Moscow April 22, 2013

I saw how the cops wringed hands of an elderly man who was obviously unable to protest, which was going on behind the OMON chain (“at the police territory”). It was unfair crying violence. I remembered that episode since I was shocked by it. I noticed no assaults of cops by demonstrators.

I was moving at the tail of the column. While approaching the Kamenny Bridge, the column stopped, but it could be seen that Bolotnaya Square was empty. Though I presumed that something was keeping people from going to Bolotnaya, and we (there were two of us) decided to go along the other side of the embankment up to the stage level to see and hear everything that would be going on at the meeting. We even thought that probably people would come to the Bolotnaya and there won’t be even enough space for us. We left the column and went along another embankment along Bolotnaya up to the stage level. The Luzhkov bridge was cordoned by OMON. We stood for a while and when we saw that Bolotnaya was still empty and the Luzhkov Bridge was opened, we crossed it in the direction of Bolotnaya Square. We saw cops blocking the road to the “Udarnik” cinema-theater standing at the end of the bridge. The embankment was separated from the park with metal stands. During the last meeting, the park was open and there were a lot of people there. The site approved for the meeting on May 6 was rather small, but people still were not allowed to go there. There were no passways open, and it was unclear what the police wanted from us. We realized that something was wrong. At that moment we heard from the other side of the cops line someone said loudly that Navalny and Udaltsov started a sitting protest. But cops kept silent when people asked them where they should go or what they should do. They kept silent in spite of the fact that they had all necessary means for communications, and could explain the situation to people, or provide necessary equipment to meeting organizers for them to clarify the situation and give some information to demonstrators. There was no sense in standing, and we squeezed through holes in a fence to the park. The whole park was abuzz with OMON soldiers, vehicles of various types, police dogs. They didn’t pay any attention to us, probably because we were two old women. We reached the Bolshoy Kamenny bridge, but cops didn’t allow us enter it. We stood at the bridge and saw OMON ranks cordoning it. We watched cops dragging people to prison trucks (though we didn’t see the moments when people were caught by cops). Then the packed vehicles were leaving. It all looked like a planned and properly organized action. High-rank police officers were standing next to us and watching all that mess. Then we left along the embankment of the Moscow River.

Even if one wished to leave the square – it was completely impossible. Police chains were everywhere.

I used to visit meetings and demonstrations earlier, but here I was surprised by a significant difference in the checking procedure. Our pockets were checked thoroughly, our packs and bags were turned inside out. I had never seen anything like that – either before or afterwards. Taking into account that I’m a middle-aged respectably looking woman, such checking procedure seemed extremely strange to me and I couldn’t fail to remember that.

I kept walking along the square, I didn’t know what was going on there. I only saw an empty square, and a bunch of people, embarrassed like me. And there were a lot of cops forcing people away from bridges. I almost reached the area where toilets stood (they were toppled over later). I was trying to understand what was going on there, but suddenly all people started to cry, they rushed away and I found myself under cops’ feet. They didn’t hit me, but stopped with a baton raised over my head, ready to give a blow. I had never been shocked more than at that moment. The most horrible thing was that I understood nothing what was going on there. I had no idea how to behave and what to do. I just only felt a constant danger for my life!!! We found ourselves in a square-shaped area (I was told later that it was police tactics: to divide people into zones), that were kept on the square and cops let no one leave the site. I was begging to leave me but cops wouldn’t. Then cops created a chain and started to approach us; then they pulled separate people according to some unknown principle from our “area”. We couldn’t consider them as people assigned to protect us. Quite on the contrary. They were a serious threat for our safety and even life. I saw bleeding people faces and torn clothes. But I didn’t remember any details. Guys started to topple toilet cabins over. I can’t say what was the situation for doing that. But we had no protection and had to protect ourselves. My son rook me away from that square, luckily he managed to find me there. I don’t know what could have happened to me but for my son.

