JRL HOME - RSS - FB - Tw - Support

Getting Russians to agree on things is like herding cats. Yet I think it's fairly safe to say that most Russians hate cops and judges ­ a phenomenon directly responsible for the fact that criminal culture continues to endure.
file photo

Perhaps one of the better things to have come out of Russia's renewed protest movement is Russia Behind Bars, an organization dedicated to the rights of prisoners and their families. It's headed by Olga Romanova, a journalist who saw her businessman husband jailed, released, and then jailed again. Her work is important, because people's frustration with the criminal justice system is bound to boil over.

Already, there was an ugly incident in which a judge that extended the arrest of Pussy Riot punk group members was threatened by some axe-wielding maniac. In a different society, such an act would have resulted in sympathy for the judge. But all I've heard about the debacle since it happened was, "Well, what do [the judges] expect? Everyone hates them!"

Judges themselves are often bewildered by the amount of vitriol they encounter. You can see as much reflected in interviews with Olga Yegorova, the head of the Moscow City Court. Possibly one of the most powerful people in Moscow, Yegorova appears to be genuinely perplexed by the anger.

When Yegorova gave comments about a notorious case in which Natalia Gulevich, an ill entrepreneur placed in pre-trial detention, was given a ridiculously high bail amount to make, she (Yegorova) said that it was understandable that the bail was set so high ­ after all, Gulevich had stolen a lot of money. An outraged response followed: based on Yegorova's comments, it became obvious that presumption of innocence in the case was nonexistent.

I don't believe Yegorova expected such a response. To her, it seemed clear that Gulevich should remain in detention or pay up, anything less would damage the authority of the court or have the presiding judge accused of having taken a bribe from Gulevich or her supporters.

But even the latter scenario presupposes that judges must be feared, and authority that is based on fear has an expiration date.

I think lack of real authority is responsible for how much attention criminal culture gets in Russia ­ for how popular the shanson music genre remains, and how frequently gruesome crimes are discussed, in all of their awful detail, on the news. After all, the only remaining counterweight to a serious judicial reform is the high crime rate.

But if accountability among officials continues to remain a concern, judicial reform will be the only way forward. People are just too angry. I was reminded of this when I sat down next to an old man poring over the latest newspaper report on some awful crime or other on a park bench.

"Horrifying, yes!" He said when his eyes met mine. "Too bad nobody will really get to the bottom of this crime!"

"Why not?" I asked him.

"They don't care," he said grandly, and took a swig of something that may or may not have been moonshine from a thermos. "There is no law. There's only keeping up appearances."

There is good news occasionally, though. Anatoly Ryabov, a famous music teacher accused of pedophilia in a case plagued by inconsistencies, was just handed down a rare "not guilty" verdict. The trial, I must note, was by jury.

Natalia Antonova is the deputy editor-in-chief of The Moscow News.

Keywords: Russia, Government, Politics - Russia, Human Rights - Russian News - Russia

 

Getting Russians to agree on things is like herding cats. Yet I think it's fairly safe to say that most Russians hate cops and judges ­ a phenomenon directly responsible for the fact that criminal culture continues to endure.

file photoPerhaps one of the better things to have come out of Russia's renewed protest movement is Russia Behind Bars, an organization dedicated to the rights of prisoners and their families. It's headed by Olga Romanova, a journalist who saw her businessman husband jailed, released, and then jailed again. Her work is important, because people's frustration with the criminal justice system is bound to boil over.

Already, there was an ugly incident in which a judge that extended the arrest of Pussy Riot punk group members was threatened by some axe-wielding maniac. In a different society, such an act would have resulted in sympathy for the judge. But all I've heard about the debacle since it happened was, "Well, what do [the judges] expect? Everyone hates them!"

Judges themselves are often bewildered by the amount of vitriol they encounter. You can see as much reflected in interviews with Olga Yegorova, the head of the Moscow City Court. Possibly one of the most powerful people in Moscow, Yegorova appears to be genuinely perplexed by the anger.

When Yegorova gave comments about a notorious case in which Natalia Gulevich, an ill entrepreneur placed in pre-trial detention, was given a ridiculously high bail amount to make, she (Yegorova) said that it was understandable that the bail was set so high ­ after all, Gulevich had stolen a lot of money. An outraged response followed: based on Yegorova's comments, it became obvious that presumption of innocence in the case was nonexistent.

I don't believe Yegorova expected such a response. To her, it seemed clear that Gulevich should remain in detention or pay up, anything less would damage the authority of the court or have the presiding judge accused of having taken a bribe from Gulevich or her supporters.

But even the latter scenario presupposes that judges must be feared, and authority that is based on fear has an expiration date.

I think lack of real authority is responsible for how much attention criminal culture gets in Russia ­ for how popular the shanson music genre remains, and how frequently gruesome crimes are discussed, in all of their awful detail, on the news. After all, the only remaining counterweight to a serious judicial reform is the high crime rate.

But if accountability among officials continues to remain a concern, judicial reform will be the only way forward. People are just too angry. I was reminded of this when I sat down next to an old man poring over the latest newspaper report on some awful crime or other on a park bench.

"Horrifying, yes!" He said when his eyes met mine. "Too bad nobody will really get to the bottom of this crime!"

"Why not?" I asked him.

"They don't care," he said grandly, and took a swig of something that may or may not have been moonshine from a thermos. "There is no law. There's only keeping up appearances."

There is good news occasionally, though. Anatoly Ryabov, a famous music teacher accused of pedophilia in a case plagued by inconsistencies, was just handed down a rare "not guilty" verdict. The trial, I must note, was by jury.

Natalia Antonova is the deputy editor-in-chief of The Moscow News.

JRL HOME