Press Release, video, June 26, 2013

Provokers tried to sabotage the meeting of the candidate for Moscow mayor Sergei Mitrokhin with the municipal deputies which took place on June 25 in the YABLOKO’s main office.

The young people introduced themselves as bloggers and took their seats at the table together with the others. After the candidate [Mitrokhin] made a speech one of the young men who introduced himself as a deputy in Novo-Peredelkino district this time asked Mitrokhin about his engagement in the conflict between the “For Human Rights” movement and the Moscow authorities. At the same time the two other young men rolled out the enlarged copies of the human rights advocates’ financial documents. According to the “deputy” the “For Human Rights” movement was a foreign agent.

YABLOKO leader called Lev Ponomaryov’s organisation one of the most respectable groups in Russia. According to Mitrokhin, “For Human Rights” had been helping lots of people in Russia to protect their rights for years.

Mitrokhin is sure that the label of a “foreign agent” suits the officials and deputes who support foreign countries using the budget funds better. For example, the Russian Federal Atomic Agency (Rosatom) headed by Sergei Kiriyenko devoted USD 20 million for a construction of a nuclear power plant in Turkey.

A man pretending to be a blogger asked the next question. He started talking about the bicycle traffic in Moscow when a man rushed into the room with shouts and a children’ bicycle. The reason he did that remained unknown. The security guards made him go out due to his inadequate behaviour. After that the man who asked the question rushed out of the room following his fellow shouting “they want to kill us”. Soon the other provokers left the building. Their main aim was to record what was going on the video.

“The municipal deputy waited until the end of the meeting and even took a picture with Sergei Mitrokhin. Though he did not put his signature to support Sergei Mitrokhin.

When the provokers were in the room the network MGER (Мolodaya Gvardia – United Russia’s youth wing) was on wi-fi list. Apparently representatives of this party organised the provocation.