{"id":1668,"date":"2018-08-16T22:08:23","date_gmt":"2018-08-16T19:08:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/rupression.com\/?p=1668"},"modified":"2018-08-16T22:10:48","modified_gmt":"2018-08-16T19:10:48","slug":"network-parents-versus-the-fsb","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rupression.com\/en\/2018\/08\/16\/network-parents-versus-the-fsb\/","title":{"rendered":"Network: Parents versus the FSB"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Eleven antifascists from Penza and Petersburg have been charged in the case against the alleged \u201cterrorist community\u201d known as the Network. Many people have got used to news of the violence, threats, and electrical shock torture used against the suspects in the case, but the accused themselves and their loved ones will probably never grow inured to such things. The parents of the accused came together in a committee known as the Parents Network. They have been trying to do something to help their loved ons.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

The Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) claims the Network is an international organization. Aside from Penza and Petersburg, secret cells were, allegedly, established in Moscow and Belarus. Yet no one has been arrested either in Russia\u2019s capital or abroad. Meanwhile, the Parents Network is definitely an international organization. Aside from Penza, Petersburg, Moscow, and Novosibirsk, the committee has members in Petropavlovsk, the city in Kazakhstan where Viktor Filinkov\u2019s mother lives.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Members of the Parents Network<\/a> have appeared at two press conferences, in April and May of this year. They have established a chatroom on Telegram where they discuss new developments in the case, exchange opinions, share impressions of hearings and interrogations, and give each other support. In addition, the parents try and force reactions from Russian government oversight and human rights bodies. They write letters to Russia\u2019s human rights ombudsman and the Presidential Human Rights Council, and file complaints with the Investigative Committee and the Russian Bar Association.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

OVD Info spoke with members of the Parents Network.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Tatyana Chernova, Andrei Chernov\u2019s mother, shop clerk<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

All this kicked off in March at the next-to-last custody extension hearing in Penza.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I went to see Ilya Shakursky. I knew reporters and human rights advocates would be there. I just approached the people who had come to the hearing and asked for help. One of those people was Lev Ponomaryov, leader of the movement For Human Rights. He responded and proposed meeting in Moscow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I didn\u2019t know any human rights activists. I didn\u2019t know where to go or to whom to turn, since I\u2019d never dealt with this. When I\u2019d discuss it with my daughter, she would scold me, telling me we had to wait or we might make things worse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My husband and I went to see Lev Ponomaryov. We said we didn\u2019t know what to do. We had a lawyer. Our lawyer did his job, while we, the parents, didn\u2019t know how to help. We were told to take a pen and sign up, that the first thing to do was unite with all the other parents. I found their telephones numbers and gradually called all of them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\"\"\/<\/a>
Andrei Chernov\u2019s family<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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I couldn\u2019t get hold of Lena Shakurskaya. I sent her an SMS, saying I\u2019m so-and-so\u2019s mom, I want to talk, if you want to talk, write. She called me right back. Everyone was probably waiting for it. We shared a misfortune, and it brought us together. Our first meeting was at Lev Ponomaryov\u2019s office. Lena came to Moscow for the meeting. It was only there she heard the whole truth. Mikhail Grigoryan, Ilya\u2019s former lawyer, had been telling her a different story. The Pchelintsevs met her. They told her what was going on. Lena was made sick by what she found out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We try to have each other\u2019s backs. The blows are such that it\u2019s hard to take. Yes, I have friends. But I can call Sveta Pchelintseva or Lena Bogatova, say, knowing they\u2019ll know where I\u2019m coming from, because this is part of our personal lives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yelena Bogatova, Ilya Shakursky\u2019s mother, shop clerk<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

We had a lawyer, Mikhail Grigoryan<\/a>. He warned me against communicating with the relatives of the other lads. He said each of us had to defend their own son. Nothing good would come of fraternizing. I listened to him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In March, I saw Andrei Chernov\u2019s mom. Again, at Grigoryan\u2019s insistence, I didn\u2019t go up to her or chat with her. Later, I had doubts. I wanted to talk to someone. God was probably reading our minds: it was then Tatyana Chernova sent me an SMS. We got in touch on the phone. I went to Moscow without telling the lawyer. We met with human rights activists. We discussed how to talk about the kids.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s really rough when you\u2019re on your own in these circumstances, but now we are together. You realized you\u2019re not alone and our boys are not alone. What we do is mainly for them. We put on these t-shirts when we go to hearings so they can see we are fighting. We have gone to all the hearings together so they see we\u2019re all together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At first, I was a \u201ccooperative\u201d mom. I was friendly with the investigator. We would talk. He said unflattering things about the other parents. Grigoryan would ask me to meet with Ilya to \u201ctalk sense\u201d into him. The investigator would talk to me, telling me that if I was a good mom, I would get the message through his head, that is, if we had a good relationship, as I had told him. Then I would get to see Ilya for ten minutes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\"\"\/<\/a>
Yelena Bogatova and Ilya Shakursky<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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In February, when Ilya signed a statement saying he had not been tortured, his uncle and I persuaded him to sign the paper. We didn\u2019t understand a thing, of course. Grigoryan said Ilya had to sign the paper. He said he was working for us and Ilya shouldn\u2019t be obstinate, but should sign everything he asked him to sign.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ilya stared at me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMom, what are you doing?\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m not guilty of anything.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSign it or things will get worse for you, and I\u2019ll have it worse. I won\u2019t see you again,\u201d I said to him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I was selfish, drowning in my own grief. I pushed my son into doing it because I felt sorry for myself. The FSB used me. Yes, you can see him, but make him to sign this. Hold his hand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s psychologically easier for me now. I feel strong inside. I have the confidence to keep going and try and rescue the boys from the paws of the FSB. I don\u2019t have any friends per\u00a0 se anymore. At first, they would call and ask about things, but then they would do it less and less often. I don\u2019t know, maybe they\u2019re afraid of the FSB. They\u2019re afraid of calling me once too much because they know my phone is bugged.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the other hand, I have a sense of how many friends Ilya has. I communicate with the Parents Committee and Ilya\u2019s friends, who are not afraid of anything. We talk on the phone. They visit Ilya\u2019s grandma and help. They water the garden and go to the store, just like Timur and his friends<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Natalya, Viktor Filinkov\u2019s mom, businesswoman<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