EWA No. 184

OMON soldiers drove us from the parapet to the bridge when area in front of us had already been cleaned from people. We tried to shame cops, but they kept silent, with their faces bold and self-assured. Only one cop said that they behaved violently because it was said that some demonstrators had been throwing asphalt stone into cops somewhere at other place of the meeting. Cops left only one passway for demonstrators along the bridge walkway. We went to Kadashevskaya naberezhnaya to the other bank of the river, and were watching the events on Bolotnaya Square from there. Even cattle at farms are not treated like that. OMON started to force people away from the square to Kadashevskaya naberezhnaya, pushing people away from Maly Kamenny bridge. Thus, we found ourselves in Maly Rolmachevsky side-street, and OMON soldiers were chasing us along it. At some moment they caught us and my husband cried: “Don’t beat, please! I have a crooked knee!” and pointed to his knee with a finger. A cop who was standing closer to my husband took a swing and hit this knee strongly. We hardly reached doctor Liza’s premises in Pyatnitskaya. The knee got swollen. Doctor Liza debrided the wound and we were staying at her place for some time, because there were cops running outside and catching last demonstrators. We had to go to hospital in several days and make a knee paracentesis and evacuate purulence with blood.

When I left Bolotnaya naberezhnaya and stepped on Seraphimovich street, I faced a dense crowd and decided to return to the embankment. I went back and faced cordons: four ranks of OMON chains were standing in front of metal detection arches, two of them facing me, and the other two with their backs turned towards me. They all were holding each other by elbows. People were standing from the both sides of the chains. Those who were standing with me were trying to get back to Bolotnaya, and the people on the opposite side were trying to leave Bolotnaya. Cops wouldn’t let go neither the former, not the latter. There stood a cop in a “standard” police outfit. I came up to him and asked: “Captain, what is going on here? What should I do now? There is a crowd behind me, through which I can’t squeeze, and there is an empty Bolotnaya Square in front of me, but you won’t let anyone pass there. Look, the crowd is rather big already. And what if panic starts?” He pointed at someone along the chain: “There is a colonel standing over there, he issues orders”. I went to the left. A group of young guys rushed on to the OMON chain. I didn’t even manage to understand whether they broke through or not. Then I saw a cop running from the cinema direction and almost carrying a young boy of about 20 holding tight from behind around boy’s waist, but the boy wouldn’t even protest. The cop took the boy beyond the fence, I didn’t see them any more after that. Suddenly someone threw some smoky object. Cops extinguished the smoke but didn’t open the chain.

There was a strong panic first. After the cordon was broken through, people began to throw bottles and stones at OMON soldiers who were picking them up and throwing back into demonstrators. They obviously abused their powers: none in the crowd had helmets on their heads. Several people standing next to me were hit with stones.

I saw OMON soldiers whacking violently people who were holding the arrested by their clothes not letting cops to take the arrested away. Cops were swiping people who protested and refused to go to prison trucks right in their faces and heads; I saw cops throwing asphalt stones into the crowd, I saw demonstrators beating cops when they were trying to arrest people pulling them out of the crowd.

We were forced to the opposite side of the river where columns were moving along side-streets to the subway. OMON soldiers were forcing people to the opposite river bank there. Columns went through side-streets to the subway, where OMON continued to whack last demonstrators. New arrests recommenced next to the Novokuznetskaya subway station, cops were putting all young people who were outside into their prison trucks. I reached the OVD Yakimanka late at night.

People who were trying to leave the embankment towards the procession didn’t see the whole picture and pressed each other immensely from behind. At this time OMON concentrated their reinforcements in this very part. I was watching from the curb how troops started dislocation. I’m a chairman of the Interregional Coordinating Centre “The Solitary Regiment” board. It is an organization of military actions participants, thus we are well aware of some war ruses. Suddenly there flew a smoke pellet from the second line of OMON soldiers, and at this very moment OMON first lines raised metal fencing and started to press people up. They created not simply a jam but a situation when people had no ways to retrieve. At that, OMON soldiers took out their batons and started to beat people standing in front crowd lines. Someone threw bags of dark packs into OMON soldiers in reply, but they were simply things, without anything dangerous inside. My friends and I rushed to the place where a mess started. And a second smoke pellet flew at us at that very moment. I think it was gas. I had a severe heart attack. My friends tried to carry me away from the site of military actions. Actually, they were squeezing through OMON chains standing at the embankment on the way to the Tretyakovskaya Gallery. An ambulance arrived at the Tretyakovka and took me to the intensive therapy. And, please, note! First-aid services had not been informed about the planned protest march and additional first-aid brigades hadn’t been provided. I learnt that from the doctors who contacted an operator. I heard everything they were talking about. Hospitals had not been warned about the action either! It’s a real crime committed by the Prefecture!

