Leonid is 26 years old. He lives in the city of Vyatka and works as a freelance correspondent for the newspaper *Vyatsky Observer*. He was at Bolotnaya Square on an editorial assignment. On May 6, 2012, he was detained by OMON riot police during the "clearing" of the protest area.
Four months later, he was arrested. In a certain YouTube video—which served as the pretext for the arrest—you can briefly see Leonid touching a portable toilet that was later overturned. According to the investigators, Kovyazin "destroyed 6 toilets," and under the charge of "participation in mass riots" he faces five to ten years in prison. Since September, he has repeatedly been denied house arrest. Neither glowing references from his schools and workplaces, nor the fact that his 78-year-old grandmother—whom Kozyavin had lived with for the past nine years—needs constant care and medical treatment, nor guarantees from prominent figures in culture and the arts, nor the proposed bail of 700,000 rubles have helped.
Leonid had his wedding while behind bars: on March 28, 2013, at Pretrial Detention Center No. 4, "Medved" ("The Bear"), Kozyavin married his beloved, Yevgenia Tarasova, an actress at the Puppet Theater in the city of Vyatka. There is a touching video by Lenta.doc about it. Liya Akhedzhakova says this about Leonid Kovyazin:
http://youtu.be/0FP-78zS4Ic The white-thread case-stitching factory named after Mr. Bastrykin (a sardonic reference to Alexander Bastrykin, then head of Russia’s Investigative Committee) was not the only one investigating the so-called "Bolotnaya case." Independent experts conducted a public investigation into the events of May 6, 2012, at Bolotnaya Square and prepared a final report. Be sure to read it: it contains an extensive factual record, expert conclusions, and witness testimony proving that there were no "mass riots" whatsoever. Thank you to everyone who came yesterday to the public hearing on the report’s findings. It was great. On May 6, we must all come out again. An application to hold the event has been submitted. Join the outreach campaign. Each of us can do a lot individually in terms of campaigning, but some of the campaign materials will be produced centrally. For this (as well as to pay for the stage, sound system, etc.), Olga Romanova has revived her famous "Romanova Wallet." The rally wallet number: 410011232431933 In just two days, more than 1 million rubles have already been raised. See you on May 6.