<nettime> Barricade on Bolshaya Nikitskaya Street

[olia lialina <olialia@cityline.ru>]

radek@glasnet.ru:

RADEK theory. art. politics
                    The Non-Governmental Control Comission

                            action - happening
                    Barricade on Bolshaya Nikitskaya Street
        May, 23, 17.00: the action is over, a blocking of the street 150 
meters from the Kremlin, which continued for two hours and was realized by more
than two hundred artists, intellectuals and students. It was a protest against
the increasing political and cultural reaction, which is manifest in the total
breakdown of parliamentary democracy, society's unability to counteract the
govenmantal dictatorship, the distribution of nationalist ideology (erecting of
official monuments, business-centers, the introduction of repressive laws,
ignoring the protests of miners, teachers etc.)

     The action was the first examination of  non-traditional political
technologies in russian conditions. It's participants trust neither the
existing power, nor the possibilities of the representative democracy.  The
basic idea of the participants is that evey citizen is to have his own voice
and express his own will, regardless of "realism" and "objectivity" (the
evening before, the organizers received a message from Daniel Cohn-Bendit, the
leader of the Paris May 68 demonstrations and the present Europarliament
Deputy). According to the main slogan of the Parisian revolution of 1968:
"Let's be realists * Let's demand the impossible", the initiative goup
demanded:

        *  a monthly payment of $ 1200 for every participant of the action;
        *  free use of drugs for every participant of the action;
        * the right to free and uninhibited travel for every participant
          of the action.

	During the action the participants spontaneously proclaimed the new
slogans concerning the change of contemporary russian order of robbery
capitalism.  At the same time, the traditional slogans of the parisian
revolution were risen: "It's prohibited to prohibit!", "All the power * to the
imagination!", "Let's be  realists *  let's demand the impossible".

	Approximately at 16.30 the action's participants started the march to
Kremlin, shouting "We're victorious!" .10 minutes after its beginning the
militia, which stood almost passive till this moment, blocked the participants'
way and arrested six organizers and the activists, using extremely violent
methods.

	17.30: The non-arrested participants congregated near the 83rd militia
department, where, as the militiamen were saying, the arrested were taken.  The
militia in the office said that all the arrested had already been transferred
from there to an unknown location. Near by the militia department the activists
met the Central Area Head Prefect A.S.Musykantsky, who refused to help them or
the sympathisers in any way, because the barricade action prevented him to get
to his daughter's birthday in time. He called the whole action "petty
hooliganism".  19.00 The group of non-arrested participants managed to contact
83th, 11th and 43d Moscow departments of militia. According to the latest
information, the editor-in-chief of "RADEK" magazine Anatoly Osmolovsky and
writer Dmitii Pimenov were taken to the Narcotics Testing Centre. The fate of
the others in custody is still unknown. We don't exclude the possibility that
the authorities will try to start a criminal case.  May, 24, 01.00: In the
evening, reports about the action wre broadcast on almost all TV channels and
radio. We can say, the journalists took the side of the power, and used the
common strategy of downgrading the scandal.  The reports were made in a
slighting and ironical tone. The participants never expected that the bourgois
media, which belong to the big financial-industrial companies, would join in
their demands, and are absolutely satisfied with the widesread distribution of
information on the events.  The group of non-arrested organizers learned, that
the editor-in-chief of "RADEK" magazine A.Osmolovsky and writer D.Pimenov are
in the 11th, artist Avdei Ter-Oganyan and activist Dmitrii Model in 122nd,
writer M.Demskaya and a participant by name Misha are in the 88th Moscow
departments of the militia. An activist David Ter-Oganyan was released
approximately at 21.00.  In the General Prosecution office we found out that
the case of the arrested was already being considered. A.Osmolovsky said that
pobably they will be held in custody for 48 hours. D.Pimenov told the
journalists who came that the militia jeered at him and refused to call for the
ambulance in spite of his multiple complaints. After the visit of journalists
the ambulance was called (22.29) and took Pimenov to Botkinskaya hospital with
a kidney disorder and "alcohol intoxication". The jounalists (the staff of
Russian central TV and an american newspaper) can witness that they didn't
notice any signs of alcohol intoxication (and couldn't notice, because he was
unable to drink anything after the arrest, for five hours already), which
means: the infomation is untrue or he was violently forced to drink in the
militia department. In conversation with the jounalists the vice-director of
the area's Department of the Internal Affairs falsely claimed that the
ambulance was called before their coming, and stated, that the arrested were
drug-crazed. He also said, they have no rights, except those to eat and drink
and they are well fed in the militia station.  We didn't expect any other
behaviour from the russian cops, but we must inform about every their crime,
raise the finger, leave nothing in the shadow. We didn't expect anything else
from the authorities, just feared more agressive action from them, more
understanding of the situation. We count the events of the previous day a real
and important victory. Now we're definitely sure, we've chosen the right way to
act. 
 
	P.S. We have to add, that under the violent actions of power we
radicalize our demands. Now we demand the monthly payment in size of not $ 1
200, but $ 500 000 . The demands connected with the legalization of drugs and
free travel all over the world, for all the action's participants stay the
same.

	May, 24, 10.30: At the moment Anatoly Osmolovsky, Maria Demskaya,
Dmitrii Pimenov, Dmitrii Model, Avdei Ter-Oganyan and an unknown anachist Misha
by name, are all still in custody. Despite the fact that all the militia
departments rudely reject to give any information, we found out the trial will
take place tomorrow, at May 25, 9.00, in the court house of Krasnopresnenskaya
area, by address: Zoologicheskaya street, 20. The press-conference of the
oganizers will take place at Tuesday, 26, 14.00, in XL-Gallery, Bolshaya
Sadovaya, 6.

To get more information call: 137 71 31,
pager 234 96 96, Áb47383, e-mail: radek@glasnet.ru
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