On Wednesday I went to the Internal Affairs Directorate for Moscow’s South-Eastern Administrative District to give a statement as part of the preliminary investigation into a Terrible Crime: the RosPil logo as desecration of the Russian Federation’s coat of arms. You’ve probably already read about the clown show the police put on outside the directorate building, and you can watch it here:
I was questioned by no less than a full police lieutenant colonel. Which makes sense, of course—the crime is terrifying. Our conversation was perfectly friendly, but brief. I was told that an inquiry is underway following a complaint by United Russia party deputy Zyryanov. The case file includes an expert opinion from some institute of cultural studies (I have no idea what institute it is; this was the only one I found by googling), stating that the RosPil logo is a deliberate desecration of the Russian Federation’s coat of arms.
Since the RosPil website lists a Yandex.Money wallet number belonging to me, I have to provide my explanation. In the near future (according to the operative officer), a criminal case will be opened, in which I will appear as a witness. I refused to answer questions and kept my written statement brief. You can read it here:
added by hand: Addendum: I consider the real desecration of Russia’s entire system of government to be the presence of State Duma deputy Pavel Zyryanov in the Russian parliament Sorry it’s so hard to make out. The police photocopier is awful, the toner cartridge ran out, and there aren’t any new ones. There’s something symbolic in that fact itself: The expert examination in this case probably cost the budget several tens of thousands of rubles. Plus the operative officer’s work time, plus the prosecutors’ work time, plus clerical costs, and so on. Plus the work time of those idiots who, for some reason, detained Ternovsky. It’s impossible to calculate exactly, but the fight against RosPil has already cost a fair amount. You can’t say they siphoned it off on RosPil. More like on RosPil they, mmmm... squandered it. And one last thing: I hope everyone who considers the RosPil logo a desecration is ready to launch some shocking new investigations?
Places