Syndicate: Moscow, barricade, 23 May

[Oleg Kireev <radek@glasnet.ru>]

			RADEK theory. art. politics
		    The Non-Governmental Control Comission

	               	    action - happening
        	    Barricade on Bolshaya Nikitskaya Street
	May, 23, 17.00: the action is over, a blocking of the street  150 meters
from the Kremlin, which continued for two hours and was realized by more
than two hundred artists, intellectuals and students. It was a protest
against the increasing political and cultural reaction, which is manifest in
the total breakdown of parliamentary democracy, society's unability to
counteract the govenmantal dictatorship, the distribution of nationalist
ideology (erecting of official monuments, business-centers, the introduction
of repressive laws, ignoring the protests of miners, teachers etc.)
     The action was the first examination of  non-traditional political
technologies in russian conditions. It's participants trust neither the
existing power, nor the possibilities of the representative democracy. The
basic idea of the participants is that evey citizen is to have his own voice
and express his own will, regardless of "realism" and "objectivity" (the
evening before, the organizers received a message from Daniel Cohn-Bendit,
the leader of the Paris May 68 demonstrations and the present Europarliament
Deputy). According to the main slogan of the Parisian revolution of 1968:
"Let's be realists * Let's demand the impossible", the initiative goup
demanded: 
	*  a monthly payment of $ 1 200 for every participant of the action;
	*  free use of drugs for every participant of the action;
	* the right to free and uninhibited travel for every participant of the
action .
	During the action the participants spontaneously proclaimed the new slogans
concerning the change of contemporary russian order of robbery capitalism.
At the same time, the traditional slogans of the parisian revolution were
risen: "It's prohibited to prohibit!", "All the power * to the
imagination!", "Let's be  realists *  let's demand the impossible".
	Approximately at 16.30 the action's participants started the march to
Kremlin, shouting "We're victorious!" .10 minutes after its beginning the
militia, which stood almost passive till this moment, blocked the
participants' way and arrested six organizers and the activists, using
extremely violent methods.
	17.30: The non-arrested participants congregated near the 83rd militia
department, where, as the militiamen were saying, the arrested were taken.
The militia in the office said that all the arrested had already been
transferred from there to an unknown location. Near by the militia
department the activists met the Central Area Head Prefect A.S.Musykantsky,
who refused to help them or the sympathisers in any way, because the
barricade action prevented him to get to his daughter's birthday in time. He
called the whole action "petty hooliganism". 
	19.00 The group of non-arrested participants managed to contact 83th, 11th
and 43d Moscow departments of militia. According to the latest information,
the editor-in-chief of "RADEK" magazine Anatoly Osmolovsky and writer Dmitii
Pimenov were taken to the Narcotics Testing Centre. The fate of the others
in custody is still unknown. We don't exclude the possibility that the
authorities will try to start a criminal case.
	May, 24, 01.00: In the evening, reports about the action wre broadcast on
almost all TV channels and radio. We can say, the journalists took the side
of the power, and used the common strategy of downgrading the scandal. The
reports were made in a slighting and ironical tone. The participants never
expected that the bourgois media, which belong to the big
financial-industrial companies, would join in their demands, and are
absolutely satisfied with the widesread distribution of information on the
events.
	The group of non-arrested organizers learned, that the editor-in-chief of
"RADEK" magazine A.Osmolovsky and writer D.Pimenov are in the 11th, artist
Avdei Ter-Oganyan and activist Dmitrii Model in 122nd, writer M.Demskaya and
a participant by name Misha are in the 88th Moscow departments of the
militia. An activist David Ter-Oganyan was released approximately at 21.00.
In the General Prosecution office we found out that the case of the arrested
was already being considered. A.Osmolovsky said that pobably they will be
held in custody for 48 hours. D.Pimenov told the journalists who came that
the militia jeered at him and refused to call for the ambulance in spite of
his multiple complaints. After the visit of journalists the ambulance was
called (22.29) and took Pimenov to Botkinskaya hospital with  a kidney
disorder and "alcohol intoxication". The jounalists (the staff of Russian
central TV and an american newspaper) can witness that they didn't notice
any signs of alcohol intoxication (and couldn't notice, because he was
unable to drink anything after the arrest, for five hours already), which
means: the infomation is untrue or he was violently forced to drink in the
militia department. In conversation with the jounalists the vice-director of
the area's Department of the Internal Affairs falsely claimed that the
ambulance was called before their coming, and stated, that the arrested were
drug-crazed. He also said, they have no rights, except those to eat and
drink and they are well fed in the militia station.
	We didn't expect any other behaviour from the russian cops, but we must
inform about every their crime, raise the finger, leave nothing in the
shadow. We didn't expect anything else from the authorities, just feared
more agressive action from them, more understanding of the situation. We
count the events of the previous day a real and important victory. Now we're
definitely sure, we've chosen the right way to act.
	P.S. We have to add, that under the violent actions of power we radicalize
our demands. Now we demand the monthly payment in size of not $ 1 200, but $
500 000 . The demands connected with the legalization of drugs and free
travel all over the world, for all the action's participants stay the same.
	May, 24, 10.30: At the moment Anatoly Osmolovsky, Maria Demskaya, Dmitrii
Pimenov, Dmitrii Model, Avdei Ter-Oganyan and an unknown anachist Misha by
name, are all still in custody. Despite the fact that all the militia
departments rudely reject to give any information, we found out the trial
will take place tomorrow, at May 25, 9.00, in the court house of
Krasnopresnenskaya area, by address: Zoologicheskaya street, 20. The
press-conference of the oganizers will take place at Tuesday, 26, 14.00, in
XL-Gallery, Bolshaya Sadovaya, 6.

To get more information call: 137 71 31, 
pager 234 96 96, ц│b47383, e-mail: radek@glasnet.ru