According to Dmitri Sidorenko, a member of the unregistered Other Russia party, the conflict began when an unknown assailant attempted to provoke him into a fight at Moscow’s Yuzhnaya metro station on the morning of August 3. He was then detained and brought to a police station, where a man presented himself as an FSB officer and showed a badge identifying him as Major Vladimir Aleksandrovich Belov.

The officer explained that he was interested in Sidorenko because of his involvement in the Strategy 31 protest campaign for free assembly. He then proposed that the activist become an informant and provide him with detailed information about the plans of Other Russia party leader and protest coordinator Eduard Limonov, promising “material compensation” in return.

The press release issued by the party states that Belov threatened Sidorenko with deportation to Belarus, where he is a citizen, after he refused. Conversely, if the activist accepted the offer, he would be granted Russian citizenship.

The police officer made it clear that Sidorenko would have problems at work if he declined the offer. He also told the activist that, “in the case of an incorrect decision,” he would lose his wife and two small children.

As an example, Belov mentioned Sidorenko’s sister-in-law, Olga Shalina, who is currently in a Nizhny Novgorod jail. The officer told him that her confinement was a result of “behaving badly.”

At the end of the conversation, Belov said that he would not bother Sidorenko in the coming days, but officers from the Center for Extremism Prevention (Center “E) probably would.

Protests under the Strategy 31 campaign have been held across the country by Russian oppositionists every month with a 31st day for the past few years, dedicated to the 31st article of the Russian constitution for freedom of assembly. Almost without exception, Moscow city authorities have refused to sanction the rallies, and they have almost all ended with numerous arrests.

A court in Saratov fined Aleksandr Strygin 500 rubles (~17 USD) for posting the picture five times on Facebook and LiveJournal, declaring him guilty of an administrative statute against “propaganda or public demonstration of Nazi symbols.”

While the amount of the fine is not itself very damaging, Strygin worries that his planned electoral run for Saratov Regional Duma representative may now be in jeopardy. As an activist from the local branch of the unregistered oppositionist People’s Freedom Party, the blogger said that the court’s ruling might be used as an excuse to keep him from running for the post in the upcoming October election.

The case against Strygin was filed by the Saratov branch of the federal Center for Extremism Prevention, commonly known as Center “E.” The center is notorious for persecuting opposition figures under the guise of fighting extremism.

Strygin noted that when it became clear he would be charged for the posts, he came to woe the fact these are the sort of “crimes” that Russian taxpayer money is spent to uncover.

Since July 15, the activists have been gathering at the Solovki Memorial Rock – a monument to victims of Soviet labor camps that sits across from the former KGB headquarters, Lubyanka – in support of Taisiya Osipova, the wife of Other Russia party bureau member Sergei Fomchenkov. Osipova was arrested last November under charges of drug possession, which she and her supporters insist was planted by officers from the Center for Extremism Prevention (Center “E”) in an attempt to exert pressure on her husband.

On Monday, four activists from Solidarity and the Other Russia party were added to the total number of Lubyanka detainees.

“The police detained four activists who attempted to jump over the barricade” that had been erected to prevent protesters from reaching the monument, explained Other Russia member Matvei Krylov.

At least the majority of the detainees spent the weekend in police holding facilities. All are charged with disobeying police orders, an offense punishable by up to 15 days of administrative arrest.

Nevertheless, the protesters intend to hold their ground until July 21, when a court is set to rule on Osipova’s case.

That officials from Center “E” might attempt to frame a person associated with the Russian opposition should come as no surprise: the controversial Internal Ministry operation has been blamed by human rights groups internationally for harassing, beating, kidnapping, and torturing “criminal suspects,” who often include peaceful political, environmental, and artist activists.

The Center raided an apartment where Fomchenkov, Osipova, and their child were present in December 2009 without explaining the basis for their actions.

See Ilya Varlamov’s photographs of the detentions on July 15 and 18 here and here.

Last year, 41 civil activists were injured in attacks.

