Press Release, 15.03.2023

Photo: Oleg Baranov, head of the Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia for Moscow / Photo by the Moscow City Duma

Today, deputies of the Moscow City Duma heard a report by Oleg Baranov, head of the Moscow Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia, on work of Moscow police in 2022. The faction of the Yabloko party prepared many questions for the chief of police. The questions concerned the interests of Muscovites.

Maxim Kruglov, the leader of the Yabloko faction in the Moscow City Duma, asked the chief of the Moscow police to clarify whether illegal and senseless detentions of citizens using CCTV cameras would ever stop. Kruglov referred to dozens of cases when politicians, journalists and civil activists who had not committed any offenses were stopped and detained in the subway, and taken to the police.

On 9 May and 12 June, 2022, alone, police detained more than 80 people, who had previously attracted the attention of the police in connection with suspicion of potential participation in opposition events. All of them were kept in police stations for several hours, and then released without a protocol of detention and without any legal justification for the reasons for detention. In particular, Asya Kazantseva was forced to give written explanations that a conversation had been held with her that “people who have had administrative detentions should not enter the [Moscow] metro on the Russia Day [12 June].”

“We never apply preventive measures to politically active citizens. But we, certainly, apply preventive measures to the violators of public order, who were documented by the Moscow police more than once. Such as a conversation, a warning, and, in the end… just telling them “be careful, the Moscow police are working,” the head of the Moscow police replied, after which Kruglov had to ask the head of the Moscow police whether it was really better for politically active citizens not to use subway on Russia Day of 12 June. Oleg Baranov answered that “it is generally healthier to walk”.

Krugloc also asked why the police are so effective when it comes to bringing to administrative responsibility the dissenting, and detain residents of Moscow and Russia so that they cannot publicly express their political position? But when it comes to protecting Muscovites from apartment scammers, when it is necessary to find provocateurs, who helped the authorities to deprive Andrei Morev, the former head of the Yakimanka District in Moscow and Deputy Chairman of the Moscow Yabloko, of his right to be elected in 2022, and find those who distributed chemical substances in the building of the editorial office of the Novaya Gazeta newspaper on 15 March, 2021, the police are powerless, and even the video surveillance system cannot help them.

“How can we, deputies of the Moscow City Duma, help you so that you and your staff begin to protect all Muscovites without exception, regardless of their status and political views?” Maxim Kruglov asked.

“You can really help. And I have already talked about this. By installing more video cameras so that we do not have “dark spots” on the territory of our city,” the police chief replied.

To the objection that the police had all the video camera recordings confirming the innocence of Andrei Morev, the head of the Moscow police replied that there was no evidence of innocence, but there were testimonies of some citizens, moreover, Morev “discredited” the army on his Facebook.

Another question from the Yabloko faction concerned numerous cases of fraud related to the deprivation of owners of their real estate. But Oleg Baranov could not give a substantive answer to this question.

Summing up the report of the chief of police, Maxim Kruglov noted that over the past very hard year the police had finally become a tool for political reprisals.

“Until 2022, the main action of the police in suppressing political dissent was the detention of Muscovites at rallies. In 2022, starting from March, rallies finally disappeared as a political phenomenon in the Russian capital. However, the work of the Moscow police still have had plenty of work. Indeed, people continue to write posts, make reposts and put likes in the social media. Therefore, the best police forces have been thrown in search of this dissent threatening the foundations of the state. Day and night, adult men sit and monitor the Internet, looking for “fakes” about the armed forces, expressed in statements, likes and reposts, and find them, after which people are sent to prison for a long time. Bravo, great job for adult serious professionals,” Maxim Kruglov said.

The Yabloko faction did not approve the report of Oleg Baranov, head of the Russian Interior Ministry’s department for Moscow.