It was like a bolt out of the blue. Viktor\u2019s wife, Alexandra, wrote to me. I was ready to go see him that very minute, but I was told it would be better for me not to show up in Russia for the time being. I live in Petropavlovsk in northern Kazakhstan, which is not far from Omsk. It\u2019s sixty kilometers to the Russian border.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then I could not wait any longer. I said I was going to Petersburg, come what may. Everyone was surprised I was allowed to see him. I was the first parent allowed to see their child. But it was so little time. It was so hard to talk to him through the glass.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMom, I\u2019ve been tortured,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I could see he had a scar. He told me to stay strong and be reasonable about what was happening.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\"\"\/<\/a>
Viktor Filinkov<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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I\u2019d never been interested in politics. Now, though, I\u2019m interested. I\u2019m interested in Russian politics and Kazakhstani politics, and I read all the news straight through. I read about what incidents happened where, who was tortured where, who has been framed, who has been protected. I read everything about what\u2019s happened to antifascists and anarchists everywhere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I think about why I don\u2019t live in Russia, in Petersburg. I cannot move right now. It\u2019s complicated to do the paperwork, register as an immigrant, and get a temporary resident permit. The thing that causes me the most pain is the thought they could ban me from entering the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nikolai Boyarshinov, Yuli Boyarshinov\u2019s father, artist<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s a terrible state, which everyone has been through, when you suddenly find out your son has been arrested, and the charges are so absurd. You have no idea at all what to do. It\u2019s a wall against which you beat your head. You quite quickly realize you\u2019re completely powerless.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I joined the Parents Network when it had quite a few members. I was completely crushed then. At first, I imagined it existed for its own sake, to keep from going insane. But then I noticed it got results. By then I had completely recovered from my initial state, so I did things, thought about things, and discussed things. Being involved in the Parents Network was my salvation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We have a chat page on Telegram. In contrast to the Network, which the FSB concocted, we don\u2019t hide the fact we have a Network. If you think our children organized a criminal Network, then our Network is probably criminal, too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our actions get few results, perhaps, but it is this way, bit by bit, that you build up the desire to do something to improve the conditions in which the boys are incarcerated.\u00a0 Publicity was their salvation, after all. It\u2019s not a matter of getting them released yet. We are still thinking about how to keep them alive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That was how it happened with my son. I saw him at the first custody extension hearing, a month after his arrest. I saw what he looked liked when he arrived at the courthouse. He looked drab and battered. He had fresh bruises on his head. You could see that it couldn\u2019t go on for long like that. His friends, thirty people or so, came to the next hearing. When he saw everyone, he was happy. A new phase began after that. It was clear that at least they wouldn\u2019t kill him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\"\"\/<\/a>
Yuli Boyarshinov in childhood<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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It was a turning point for me. When everything went public, it saved my son\u2019s life. Yet now I\u2019m afraid the publicity will die down and the boys will again be isolated, and the nightmare will recommence. That\u2019s why I never turn down an interview.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I go out picketing on Fridays. I had doubts when the World Cup was underway. The first day I had the sense I was preventing people from enjoying themselves, but I decided to keep going out. Something unexpected happens each time. A young man came up to me and said he knew nothing about the Network. He walked away, apparently looked in the internet, and came back. I told him about the other boys.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI don\u2019t share those views,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt doesn\u2019t matter now whether you\u2019re leftist or rightist,\u201d I replied. \u201cWhat matters is that you have views, and that is sufficient grounds to arrest you and charge you with a crime.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Parents Network is now like a family. We\u2019ve agreed that when this travesty of justice is over, we will definitely have a reunion with everyone. Everyone has become family. Viktor\u2019s mom lives in Kazakhstan, and his wife had to escape, so when I take care packages to Yuli, I take packages for Viktor, too. I really want to meet all the boys. I\u2019m worried sick about all of them. My wife sometimes reads an article about Dima Pchelintsev or Viktor, and she cries. We feel like they\u2019re our children.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u0415\u043b\u0435\u043d\u0430 \u0421\u0442\u0440\u0438\u0433\u0438\u043d\u0430, \u043c\u0430\u0442\u044c \u0410\u0440\u043c\u0430\u043d\u0430 \u0421\u0430\u0433\u044b\u043d\u0431\u0430\u0435\u0432\u0430, \u0433\u043b\u0430\u0432\u043d\u044b\u0439 \u0431\u0443\u0445\u0433\u0430\u043b\u0442\u0435\u0440<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The first to get together were the people in Penza, the Pchelintsevs and the Chernovs. I joined along the way. The defense lawyers had to sign a nondisclosure agreement, so we had to go public with all our problems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I live in Novosibirsk. We all stay in touch through a certain banned messenging site. When we were at the hearings in Penza, we made t-shirts emblazoned with the logo \u201cFree [son\u2019s surname<\/em>].\u201d It might look like a game to outsiders, but we have to stay afloat. It\u2019s important to do something. And to publicize everything that happens.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\"\"\/<\/a>
Arman Sagynbayev and his niece. Screenshot from the website of the Best of Russia competition (left); photo of a billboard in Moscow (right)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Arman has a serious chronic illness. There was no point in torturing him. His first testimony was enough to send him down for ten years. He testified against himself more than he did against the others. He was extradited from Petersburg to Penza. Along the way, the men who were transporting him opened the doors when they were in the woods and dragged Arman out. They promised to bury him alive. That was at night. In the morning, he was taken to the investigator for questioning. When people are under that kind of pressure, they would say anything. I would say I\u2019d attempted to invade Kazan and blow up chapels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\"\"\/<\/a>
Arman Sagynbayev in childhood<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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I kept the story secret from friends and relatives. But after the film about the case on NTV, everyone called and started looking funny at me. The news even made it to the school that Arman\u2019s little brother attends. Imagine: your brother is a terrorist. It was a good thing honest articles had been published at that point. I would send people links to them. Thanks to those articles, people read a different take on events, and we have been protected from a negative reaction from society.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Svetlana Pchelintsev, Dmitry Pchelintsev\u2019s mother, cardiologist<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Parents Network has empowered us a hundredfold. By joining together, we are no longer each fighting for our own son, we are fighting for all the boys. We love kids we don\u2019t know at all, kids who are complete strangers, as if they were our own kids. Our hearts ache for each of them. I think it\u2019s wonderful. A whole team of parents fighting for all the boys. What can stop parents? Nothing can stop them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What has happened is terrible. Whether we like or not, we have to go on living while also helping the children. So, when one mom has a moment of weakness, she can telephone another mom, who is feeling the opposite emotions. It\u2019s vital when a person hears that support.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\"\"\/<\/a>
Dmitry Pchelintsev in childhood<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Dmitry Pchelintsev, Dmitry Pchelintsev\u2019s father, engineer<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