In Krasnodarsky Krai, human rights activist Vadim Karastelev was attacked and injured so severely that he nearly died. Police in Dagestan cruelly beat lawyer Sapiyat Magomedov, well-known for his principle role defending the rights and interests of citizens in the area. In Yaroslavl, activist Aleksandr Sugurov of the Army of the People’s Will was abducted by operatives from the Russian Internal Ministry’s notorious Center “E”, shoved into a car, and beaten. The activist was told they were upset with his opposition activities and threatened to “bury you in the forest” or “to stick you in a cell with the jailbirds.”

Thirty representatives of NGOs experienced various forms of persecution in 2010, including three instances of kidnapping. This included Left Front coordinators Konstantin Kosyakin and Sergei Udaltsov and Dosh independent magazine editors Israpil Shovkhalov and Abdul Duduev.

Agora had records of 20 raids carried out on activists’ apartments and the offices of public organizations, as well as the confiscation of documents and technical equipment.

More than 3160 civil activists were arrested following public events in Russia in 2010.

These events were held in honor of murdered journalists and human rights activists (such as Anastasia Baburova, Stanislav Markelov, Aslan Zhukov and Natalia Estemirova), police reform, the fight against government tyranny, against highway construction through the Khimki Forest, and in defense of the 31st article of the Russian constitution. In December, numerous events were held in defense of Mikhail Khodorkovsky and Platon Lebedev, who, days before the New Year, were found guilty in a second criminal case filed against them by the government.

Several activists were murdered over the past year.

In Krasnoyarsk, lawyer Aleksei Gryankina was found dead. Investigators say the most likely motive for his murder was Gryankina’s professional activities. The lawyer had worked on several scandalous cases involving well-known construction firms that had defrauded real estate investors. One of the leaders of the Cherkessia Youth, Aslan Zhukov, was killed in Karachaevo-Cherkessia, and in Kaliningrad, noted journalist and blogger Maksim Zueva was also killed.

According to Agora, such cases of persecution have risen markedly over the past several years. The organization recorded 118 reports in 2006, 212 in 2007, 308 in 2009, and now, 603 in 2010.

Update 11/5/10: Pivovarov has been released and his sentance annulled per court order, after a judge pointed out that his rights as a defendant had been violated. Among others, the activist was denied the right to choose an attorney and the police officers who had detained him were never identified.

Courts and law enforcement agencies are currently deciding the fates of three opposition activists who helped to organize a rally in defense of free assembly in St. Petersburg this past Sunday, Kasparov.ru reports.

Andrei Dmitriev and Andrei Pesotskov, both members of the Other Russia party, were detained at a rally at Gostiny Dvor as part of the Russian opposition’s Strategy 31 campaign. The two were charged with organizing an unsanctioned rally and disobeying a police officer, and were sentenced the next day to 5 and 14 days of administrative arrest, respectively. Following their sentencing, both Dmitriev and Pesotskov’s apartments were raided by police.

A St. Petersburg court acquitted both men on Wednesday morning, but authorities followed to file a criminal suit alleging that the two participated in “extremist” activity.

“The court reconsidered the punishments and released them,” said Other Russia representative Andrei Milyuk. “However, Pesotskov and Dmitriev were immediately taken to Center ‘E’ for interrogation on a criminal suit and it’s not clear whether or not they’re free to go,”

The Center for Extremism Prevention, commonly referred to as Center “E,” is a branch of federal Russian law enforcement that is charged with investigating what is deemed to be “extremist” activity. Human rights organizations around the world have criticized the center for torturing criminal suspects and other abuses of authority, particularly against opposition activists, and for its broad definition of what constitutes extremism.

A harsher sentence was handed down to Andrei Pivovarov, leader of the St. Petersburg branch of the Russian People’s Democratic Union and another organizer of the October 31 rally. Pivovarov was arrested at Gostiny Dvor together with Dmitriev and Pesotskov. On Monday, he was sentenced to 27 days of administrative arrest for organizing Strategy 31 rallies in August and October and for disobeying a police officer.

Originally, this same judge had sentenced Pivovarov to 14 days of arrest for his organization of the August 31 rally, but the oppositionist was released after two days of protests in support of his release. An appellate court ordered the case to be reviewed, and, as it turns out, Monday’s verdict is partially the result of that review.