Tough check: I had a 0.3 l. plastic bottle with water, a cop opened it and smelled. Then as usually – they ordered to take out of pockets a telephone and keys, a cop started to feel the whole body with his hands.

The column began to turn from Maly Kamenny bridge and enter Bolotnaya Square at about 6 p.m. But I saw several times when many of those walking ahead were turning around and going back for some reasons which I couldn’t understand at that moment. No announcements, warnings or whatever were heard from ahead and I was sure that the meeting had already begun or was about to commence. We asked the people who were returning what was going on there. They answered: “total chaos” is there, “they are chasing people”. When I found myself next to a girl – one of the organizers, she had a loud speaker in her hands – I offered to tell to policemen that impeding to meetings and demonstrations is liable to punishment according to article 149 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. But before that girl evaluated and accepted my offer, OMON soldiers started to push people and whack with batons. I shouted the running OMON soldiers: “Hey, guys, what about article 149?” They passed me by, and I stayed alone on almost empty square in the middle of which a young boy or a girl was lying (I couldn’t distinguish already at that moment), doubled up with pain, with hand around his or her head. А cop was going to hit him (her) with his baton, and I shouted: “Stop! It’s an article!” then I rushed to him hoping to protect the lying person from a hit, but I was caught by several other OMON soldiers and was taken away from there.

When I was caught and pulled along other OMON lines those soldiers were hitting with batons over my legs and buttocks. After that, they drove me with my back ahead, so that I was trying only not to fall down while walking. I kept saying to the cops who were dragging me that they were committing a crime according to article 149, but they didn’t pay any attention to my words, dragged me to their bus and put me head over heels inside while leaving no possibility for me to stand up on my feet. Maybe OMON soldiers were under drugs since they couldn’t identify what a creature I was and how I should move, probably upside down as they might have thought. One of them pressed my leg to a door edge while another started striking me blows in my back, probably hoping that it might help me enter the area for the detached right on my hands.

The next day when I was released from the OVD Ramenka I found blows traces on my body that I had got during arrest. I fixed those traces at trauma point No. 8, located on Michurina avenue of the Olympic Village, patient record No. 7720.

I saw a group of 20–30 young people right to the column dressed in black and wearing face masks, with plastic bags in their hands. I noticed brass knuckles on a hand of one of them. The group stooped out against the crowd due to their look. I felt anxious. I started to cry to cops that there were strange people inside of the crowd with objects prohibited for a meeting. I managed to draw cops’ attention to it, but no reaction followed from their side.

I witnessed a number of violent acts from the police towards unarmed people. Then there came a break after first furious cops’ attacks. My friend and I stood keeping each other by arms to prevent women from being beaten by inadequate cops. They used to attack by 7 or 8 people holding each other by shoulders and then set apart beating all people around while moving a concrete target. A guy of about 25–30 years old standing in front of us asked cops to stop assaulting unarmed demonstrators. He was blown down off his feet by a sudden hit into his face with a fist. He began to fall down right in our hands. We caught him and pulled back into the crowd. I don’t remember how I found myself inside of a crowd. Someone told me that people had managed to pull me into the crowd before the cop struck his baton, but I lost my friend out of sight. The next day I saw a photo of my friend with a head beaten off and clothes all in blood printed in various mass media. I also was helping to bandage a broken head of a “Moscow News” reporter.

I noticed in the course of the conflicts that some small black object was thrown in the direction of demonstrators, and people felt difficult to breathe after that because of some gas. After one of cops’ assaults (it was about 6 p.m.) there was a man left lying on the pavement dressed in a black jacket, with his face down. Unfortunately, the crowd pushed me away from the site and I don’t know what happened to him further.

