UCSJ: Union of Councils for Jews in the Former Soviet Union is deeply
concerned for the safety of Russian human rights activist Aleksandr
Podrabinek, who has gone underground in Moscow after an article he
wrote spawned death threats from a Kremlin-created youth group and
others. Mr. Podrabinek wrote an article criticizing the totalitarian
nature of the Soviet regime, and accused some veterans groups and the
Russian government of glorifying the Soviet past, while ignoring the
mass killings and other human rights violations committed by the
Soviet regime.
In recent years, anti-fascist and human rights advocates have been
threatened, assaulted, and even killed after receiving death threats
from neo-Nazis and others. The posting online of Mr. Podrabinek's
address and phone number, combined with Internet commentaries
threatening his physical safety, are therefore serious threats in the
current climate. As if that wasn't bad enough, the involvement of the
Kremlin-created youth group "Nashi" raises the level of danger that
Mr. Podrabinek faces even more.
According to a September 25, 2009 report posted on the Internet news
site "Ezhednevny Zhurnal," Boris Yakimenko, a founding leader of
"Nashi," wrote on his blog that: "Judging from the reaction on the
Internet, there are many people who are ready to do what it takes to
make Podrabinek's life a nightmare. And that is a good thing. He
shouldn't be able to walk the streets without being spat upon. And
that should just be the beginning."
"Every honest person who encounters Podrabinek," Mr. Yakimenko wrote,
should tell him what they think of him, a thinly veiled incitement to reprisals
against Mr. Podrabinek, given the current climate in Russia.
Members of "Nashi" reportedly went to the office of the independent
newspaper "Novaya Gazeta" on September 24 demanding Mr. Podrabinek's
phone number, which they were refused. However, shortly afterwards,
threatening phone calls and texts began, and people began buzzing his
apartment, claiming to have deliveries for him. Nikolai Girenko, an
anti-fascist activist and academic, was shot to death in his own home
in St. Petersburg by a similar "visitor" in 2004, and earlier this
year, someone attempted to stab the eye out of Karelia-based
anti-fascist activist Maksim Efimov after gaining entrance to his
building by claiming to have a delivery. Several other anti-fascist
and human rights activists have received death threats or been killed
or assaulted in recent years. Almost none of these cases have been
solved. Some of the victims have accused law enforcement agencies of
deliberately sharing their contact information and addresses with
neo-Nazis and other extremists.
Unless the Russian government takes meaningful steps to protect human
rights advocates from intimidation and harm by properly investigating
these incidents and prosecuting the culprits, it is clear that the
situation will only get worse. Restraining its thuggish youth group
and sending a clear message that death threats against public figures
of any political persuasion will not be tolerated would be a good
first step towards addressing this crisis for Russian civil society.
The Presidential Council on Developing the Democratic Institutions and Human Rights,
headed by Ella Pamfilova, took a step in the right direction in response to Nashi's tactics, calling
on prosecutors to investigate Nashi for extremism, inciting hatred, and
violating Mr. Podrabinek's constitutional rights. So far, however, the rest of
the Russian government has not reacted.