Opposition activists have spent the past two days staging protests calling for Pivovarov’s release. In Moscow, Solidarity leaders Ilya Yashin, Sergei Davidis, and Mikhail Shneyder held solitary pickets – the only type of protest that doesn’t require government sanction to be held legally – while Solidarity leader Boris Nemtsov joined in ongoing pickets in St. Petersburg. The group plans to continue protesting so long as Pivovarov remains under arrest.

Two separate Strategy 31 rallies were held in St. Petersburg on October 31. One at Gostiny Dvor was attended by approximately 1000 people, by organizers’ estimates. Police began arresting the demonstrators immediately after the rally began. According to St. Petersburg police, only about 120 people came out to the rally, 104 of whom were detained.

A second rally at Dvortsovaya Square was attended by about 300 people. Police began detaining activists after they unfurled a 30-meter Russian flag.

Other rallies in the Strategy 31 campaign were held on Sunday across the country, including in the cities of Moscow, Vladivostok, Kurgan, Penza, Murmansk, Tver, Ekaterinburg, Samara, Astrakhan, Sochi, Ryazan, Krasnodarsk, and others.

On Thursday, the Kasparov.ru news website reported that police in the far-eastern city of Khabarovsk have confiscated one thousand copies of the Other Russia party’s membership application.

Anton Lukin, a delegate from the party’s July 10 founding congress, was detained upon his return from Moscow to the Khabarovsk airport and sent to the notorious Center for Extremism Prevention (commonly known as Center “E”). There, officials confiscated the set of blank applications as well as several copies of the party’s program, Lukin’s flash drive, and a book of poetry.

Police refused to give Lukin the legally-required written verification that his belongings had been confiscated; he plans to file a complaint with regional prosecutors.

Other Russia party executive committee member Aleksandr Averin said that the confiscation is likely an attempt by the authorities to prevent the party from gathering the 45,000 members necessary for official federal registration. Without this registration, the party will not be able to participate any federal or local elections.

Just southeast of Moscow in the city of Ryazan, Other Russia branch leader Sergei Yezhov reported on Thursday that the city’s official website had abruptly canceled a press conference meant to discuss the party’s founding.

Yezhov said that the press office of the city website agreed on July 14 to hold a press conference on July 19. An announcement was posted on the website at about 4:00 pm on Thursday, but then it was gone an hour and a half later.

According to the opposition leader, an anonymous source in the website’s editorial office said that the press conference was canceled “not because of organizational, but political motives.”

Nikolai Matrosov, editor-in-chief of the Ryazan city website, refused to comment to Kasparov.ru in regards to the unexplained cancellation.

Russian opposition leader and writer Eduard Limonov announced the creation of a political party under the name of the Other Russia opposition coalition on June 28. At the time, Limonov said that he expected the government to attempt to interfere with the party’s attempt to gain official registration. A founding conference was held in Moscow on July 10, where delegates agreed on a party program. As agreed, the party will focus on carrying out decisive democratization of Russia, to de-bureaucratize the government, to make political turnover at the highest levels of government a possible reality, and to reinvigorate the country’s political spirit.

Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty sums up the primary controversies over the bill:

Russian media sources say the law would allow the FSB to warn citizens that their behavior could create conditions that could lead to a crime — even in cases where there are no legal grounds to hold them criminally responsible. It also provides for fines against citizens who disobey FSB officials or in any way hinder their work.

According to an explanatory note posted on the State Duma’s website, the law is necessary due to a sharp rise in extremist activity. The note cites figures from the Investigative Committee of the Prosecutor-General’s Office claiming that extremist crimes rose by 30 percent from 2007 to 2008.

The note also criticized the media for propagating “individualism, violence, and mistrust of the state’s capacity to protect its citizens, effectively drawing young people to extremist activities.”

Ilya Ponomarev, a lawmaker from the Duma faction of A Just Russia, calls this hyperbole, saying that the government’s figures on extremist activity are inflated.

