photo — Yevgeny Feldman I’ve just come back from the Zamoskvoretsky Court, where the prosecutor and the judge mumbled through their patter, and Maxim Luzyanin was sentenced to 4.5 years. This despite the fact that he admitted guilt, the case was heard under a special procedure, and Luzyanin has a minor child dependent on him. A completely virtual case. Some mythical, never-seen “injured” police officers, supposedly suffering terrible injuries and severe pain. What is documented is a “chip in the tooth enamel” of one OMON riot policeman. The case file includes a certificate stating that Luzyanin paid for his dental treatment. “He grabbed a government representative by the clothing and knocked him down, and also threw a piece of asphalt.” 4.5 years in prison. How can one not think here of Tsepovyaz, a United Russia party member involved in the murder of 12 people, who was sentenced to a fine of 150,000 rubles (about US$4,800 at the time). Or take this fresh news item about a Federal Penitentiary Service employee who, drunk at the wheel, ran over four teenagers and today received a suspended sentence of two and a half years. They’re ideologically aligned, so they can get away with anything.