I tried to stop illegal arrests twice, while keeping a detached person and not letting cops to take him away. At first cop hit me in my right forearm, during the second time he knocked me down off my feet.

EWA No. 196

I witnessed first mass arrests at about 6:16 p.m. I don’t remember where participants of the “sit-in strike” or an unsuccessful breakthrough operation were at that moment. I saw cops arresting innocent people; just those who were at hand or who expressed their indignity at cops’ behavior. There were no power attempts from the demonstrators’ side by that moment. Arrests were carried out rudely, but I didn’t see any obvious acts of beating. A big group of cops in black outfit (different from OMON) rushed into the crowd and sliced it into two parts: one part was forced away to Maly Kamenny bridge, while the other (where I was standing) – in the direction of Bolotnaya Square. It all happened at about 6:30 p.m.; the cops stood in line across Bolotnaya naberezhnaya, and people had no possibility to leave Bolotnaya Square. Then cops started arresting people who were standing closer to them. They used to arrest people who were loudly protesting to cops’ actions or were holding placards, or simply stood on cops’ way, in most cases. They arrested me just after I asked why they had blocked the way out. One should admit that the police imposed no requirements towards demonstrators: neither during arrests, nor before they started. At least I heard no claims from the police from the place where I was standing.

I was arrested at about 6:30 p.m. at the place where Bolotnaya naberezhnaya led to Yakimanka, not far from embankment parapet. I was put into a paddy wagon standing in Yakimanka at the beginning of Bolshoy Kamenny bridge, together with other arrested people. The paddy wagon was divided into two parts by an impervious metal partition. There were 12 arrested in my part of the vehicle. One of them felt unwell, he was vomiting. I thought he probably had brain commotion but he didn’t remember if he had been hit into his head (I know the name of that person but I won’t disclose his name to the court without his consent). We demanded cops to call for an ambulance, but there followed no reaction from the police. We spent about three hours and a half in the truck in total. First, it was standing for about an hour near Bolotnaya Square, then it was moving for a while, and then again it was standing near the Dorogomilovo district police department for about an hour and a half. We were brought inside of that police department at approximately 10 p.m. When I was released, I was given a copy of an administrative offence report under article 19.3 of the Administrative Offense Code. It was stated there that I within a group of 400 people was trying to break police cordons through at approximately 8 p.m. (in spite of the fact that I was arrested at about 6:30 p.m.)

EWA No. 202

I saw A.Navalny walking through demonstrators’ crowd from the square towards the stage. Over some time we learnt that he and S.Udaltsov had been arrested and the sound switched off, which meant that the meeting had been disrupted. Then I saw cops’ lines slicing the crowd into parts and whacking people with batons meanwhile. Cops didn’t demand people to go away. Neither they organized any passway for them. Cops collided into the crowd plenty of times. At last, the police made a narrow corridor to Maly Kamenny bridge for demonstrators to leave Bolotnaya Square. I left the square through it together with other people.

A number of demonstrators wanted to leave the embankment after 6 p.m. while walking through Bolotnaya Square and further on to the town. But OMON cordoned all ways leading to Bolotnaya Square and allowed no one to leave. Many old people addressed the cops asking to let them go away because they felt unwell, but the police paid no attention to their requests for some time at all.

It was a non-provoked mass slaughter of civil population participating in concerted actions approved by the authorities by armed-to-teeth police and OMON representatives. Multiple illegal arrests of demonstrators were executed. The police managed to force people away from Bolotnaya Square rather easily. It’s a big puzzle for me why didn’t they do it from the very beginning if they had an order to break up the demonstration? What for did they poison demonstrators with gas, hit with batons, press and kidnap people? We had a horrible feeling that nobody would be able to leave the island without being beaten and/or arrested by the police. There were seen no routes for escape, people were enclosed from all sides along the entire perimeter. Demonstrators’ lines kept reducing under cops’ attacks.