“They often label absolutely normal social activists as extremists,” Ponomarev says. “And when the authorities are faced with a real threat to public safety they are helpless. Neither preemptive warnings nor fines will solve this problem.”

There is no shortage of examples of the Russian authorities using accusations of extremism as an excuse to stifle dissent. Federal officials routinely harass protesters, conduct raids of homes and offices, hinder legal forms of protest, and in some cases will block opposition websites, not to mention the torture accusations from Amnesty International.

Speaking to the newspaper Kommersant, Lev Levinson of the Russian non-governmental Institute for Human Rights said that the bill would shift responsibilities currently held by state prosecutors to the police, a move he said was both unnecessary and dangerous. “This is precisely what the fight against dissent is apparently turning into,” he said. “That today the chekisti (referring to the FSB) don’t have the authority to issue warnings doesn’t mean in the least that there aren’t feasible ways to prevent crime.” Levinson added that while prosecutors act as a sieve to prevent abuses when issuing warnings about extremism, the FSB would not.

All in all, said Levinson, the initiative would “untie the hands of FSB officers,” and abuses by the agency can consequently be expected to grow.

In a statement responding to the Moscow metro bombings, Garry Kasparov’s United Civil Front reminded readers of the steps taken over the past ten years by the Russian government in the name of fighting terrorism and extremism, pointing out that, given the bombings, they have not been ideally effective.

The tragic events that occurred in Moscow on March 29, 2010, could be appropriated by the current government for an even larger infringement of the rights and freedoms of citizens of the Russian Federation. The apartment bombings in Moscow, Buynaksk, and Volgodonsk in the fall of 1999 triggered the beginning of a second military campaign in Chechnya and immediately provided Vladimir Putin with the necessary ratings for victory in the 2000 presidential elections. As a result of the terrorist attacks in the Dubrovka Theater in October 2002 and in Beslan in September 2004, elections for governors and regional leaders in Russia were abolished. And today, after the events of March 29 in Moscow, it is obvious that these measures did not increase the safety of Russia’s citizens in the least.

No matter how much this new bill might look like a continuation down that same path, any opposition to the bill is unlikely to keep it from passing given that United Russia, the pro-Kremlin party lead by Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, holds an overwhelming majority in the State Duma,.

In a press release issued on Monday, ecologists at the Baikal Environmental Wave expressed concern that police officers had been visiting the homes and places of work of members of the organization. Among those officers were agents from the notoriously brutal Center for Extremism Prevention, commonly known as Center “E” and accused by Amnesty International of torturing detainees.

Over the course of “discussion” with ecologists’ relatives, says the statement, officers made disparaging remarks about the Baikal Environmental Wave and co-leader Marina Rikhvanova.

Rikhvanova told Kasparov.ru that the police most likely obtained the ecologists’ home addresses from computers confiscated from the organization at the end of January, supposedly for using unlicensed software.

The ecologists believe that the police visits and confiscations are a direct result of the organization’s protest against the reopening of the infamous Baikalsk Pulp and Paper Mill. In particular, Rikhvanova was critical of a notification from the city sanitation department, which claimed that the mill would clean its sewage before dumping it into Lake Baikal, the world’s largest freshwater lake and a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

“But nobody knows how they’re going to clean it, or if they’re going to clean it at all, because all of the cleaning equipment is kept out under the open sky and, as the mill’s management said earlier, a minimum of three months of above-freezing temperatures are required to start it up,” Rikhvanova explained.

The organization is planning to hold a rally in defense of the lake on March 20.

After decades of protests, the Baikalsk Pulp and Paper Mill was closed in October 2008 due to environmental concerns regarding the mill’s discharge of toxic waste into Lake Baikal: Over the course of 40 years of operation, toxic discharge created dead zone in the lake of more than 12 square miles. Hundreds of tons of waste stored in open-air pits have created more air pollution than almost anywhere else in Russia.

Despite this, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin signed a decree in mid-January to change the environmental laws previously prohibiting waste from being dumped into the lake, thus allowing the mill to resume operations. Approximately two thousand people gathered in protest on February 13, demanding that the mill be closed, that mill owner and oligarch Oleg Deripaska be held accountable, and that Prime Minister Putin resign. Police responded to the protest with greatly excessive measures, calling out armored vehicles and a small tank to flank the demonstrators.

