However, after learning that Sergei Vladimirovich will now be hearing Navalny’s case, his fellow locals feel sorry for him: “Oh, poor man, how is he going to handle that!” exclaims Vyatkina. “Honestly, I don’t envy him,” says lawyer Simonov, shaking his head. A former colleague from the Kumyony District Court, Judge Yury Bushuyev, says much the same: “He would never have taken this case (Navalny’s) of his own accord. No one would have. You don’t become famous for cases like this.” http://newtimes.ru/articles/detail/65311 Give it a read — it’s quite interesting. The New Times went to Kirov and found the judge who will be handling my case starting on the 17th.
He has an interesting work record: 130 verdicts handed down, and not a single acquittal. That’s remarkable even by Russia’s wonderful nationwide statistics: the acquittal rate is 0.4% (as is well known, under Stalin it was over 15%). By the way, there’s no need to wring your hands over my hard fate because of this — better wring them over your own. It’s a good occasion to remind ourselves once again what “justice” in Russia really is. Judges are just ordinary bureaucrats, no different from deputy department heads in some Ministry of Regional Development. Those people write the memos they’re told to write; these people write the verdicts they’re told to write. If “the system” — meaning the political leadership, the police, investigators, prosecutors, and the courts — decides that “so-and-so must be jailed,” then the verdict is predetermined. And even that same 0.4% acquittal rate, on closer inspection, turns out to be leniency for “their own”: law enforcement officers are acquitted 25 times more often on the same category of charges, and officials 16 times more often. The chairman of Kirov’s Leninsky District Court also has some very revealing things to say about this: “Do you think Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin tells us that Navalny must be prosecuted? There’s a wonderful saying: the king is played by his retinue. It is the retinue that ensures this or that decision pleasing to the king, while whether they have correctly guessed what he wants — that is another question,” Zaitsev said, sharing his view of how justice in our homeland works. ... “It’s unpleasant to see across the internet how awful you supposedly are: a satrap, a bastard, sold out for 30 pieces of silver. Maybe we deserve it, I don’t know… It’s hard to judge when you’re inside the system,” Zaitsev reflects. So, give it a read. 2. One important thing I want to say: I’m enormously grateful to everyone for the support. Unfortunately, I can’t say it to each of you personally, but truly — it means a great deal to me, and I value it very highly. You look at the photos in this group and realize that you’re definitely not doing all this for nothing — there’s no way you can let people like this down. A lot of people responded to Boris Akunin’s call and want to come to Kirov. Come if you have the time. Of course, there’s no guarantee you’ll get into the courtroom, but you can also have a look around Kirov — it has a couple of sights :) Coordination for those looking for travel companions is happening here (FB) and here (VK). Also, we want to combine the unpleasant with the pleasant and useful. For example, since a lot of journalists are going there and will have nothing to do 99% of the time, we want to set up a permanent “Putin Is a Thief” exhibition outside the courthouse and dedicate each day to one of the cases our Foundation has worked on (or is working on). On the first day, we plan to remind everyone about Gunvor. We’ll be making lemonade out of Kirov’s lemons. The Astrakhan experience, by the way, is quite useful. In the city of Kirov, United Russia’s result in the last State Duma elections was only 31%, so the local population is eager to get our leaflets. 3. For those who speak American, and for foreign journalists, this link will be useful.
The American law firm Loeb&Loeb has prepared an analysis of the charges brought against me. We dumped a million different materials on them, and they spent a very long time digging through it all. For them, this was pro bono work (free of charge), and I’m very grateful to them for it. An Analysis of the Russian Federation's prosecutions of Alexei Navalny Send this link to people who aren’t familiar with the realities of Russian “investigations” and “courts” — it will make things easier for them to understand. 4. My relatives have also weighed in: My wife gave an interview to Leonid Parfyonov for the program “Parfyonov,” and my brother and his wife are supporting me, apparently while preparing for the Zombie Apocalypse. 5. Everyone is asking for my comments on this trash and hellscape. I have nothing new to say: both this government and its PR lackeys are a pack of degenerates, perverts, freaks, and Satanists. What else can you say after reading something like that? First they invent all this filth and jiggle their Botoxed mugs, giggling with delight: CAN YOU IMAGINE HOW THIS WILL BLOW UP ON THE INTERNET, AND WE’LL BOOST IT ON TV TOO, and then they run off to church to cross themselves and fight for moral values and proper upbringing.