We are a committee of parents. What we do is support each other. We live in Moscow, but our son is jailed in Penza. The parents who live in Penza visit our son. Our kids, as it turns out, belong to all of us. We were in Penza and we gave all the children all their care packages at the same time. If we talk with the warden of the remand prison, we speak on behalf of all the kids.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This has helped us and helped our children. We get emotional support. It\u2019s one thing when you sit alone in a closed room and don\u2019t know what\u2019s happening to your child. It\u2019s another thing when all the parents meet and discuss everything. Tiny facts come together into a big picture, and you more or less understand what\u2019s happening.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In my view, publicity is quite effective. This has been borne out by the actions of the case investigator, Tokarev. If it makes Tokarev uncomfortable, if it makes Tokarev angry, it\u2019s a good thing. As he said, \u201cYou raised this ruckus in vain. They would have been in prison long ago.\u201d So, what\u2019s bad for him is good for me. I visited the offices of the Investigative Committee in Penza. They couldn\u2019t believe it was possible the FSB would torture people in a remand prison.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lena, Ilya Shakursky\u2019s mom, said Tokarev always referred to us and the Chernovs as \u201cuncooperative\u201d parents. He complained that, if it weren\u2019t for us, our kids would have been sentenced to two years each in prison and that would have been it. How can a person say such things? You put a man in jail for nothing, and then you sit and clap.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The FSB are Putin\u2019s hellhounds. Putin loosened their leash a little, and they grabbed everyone they could before the presidential election and the World Cup. Now it\u2019s all coming to an end, and he\u2019ll again say, \u201cHeel!\u201d Let\u2019s see where it leads. Perhaps the plug will be pulled, unfortunately.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Eleven antifascists from Penza and Petersburg have been charged in the case against the alleged \u201cterrorist community\u201d known as the Network. Many people have got used to news of the violence, threats, and electrical shock torture used against the suspects in the case, but the accused themselves and their loved ones will probably never grow<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1149,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1668","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-stati"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/rupression.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1668","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/rupression.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/rupression.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rupression.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rupression.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1668"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/rupression.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1668\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1669,"href":"https:\/\/rupression.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1668\/revisions\/1669"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rupression.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1149"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/rupression.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1668"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rupression.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1668"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/rupression.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1668"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}