Nikolai Rybakov’s Facebook post, 18.11.2020

Today in the State Duma was adopting, in the first reading, a bill on guarantees of immunity to the President after his leaving office and members of his family. The main argument was that the President should have a free hand… (!!!)

In short, the point is that the ex-President cannot be prosecuted at all for crimes of small and medium gravity – even if he daily steals food from supermarkets or cars. For grave crimes, a complex procedure is assumed through the consent of the State Duma and the Federation Council [i.e., both chambers of the parliament].

An abstract word “President” was pronounced throughout the discussion, though it was clear which President exactly was meant.

The bill was presented by Pavel Krasheninnikov from the [pro-government] United Russia party, who was speculating for a long time why the head of state should not worry about his prospects, and that such practices exist in many countries, however, he could not explain in what countries exactly. He promised to prepare it for the second reading.

He was helped by Oleg Nilov, a deputy from the A Just Russia party, who cited “one representative of the democratic community” [famous singer and poet Andrei Makarevich renowned for his democratic stance and not broadcasted by official TV for a long time]: “You shouldn’t bend under a changeable world, let it bend under us!” He chanted leaving the rostrum.

Another United Russia Party member, Adalbi Shkhagoshev, ended his speech with a puzzling wording: “You must not confuse immunity with impunity”. Even his faction comrades did not seem to understand him, but they applauded nevertheless.

By the way, deputies joked a lot, emphasising that Mikhail Gorbachev, as the President of the USSR (although the Russian Federation is the legal successor of the Soviet Union in accordance with the Consitution), will definitely not have the immunity. This incessantly elated the audience. And Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin, at every convenient moment, recalled that Gorbachev had ruined the USSR and now they would not allow this to repeat once again.

The culmination was the speech of communist [and film director] Vladimir Bortko (a shame for my native St.Petersburg, from which he was elected), who declared that the President “should have a free hand!” “Otherwise, Joseph Vissarionovich [Stalin] should also have been imprisoned,” Bortko brought up an absolutely irrefutable argument.

Speaker Volodin summed up the “discussion”: “Vladimir Vladimirovich… Bortko has just expressed the whole meaning of the decision that we will adopt”.

The voting result was 357 “for” and 37 “against”.

Once again [I reiterate]: this State Duma should be totally replaced in the next elections.

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