Article

Brown Dawn Over the Black Soil

The Case of The Krasnodar Three

"THE PLOT"

On November 28, 1998 at the railway station in Krasnodar, southern Russia,the police stopped and searched several young anarchist punks. Someexplosives were found in the bag of Gennady Nepshikuyev. Police arrested himand two others, Maria Randina and Jan Musel, a Czech. Jan was released aftera while on the insistence of the Czech consulate, Gennady and Maria remainedunder arrest.

Little is available on what happened between their arrest in November andFebruary 2nd, when two more flats were searched by the FSB (successor to theKGB) in Moscow and a third person, Larisa Schiptsova, was arrested. Questions directed at the anarchists included asking about the "nationalpolicy of Kondratenko".

Nikolai Kondratenko is the governor of the Krasnodar region. He isnotoriously chauvinist and anti-semitic, and openly supported nazis in theRegion. (Russia's largest fascist party, Russian National Unity, RNE,operates legally in Krasnodar). Southern Russia is a fertile ground forRussian nationalism, featuring right wing Cossack militias, who are usuallyracist and anti-Semitic, who are trying to arm themselves and get legalstatus as a paramilitary police force.

The paranoid governor and his lackeys are presenting the case as an attempton his life. The plot to assassinate Kondratenko will become just anotherminor detail of his own policy to blame everything on Jewish and otherconspiracies.

For the Krasnodar anarchists it should have been little surprise that theircomrades became the targets of Kondratenko's paranoid search for enemies.Kuban Anarchist Federation (FAK) was almost the only political group in theregion to have the guts to openly demonstrate against his nationalistpolicies and the thugs of RNE. Local anarchists had fought with the Nazis andconstantly received death threats. Maria Randina herself had resisted theestablishment of the nazi-controlled University police in Krasnodar, forwhich she was thrown out of the Krasnodar University. For a few yearsKrasnodar anarchists have been under close surveillance by the regional FSB,because of their active anti-fascist stance.

Although the three are formally charged with transportation and possession ofexplosives, and no charges of terrorism and establishing a criminal groupwere presented, the regional papers controlled by the governor reported thatan attempt to kill him was prevented.

THE SITUATION OF THE KRASNODAR 3

Some serious difficulties have already emerged for the three - while theusual cases of carrying explosives are investigated by the local police, theKrasnodar 3 received special treatment. They were put into the regional FSBprison and the case is being conducted by the regional procurator's officeand the Krasnodar FSB.

Larisa Schiptsova is suffering physically the most since she is 5 monthspregnant (as at May 99) and the food in the FSB prison is appalling - a plateof watery soup with just a little cabbage and potato once per day. After 3weeks of imprisonment her gums were bleeding and doctors found some problemsin the foetus' development.

Larisa's lawyer, Stanislav Markelov, also attracted attention from theinvestigators. Other anarchists interrogated at the end of February werequestioned not only about the case, but also about where Markelov comes from,etc. It is no coincidence that searches in Krasnodar were carried out in theflats of people whom Markelov met when he was in town, even those who are notactive anarchists and have no relation to the case. (Markelov also acted forAndrey Sokolov, a young Stalinist sentenced recently for blowing up amonument to the Russian royal family. His case was reconsidered in mid-March,got softer sentence for vandalism, not terrorism, and was released fromprison.)

Maria Randina was initially pressured into taking a lawyer recommended by theinvestigator, but a new lawyer has now been found.

Gennady Nepshikuyev, in whose bag the explosives were found, seems to havebeen too talkative and his words form the only evidence against the othertwo. It is believed that he tells the investigators what they want to hear,naming people, who cannot even be connected with the accused. Unfortunately,the FSB keeps his testimonies secret and there is no detailed information onthat. Some anarchists believe that Nepshikuyev was either used by theauthorities or is too willing to co-operate with the investigators now.

PROTESTS AND MEDIA BLACK OUT

On March 30th anarchists and human rights activists picketed the FederationCouncil (upper houses of the Russian parliament) demanding the release ofMaria Randina and Larisa Schiptsova. The protestors handed out leaflets, heldlarge posters against the police state and called for the release of thearrested anarchists. On the same day pickets were organised in Yekaterinburg,St.Petersburg and Berlin.

There were very few reports of the case in the Russian media and now, withthe war in Yugoslavia raising nationalist passions in Russia, there is evenless chance that it will be picked up in the media. Not one journalist showedup at the demo on March 30.

WHAT YOU CAN DO

Spread this information as far as possible. Demonstrate at Russian embassiesand consulates. Send petitions to the Russian ambassadors.

Please, send protests to governor Kondratenko and the regional procurator'soffice, investigating the case:

Nikolai E. Kondratenko, governor of Krasnodar region 350014 Krasnodar, ulitsaKrasnaya, 35 Tel.(7-8612) 62-57-16, fax (7-8612) 68-35-82 & 68-45-38

Krasnodar regional procurator A.N.Shkrebets Fax (7-8612) 68-30-95

Donations to cover legal and other expenses are welcome. People in NorthAmerica can send checks and money orders (both of which can be made out toM.Laskey or S. Hyland) to: WE DARE BE FREE / INTERNATIONAL SOLIDARITYCAMPAIGN PO Box 390085, Cambridge, MA 02139 (please indicate that yourdonation is for the anarchists arrested in Krasnodar.)

INFORMATION AND CONTACTS

You can contact the Moscow Group for counteraction against politicalrepression at the following addresses: koalabear@glasnet.ru 113208, Moscow,m-208, P.O.Box 80, Vladlen Tupikin (please, don't write the name of the group, just a person's name on the envelope).

All of the information available on the "Krasnodar case" can be found at www.ecoline.ru/actions/bomba/ Most of the information is in Russian, butthere are German and English sections as well. The site also features photosof Maria and Larisa, as well as photos from the demos in their support heldin Moscow.

Source: AN-Press, AnPress@mail.admiral.ru