell down. Then they hit him some more times. Then both cops went up slowly to the traffic road of the embankment. There were many people at the slope at that moment (on the area from the traffic road to the fence), but no one stood up for a guy.

Men dressed in OMON outfit and body armor, with helmets on their heads, rushed into the crowd of demonstrators standing on the embankment many times, making people run away in different directions. Cops chased some people, dragged them over the pavement, beat with batons and kicked with feet. There were no signs of fair arrests – cops caught all people indiscriminately. Tear-gas was used during one of such attacks, though I didn’t notice by whom.

OMON soldiers were obviously provoking people for purpose. One cop was provoking young men for a fight, while waiving his baton (like in street fights). The other episode – cops grabbed a young guy from the crowd, dragged him several meters over the pavement kicking with their feet, then stopped. The guy showed no signs of life by that moment. A cop looked at other people standing about 10 meters from that guy and not trying to stand up for him, hit the guy with his feet into the groin, and looked back at that people again who still remained on their places. Then they drove the boy away. I was standing right in front of that and could identify him easily. And I insist that the actions of that cop were aimed at provoking a force conflict. A woman standing next to me offered me to help that boy, but I answered that I simply would be lying next to him there, and that to start fights with the OMON is illegal. The situation was rather tough from psychological point of view. Later on I witnessed young guys started fights with OMON during their further assaults, though they didn’t take part in previous conflicts. I heard another guy explaining to his girlfriend: “I can’t stand aside any longer since I’m a man”.

At the end of the events, people who didn’t participate in any fights (I was among them) went to the fence at the embankment. There we stood in a tight group holding hands of each other. We couldn’t leave the conflict area since all ways were cordoned by the police. We stood in the area closest to Luzhkov bridge. An active fight was going on at the neighboring zone between OMON chains, closer to Maly Kamenny bridge. Several cops started pulling out separate people from our group, wring their hands and drive them away. I asked one of those cops why they were doing that instead of letting us simply go away, since we were not participating in fights. He answered nothing, and just took out an electroshock device and started to sparkle it in front of my face with a malicious grin. There were people of different age in our group including a short old woman. When cops let us go, young men addressed the same cop saying: “Shame on you! We are young and healthy, but look at her (meaning that woman), could you have taken a gun?” And he answered with the same evil grin: “I shall take it next time”.

After OMON chains sliced the crowd at the area neighboring ours and at the opposite side (closer to the park parapet), a cop hit an old woman at her head with his baton (I couldn’t see the faces clearly).

I watched the following power actions carried out by demonstrators: in the midst of the events after OMON group rushed into the crowd at the embankment fence and got stuck inside of it (it was their usual attack – not the first or the second), young people without any arms attacked the cops and started beating them with bare hands at helmets and body armor from behind. The fight ended in OMON retrieval with one more arrested person. I didn’t notice that they got any injuries. I didn’t come close to the site of the fight but according to its participants’ words, they could hardly do any harm to cops without any weapons. The quantity and scale of conflict grew significantly after OMON chains sliced the crowd into groups on the embankment. In an area adjacent to ours there was a fight between cops and young demonstrators. Young people took helmets off the heads of two cops and threw them into the river.

I left Bolotnaya naberezhnaya from the area between the OMON chains closest to Luzhkov bridge together with a group of about 20–30 people. We passed through a path between the police and embankment fencing along the river, passing the stage by, to Moskvoretsky bridge. A spontaneously created group of about 30–40 people (including us) who didn’t participate in fights walked back and stood by the river, with our backs turned to the embankment fence. None was able to leave the embankment for a long time already before mass OMON actions of crowd slicing. When people were pressed away from Luzhkov bridge side cordons were put there. There were no passways available towards Maly Kamenny bridge from the very beginning. I was standing in the second line; cops took away several people from the front line having wringed their hands before it. After I addressed the cop who threatened me with an electroshock device, I turned to another police officer whom I taken for their chief or an officer of a higher rank asking him to let us simply go away. This man gave an order to open a pass approximately at the middle of the chain in the direction of Luzhkov bridge, were cops had been taken people away before. People who passed through that opening were probably arrested, too; the passway was closed right in front of me. Then another passway was opened – along the park parapet in the direction of Maly Kamenny bridge, but I failed to go through it again, it was closed either. The rest of the people started to shout: “Let us go!” An old man in police lieutenant colonel garment walked behind OMON chain from Maly Kamenny bridge side (conflicts had ended there by that time already), looked over the area where we stood and ordered to let us go towards Moskvoretsky bridge.

EWA No. 173

I was moving to and fro from the corner of Kamenny bridge to the far end of Bolotnaya Square. I must admit that there were plenty of people (mostly women) who wanted to leave the site of the meeting and go through Bolotnaya street to Maly Moskvoretsky bridge. However, the police kept preventing it. It means people couldn’t leave through Kamenny bridge, since conflicts were on there, and all other exits were blocked off. People were actually held at the meeting by force. I watched an old woman begging OMON to let her go, but they were inexorable.

After the conflict started the demonstrators standing on Bolotnaya naberezhnaya had already no ways to leave it. Law-enforcement authorities issued no recommendations or orders within several hours. Some cops gave no answers to people’s questions; answers of others were so perplexed that it was clear that they had no control of the situation themselves. When the concerted term of the meeting was over, cops started addressing people through loud speakers offering to leave the square. I left the square some time later and went along Yakimanka.