In a press release on Monday, Arkhipov stated that the news of a Russian telecommunications firm banning access to opposition websites was evidence of a growing trend in the country to persecute dissident activism as extremism.

“In this case, the actions of the authorities have once again confirmed that the country and political system are striving towards totalitarianism,” the lawyer asserted. “This tendency will continue down the road, with tougher methods in the battle against dissent and civil opposition movement and with the suppression of the basic rights and freedoms of citizens.”

The statement comes after Friday’s announcement by Corbina, one of Russia’s largest telecommunications providers and more commonly known under the brand name Beeline, that it was blocking access to the opposition websites Nazbol.ru and Limonov2012.ru due to “orders from above.”

The two websites are run by the banned National Bolshevik Party, whose leader, Eduard Limonov, has been integral in organizing the Strategy 31 series of protests in defense of the constitutional right to freedom of assembly.

Editors of the websites believe that Corbina’s ban speaks directly to the success of the rallies, which have recently gained a significant increase in both participation and international attention due to the brutality with which they have been suppressed by police.

Arkhipov was dismal in his prediction of the consequences of such persecution. “[Russians] are going to become witnesses to political persecution, through persecution against opposition leaders and civic activists, and through groundless detentions and political murders.”

Russian human rights advocates and opposition activists have long maintained that legislation from 2002 defining extremism is uselessly vague, and has given the authorities free reign to arrest anyone who they deem to be undesirable to the state. The notorious Center for Extremism Prevention of the Russian Interior Ministry, known as Center “E,” has been a source of particular concern, accused by Amnesty International of torturing criminal suspects to extract confessions. Additionally, Russia came under criticism last month in a United Nations report for its continued use of secret prisons to illegally detain political oppositionists and people blamed for “extremist” activity.

The report alleges that in addition to suspects of terrorism, figures from the political opposition and people blamed for “extremist” activity were also being illegally held in secret facilities.

Aside from Russia, countries on the list included Algeria, Egypt, China, Sudan, and the United States. The vast majority, 55 countries, had only begun secret detentions after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.

“Secret detention as such may constitute torture or ill-treatment for the direct victims as well as their families,” says the report. The authors stress that those guilty of such crimes should be held accountable and that their families should be afforded proper compensation.

The true purpose of such secret prisons, the report goes on, is to cover up the fact that detainees are tortured or subjected to other degrading treatment in order to extract information from them; or, alternatively, to keep them quiet.

Secret detentions have been used by Nazi Germany, in the Gulag system of the former Soviet Union, and by the Latin American dictatorships of the 1970s and ’80s, and are in gross violation of the Geneva Conventions, says the report. The authors stress that such detentions are wholly unjustifiable, regardless of allegations by countries that they are an unavoidable necessity for national security.

The report was of particular relevance in light of a dramatic increase in Russian detentions under charges of extremism. Rights advocates have long maintained that legislation from 2002 defining extremism is uselessly vague, giving law enforcement agents free reign to arrest oppositionists and other activists deemed undesirable to the state. In the past few years, extremism charges have been filed against at least one poet, the families of victims in the Beslan school massacre, opposition leader Garry Kasparov, many newspapers, a channel airing South Park, and countless political oppositionists.

A source of significant concern has been the Russian Internal Ministry’s Center for Extremism Prevention (known as Center “E”), which Amnesty International has accused of torture to extract confessions from criminal suspects. Activists say that many of these suspects are arrested on vague or nonexistent grounds, such as in the case of Konstantin Makarov, who was kidnapped and tortured by Center “E” officials in retaliation for organizing an opposition rally last October.

In November, activists from the opposition movement Solidarity obtained an internal police memo indicting Center “E” and other police officials of conspiring to illegally detain activists holding solitary demonstrations in Moscow. Russian legislators began this month to discuss legislation that would greatly hinder activists’ ability to hold such demonstrations, drawing even more scorn from rights advocates that the government was doing everything it could to stifle political dissent.