RFE reported on a 2007 study by the Russian Academy of Sciences that "every 25th person in Russia is tortured, beaten, or harassed by law enforcement officials each year." More to come from Sanjuro on this subject.As far as I can see, the most widely discussed topic in the Russian society over the past one year - and increasingly so in 2010, has been that of the police situation. There's grief, there's concern, there's outrage - now felt perhaps at the very top. I told you about the the Maj. Dymovsky affair and the particularly sad incident of Maj. Yevsyukov that made the news last year and illustrated a picture of thorough systemic decay and even implosion... Every week, or even every day brings new of another police brutality from various corners of the Russian Federation, and the "video confessions" seem to have become a genre in its own right. In response to the MVD (Ministry Interior) statement that the instances of police britality and lawlessness are "isolated incidents", the Russian edition of the Esquire, now aggregates daily (!) reports of such incidents into a monthly calendar:
Here's a rough translation -- just for the month of December 2009 -- of the police brutality tracking list published in Russian Esquire. To view the entire "2009 Russian Police Brutality Timeline" in translation, see here.
DECEMBER 2009
1 | Bryansk traffic cop caught and beat a pedestrian.
2 | militiaman caught in establishing his own airline. Head of SAI in the Urals caught selling cards that would exempt from inspections on the roads.
3 | policeman who criticized the actions of the authorities put in a psychiatric hospital.
Togliatti police officers on trial for turning stolen cars into scrap metal.
4 | Kirovohrad policeman forced some Tajiks to build a house.
In Orenburg, life sentence for policeman who killed 10-year-old boy and his parents.
5 | In an Internet video in which drunken Permian traffic cops beat up driver and his wife in the middle of the street.
6 | Policeman raped a 13-year-old daughter of his friend.
In Moscow, the Interior Ministry colonel shot down a cop.
7 | In Moscow, a police captain was extorting money from a janitor, having identified him as an "illegal immigrant".
Police officer forced the residents of the Rostov region to write a non-existent debt.
8 | Zabaikal'e police Major's relative closed the case on a girl's death under the wheels of timber.
In the Tyumen police officers brought to justice for having stolen from a warehouse light bulbs and inflatable boats in excess of 1 million rubles.
9 | militiamen raped women detained on the road.
The police demanded that the parents 10-year-old girl pay 400 thousand rubles for the failure of a narcotics deal. Policeman sentenced for having helped Chinese listen to telephone conversations.
10 | Podmoskovny traffic cop suspected of 20 rapes.
A policeman from Tuva accidentally shot a teenager and then tossed him a gun.
11 | policeman stole bearskin and electric drill.
12 | In Bashkiria local policeman apprehended for bribery of the 20 thousand rubles. For this money, he wanted to "cover up" a criminal case.
13 | Four policemen were found guilty of fraud.
14 | Policemen brutally beat up to Tverskaya model for the broken glass in a restaurant.
In Saratov, a district judge, brutally killed two hard workers. Policeman burned evidence for a bribe.
15 | Pskov policeman killed his passenger.
16 | policemen illegally confiscated the passports of a Ukrainians and one of them broke his nose.
17 | In Togliatti, two policemen stole half a ton merchant watermelons. Kidnapping of mistress, 18 thousand rubles and 200 euros demanded, buried the money in a shoe.
18 | Krasnodar policeman with his mama took a lonely old man's apartment.
19 | Head to combat illicit trafficking in alcohol police department in the UK "krysheval" illegal business.
20 | AC in Togliatti will judge police officers who beat a suspect.
21 | Policemen brutally beat and defrauded real estate investors who had organized a peaceful picket in front of the State Duma. Traffic police officer fired a gas gun in the face violator.
22 | Surgut policeman shot in the head a suspect under interrogation.
Podmoskovny traffic cop brutally beaten by the driver and his passengers.
The policeman, a student and an unemployed stealing money from citizens of Vietnam.
23 | Policemen given a suspended sentence for stealing building materials from the courtyard apartment building in Moscow. Militia chief inspector beaten for refusing to hide the incident. Police dealt harshly with pensioners at a protest.
24 | Policeman shot 18-year-old boy in the eye. Dismissed metropolitan traffic policeman who had brutally beaten up three women pretended to be a victim.
25 | Deputy Chief ATS Muscovites took revenge for a failed fraud.
A policeman was going to kill five men for the sake of 50 million rubles.
26 | Policeman shot down 17-year-old girl and fled the scene.
