MILITARIZED HOMETOWN

First protest rallies started in Moscow at the end of 2011, right before president elections in which Putin was to begin his third term. Before that for four years Medvedev was giving us a slight hope. At that time nobody was used to all the demonstrations, so in general rallies were friendly and police was just watching from aside. Thousands and thousands of people were going out on streets uplifted and encouraged to have a voice and to be heard, and feeling safe to interact with the police. In two years, especially after predictable ending of elections and following violation of territorial integrity  of Ukraine everything started to change. People grew more and more disappointed and police began acting more aggressive, so restrictions against all kinds of protests tightened increasingly. In 2016 even a special internal military force was established, one of the functions of which is to protect public order. Since then hundreds of protesters were detained on each major rally. Constant and often random detentions for posters, incorrect slogans or disobedience have become a commonplace. Police, various special units and military forces are now an integral part of our daily lives. 

Capture from first biggest protest in Moscow since "Perestroika" in December 2011 after it was announced that Putin is running for president again.

After that the Bolotnaya Square location of public rallies -  became a household name for meetings of dissent.

Another round of massive protests on 24 December 2011. "Stop lying and stealing" written on poster.

My interview after trying to shoot with hidden camera mass ballot stuffing on presidential elections in 2012. 

The day before the presidential elections on 4 March 2012, my friends from "Democratic choice" party told me that they had information about possible mass ballot stuffing on the elections. I am not and have never been a member of any party, but I was curious and felt that I had to be there or that I could change something. So I was given a small camera and at 7 am on the next day I was already standing in the middle of the metro station somewhere close to Moscow suburbs, not knowing what to expect.
Within an hour about 70 people gathered and we were all seated by buses.
My friends followed the buses by car in the distance.
As a result, I managed to see with my own eyes the massive "Carousel" in the town of Pushkino, Moscow region and how several bulletins in different locations were issued to people who had special stickers in their passports. Nobody checked the registration or any additional data.
These buses were supposed to go around 13 voting sites, but since I did not know what to do with empty ballots, I called friends to help and they were literally rescuing me from angry and scared ballot stuffing organizers.
Afterward I was asked by the “Democratic Choice” to give an interview about what happened and inadvertently showed my passport as proof that I was not registered in the district where these "Carousels" took place.
After this video, I was threatened several times. I asked to remove all my data from the video but still had to hide and live with various friends for several weeks.

The police and other military forces tightened up not only during public rallies but in normal everyday life.

In response to all protest movements a number of laws were introduced, practically prohibiting any public gatherings, and imposing severe penalties on demonstrators. They were getting more and more strict each year.

During recent demonstration in Moscow this year there was a frightening picture of military and police flooding all the streets. The protesters themselves could hardly be seen.

2019