I didn’t see any conflicts on the square, only smoke. But I witnessed actions of “confrontation” on Bolotnaya naberezhnaya. I was surprised by cops’ behavior: they crushed into the tight crowd of demonstrators dividing it into parts, and pressed people. Some people were pinned against the grid of the embankment. Cops neither explained, nor demanded anything, either legal or illegal. It seemed to me they arrested people rather occasionally, without any fair reasons. Some people who wanted to leave the embankment couldn’t do it since there were no passages.

In spite of a long queue standing before the arches, I was checked rather long and thoroughly by a woman-cop.

The third thing which surprised me: there was a second line of metal detection arches tight after a sharp turn to the naberezhnaya. One more weird thing was absence of possibility to leave the embankment and go farther (in the direction of Moskvoretsky bridges). And at the same time people had no possibility to go back through the second line of arches. People wanted to leave but were not allowed by the cops, until demonstrators managed to break cordons through.

My actions were the following: I reached the embankment and passed second line of arches through. We had been waiting for a meeting beginning for a long time. I came up to the stage and found out that there were no ways out. I got worried. The number of people had significantly increased, but the site was rather small and narrow in itself. Moreover, it was cordoned by the police. Cordons, cordons, arches… The only route remained open was the river. Someone announced from the stage that Opposition leaders were sitting by the “Udarnik” cinema-theater since the authorities disrupted the meeting scheme. That was obvious, and people headed towards arches near the “Udarnik”. All people boiled over and started to walk back in spite of prohibition.

EWA No. 218

I didn’t see any conflict itself, while being at the embankment among calm and peaceful people who had no idea what was going on at all. We heard some noise, separate shouts. Than OMON chain started moving in our direction cutting the crowd rudely. Then another OMON chain approached from the stage side thus blocking demonstrators standing on the embankment. Very “nice of them”.

I saw that there was practically no checking procedure at one of checking points. It was at the corner of Maly Kamenny bridge and Kadashevskaya naberezhnaya. People were walking through open police metal barricades. I passed through them later too.

OMON assaults and retrievals repeated several times. I was shocked to see a cop hitting a rather old woman with his baton. I had never seen anything like that before.

I saw asphalt stones, flagpoles, boots, police helmets (pulled out from cops) flying in the direction of policemen. OMON acted in the following way: they gathered in groups, holding each other by shoulders, then running and colliding into the crowd at full fling. Then they grasped anyone of the crowd, whacked him/her with batons and drove to a prison truck. They were striking blows severely, to the right and to the left, indiscriminately. I witnessed a guy with a broken head and a woman who were brought to the parapet (people yelled they had been killed, Thanks God, they hadn’t).

EWA No. 225

As soon as we found ourselves at Maly Kamenny bridge, people were standing there rather tight already. We stopped about three meters from the handrails facing Bolotnaya Square. It was rumored at that moment that the police disrupted the meeting and wouldn’t let people approach the stage (some time earlier we were surprised to see that Bolotnaya Square had been cordoned and no people were allowed to go inside). We stayed in the crowd for a while on the bridge, and then tried to get to the embankment. We hardly squeezed through a tiny hole near the very bridge edge which was left by cops to enter the embankment (2 or 3 meters as it seemed to me). It was not that overcrowded at the embankment. We decided to come up to the stage, but there was one more line of metal detection arches ahead (approximately on the same level with Luzhkov bridge). There stood cops only in front of us in the direction of the stage and wouldn’t allow anyone to go there. People were trying to find out while standing near the arches why policemen didn’t let them go and what was going on in general. Cops either didn’t answer anything, or behaved rudely and arrogantly. I saw with my own eyes some senior police officer was as if provoking a young man who was trying to talk to him, while talking to him scornfully. Unfortunately, I haven’t shot that moment. It’s important to add that as soon as we reached the embankment we found ourselves practically in a trap. There was no way back to the bridge because of an awful people jam there. And cops didn’t allow us to go forward or to Luzhkov bridge. While standing at the embankment we saw that there was something going on near the “Udarnik”: we saw movements of helmets and crowd to and fro, heard shouts. Luckily, Luzhkov bridge was opened at some moment and we hurried up to leave Bolotnaya naberezhnaya. We were watching the events from Luzhkov bridge for some more time, but then decided to go away to the subway since it was clear that situation had completely gone out of control.