27 | Mayor police suspected of bribing a substitute for boards of slot machines in Buryatia.
The official mayor's office and the police tried to disperse the picket environmentalists in Volgograd.
28 | In Kamchatka convicted policeman, who was involved in fraud with caviar.
29 | Tatarstan a policeman killed a businessman on the order of a judge struck a deal with the investigation.
30 | Sakhalinskie police beat detainees and used electric shock machine.
31 | In Orenburg police suspect of forcing false accusation of witnesses.
1 | Bryansk traffic cop caught and beat a pedestrian.
2 | militiaman caught in establishing his own airline. Head of SAI in the Urals caught selling cards that would exempt from inspections on the roads.
3 | policeman who criticized the actions of the authorities put in a psychiatric hospital.
Togliatti police officers on trial for turning stolen cars into scrap metal.
4 | Kirovohrad policeman forced some Tajiks to build a house.
In Orenburg, life sentence for policeman who killed 10-year-old boy and his parents.
5 | In an Internet video in which drunken Permian traffic cops beat up driver and his wife in the middle of the street.
6 | Policeman raped a 13-year-old daughter of his friend.
In Moscow, the Interior Ministry colonel shot down a cop.
7 | In Moscow, a police captain was extorting money from a janitor, having identified him as an "illegal immigrant".
Police officer forced the residents of the Rostov region to write a non-existent debt.
8 | Zabaikal'e police Major's relative closed the case on a girl's death under the wheels of timber.
In the Tyumen police officers brought to justice for having stolen from a warehouse light bulbs and inflatable boats in excess of 1 million rubles.
9 | militiamen raped women detained on the road.
The police demanded that the parents 10-year-old girl pay 400 thousand rubles for the failure of a narcotics deal. Policeman sentenced for having helped Chinese listen to telephone conversations.
10 | Podmoskovny traffic cop suspected of 20 rapes.
A policeman from Tuva accidentally shot a teenager and then tossed him a gun.
11 | policeman stole bearskin and electric drill.
12 | In Bashkiria local policeman apprehended for bribery of the 20 thousand rubles. For this money, he wanted to "cover up" a criminal case.
13 | Four policemen were found guilty of fraud.
14 | Policemen brutally beat up to Tverskaya model for the broken glass in a restaurant.
In Saratov, a district judge, brutally killed two hard workers. Policeman burned evidence for a bribe.
15 | Pskov policeman killed his passenger.
16 | policemen illegally confiscated the passports of a Ukrainians and one of them broke his nose.
17 | In Togliatti, two policemen stole half a ton merchant watermelons. Kidnapping of mistress, 18 thousand rubles and 200 euros demanded, buried the money in a shoe.
18 | Krasnodar policeman with his mama took a lonely old man's apartment.
19 | Head to combat illicit trafficking in alcohol police department in the UK "krysheval" illegal business.
20 | AC in Togliatti will judge police officers who beat a suspect.
21 | Policemen brutally beat and defrauded real estate investors who had organized a peaceful picket in front of the State Duma. Traffic police officer fired a gas gun in the face violator.
22 | Surgut policeman shot in the head a suspect under interrogation.
Podmoskovny traffic cop brutally beaten by the driver and his passengers.
The policeman, a student and an unemployed stealing money from citizens of Vietnam.
23 | Policemen given a suspended sentence for stealing building materials from the courtyard apartment building in Moscow. Militia chief inspector beaten for refusing to hide the incident. Police dealt harshly with pensioners at a protest.
24 | Policeman shot 18-year-old boy in the eye. Dismissed metropolitan traffic policeman who had brutally beaten up three women pretended to be a victim.
25 | Deputy Chief ATS Muscovites took revenge for a failed fraud.
A policeman was going to kill five men for the sake of 50 million rubles.
26 | Policeman shot down 17-year-old girl and fled the scene.
27 | Mayor police suspected of bribing a substitute for boards of slot machines in Buryatia.
The official mayor's office and the police tried to disperse the picket environmentalists in Volgograd.
28 | In Kamchatka convicted policeman, who was involved in fraud with caviar.
29 | Tatarstan a policeman killed a businessman on the order of a judge struck a deal with the investigation.
30 | Sakhalinskie police beat detainees and used electric shock machine.
31 | In Orenburg police suspect of forcing false accusation of witnesses.
Click here to view a translation of the entire 2009 Russian police corruption timeline.
Here is the latest: russianpolicebrutality.blogspot.com. My wife's father was beaten into a stoke/coma. He died on Saturday.
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