National Bolshevik and special forces soldier at the Russian Finance Ministry
Photo: Dmitry Dukhanin
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Authorities Find Way to Fight Extremism
The Federation Council held parliamentary hearings yesterday on measures to combat extremism among youth. The senators and representatives of law enforcement expanded the definition of “extremism” and made its legal consequences significantly harsher. Now extremism will be include not only nationalistic movements, but any action by radical opposition organizations. Legal violations will be classified as serious crimes, that is, crimes punishable by a minimum of five years' imprisonment. The hearing marks the beginning of a Kremlin program to combat uncontrolled opposition organizations.
The Federation Council hearing was entitled “Condition and Problems of Legislative Guarantees for Combating Extremism in the Youth Sphere.” Federation Council speaker Sergey Mironov, Deputy Minister of the Interior Alexander Chekalin, Deputy Prosecutor General Viktor Grin and head of the FSB anti-extremism department Mikhail Belousov took part in preparing recommendations for combating extremism. Participants in the hearing did not hide the fact that they were taking aim against radical leftist and nationalist movements. “Extremism is a painful problem that many do not understand,” Mironov stated. He called the extremist groups active in Russia “organizations with strict discipline and their own leaders.” In a report prepared by the Prosecutor General's Office for the hearing, it said that “members of such informal groups of extremism inclination as skinheads, Russian National Unity and the National Bolshevik Party not only spread the idea of national, racial and religious enmity and hatred, they commit crimes on those grounds against the lives and health of citizens that cause public reaction.” Chekalin stated that about 10,000 young people have been recruited by such groups, and related crimes committed are up 84 percent as compared with last year.
The State Duma has already passed the first reading of amendments to the Criminal Code to make vandalism punishable by three years' deprivation of freedom. Deputy Interior Minister Nikolay Ovchinnikov stated openly that the new norms will be used mainly against the radical left. “The sharp rise in activities of extremist youth groups - skinheads, Russian National Unity, the National Bolshevik Party, the Avant Garde Red Youth – poses a serious threat to the maintenance of law and order,” he noted. He accused them of “active participation in protests connected with the monetization of social benefits and housing utility reforms” and calls to blockade roads and official buildings.
In Mironov's opinion, the government must make amendments to the law “On Combating Extremism” to expand the understanding of what extremism and extremist actions are and must develop a draft law to stop the activities of unregistered public organizations “having signs of religious or national intolerance.” In the Federation Council, they have so far been unable to explain the criteria by which an organization can be considered extremist. The Interior Ministry nonetheless knows what to do with extremists. Chekalin emphasized that crimes connected with the organization of an extremist society or inciting ethnic enmity must be categorized as serious. Serious crimes are punishable by a minimum of five years' imprisonment. The organization of an extremist society is now punishable by a fine of up to 200,000 rubles or a prison term of up to four years. The Interior Ministry is forming a database of extremists, Chekalin said, that will contain about 150 organizations.
Advisor to the Federation Council Committee on Defense and Security Vladimir Trofimov said that the regular seizure of administrative buildings by the National Bolsheviks and the march last year at which member of national movements shouted “Heil Hitler” fall under the category of extremism. Thus, the National Bolsheviks and ultra-rightists who preach fascist views are treated identically. National Bolshevik leader Eduard Limonov was indignant over this. “We are fighting for freedom and against an actively antipopular regime,” he said. “We should not be confused with some sort of thugs.”
Stanislav Belkovsky, president of the Institute for National Strategy, also thinks that the measures suggested at yesterday's hearing are directed against the National Bolsheviks and nationalist groups. “They are the ones that present a danger to the authorities,” he commented. “No matter how many National Bolsheviks they put in prison, the movement continues to gain in popularity, and the nationalists have grown from a pet project of the Kremlin, which wanted to show that [Russian President Vladimir] Putin was better than the fascists.” Dmitry Demushkin, leader of the nationalistic Slavic Union, opined that “the fight against mythical extremism indicates that they are trying to purge everybody before the elections.”
The Kremlin and law enforcement structures have long been discussing a plan to combat extremism. Putin approved a plan at a recent meeting with members of the Security Council. That plan, Kommersant has learned, includes the amendments discussed in the Federation Council yesterday, as well as amendments to the law “On Gatherings, Meetings, Demonstrations, Marches and Pickets” to require that slogans and promotional materials to be used at public events be approved in advance. Obviously, the authorities are planning to guard in this way against uncontrolled and spontaneous protests as elections approach.
Ekaterina Savina
All the Article in Russian as of Oct. 26, 2006
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