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NewTimes.ru: Slaves of a Special Police Unit

Newtimes.ru: There is an off-optimum situation in a Special Police Unit (SPU) of the Ministry of Interior Department in Moscow City. A revolt is impending in the unit, which main responsibility is to control mass riots. Revelatory letters have already come to the Presidential Administration and General Prosecutor Office. The second battalion soldiers visited editorial office and told about corruption in police authorities and their business called “public security” as well as how they break up “marches of inconsistent people”.

The SPU soldiers are not going to keep silence any longer. There is their story reported to “The New Times”:

"We don’t need Moscow residents, as they ask too many questions. We need nonresidents, loyal and dull".

Special Police Unit (SPU) was established for dangerous assignments in urban conditions, for seizure and liquidation of extremely dangerous criminals. But criminals’ seizure operations passed away with the 90th years. Prior responsibilities of the soldiers have been changed. How? There are some examples. At the end of last year, Dmitry Medvedev decided to provide an unofficial lunch for a high level guest in a restaurant near the local central department store. That lunch made us working four days at the restaurant. The SPU posted downstairs and Federal Security Service (FSS) - on the roof. The lunch was shown on TV, except our four “Ural” vehicles parked nearby. That time we cursed that lunch. But the President was glad. We saw him close like this wall. We stood on other side of the road. But VIP’s visits operations are yet not often. Three our details work permanently at the Kremlin, one – on the square at Moscow mayor office on 13, Tverskaja Street. One detail is always on stand-by for emergency. One patrol team is on duty on Manezh Square. If a person violated some rule, committed minor hooliganism or crime, he should have been detained and delivered to the local Ministry of Interior Department for procedure. But if a person did nothing, what would be the procedure? But one soldier must detain three persons during his shift! If there are no detainees, one must make false but good looking report to the Ministry of Interior Department. As a result, many homeless persons are detained for minor hooliganism in the Ministry of Interior Department around 12 times a week. No word promising to cancel statistic system of “figures” changes the situation. In 2008, Moscow SPU allegedly detained and fined about 40 thousand persons. This is a population of small provincial town! In the beginning of 2009, during a selection meeting they instructed us: “This year you must to process not less then 40 thousand persons”. In 10 years, we will process half Moscow! If one doesn’t fulfill the plan, refuses to falsify statistics, he loses part of his salary. Our battalion commander Colonel of Police Sergey Yevtikov says: “If you don’t detain, you will not receive full salary”. The SPU soldier’s salary is 15–16 thousand rubles, plus additional payment of 10 thousand rubles from Moscow Mayor. And just this additional payment is not paid. 26 thousand rubles is pretty good money for nonresidents, except Moscow residents, which are very little in the unit. Yet in 2005, Colonel of Police Yevtikov said: “Wee don’t need Moscow residents, as they ask too many questions. We need nonresidents, loyal and dull". Nonresidents are more dutiful; they live in dormitory, so depend on chiefs and will never ask extra questions.

The colonel is right when considers that it’s easier to command dulls. And does anybody need to be too smart to operate rubber baton? Do we need to deactivate a bomb or seize terrorists? There are two thousand SPU soldiers in Moscow with main responsibility to operate batons. French officers visit us to learn our experience as they cannot break up their Arabians in Paris like we do with our citizens. And they wonder why we need so many soldiers as two thousand enough for a whole military unit. And yet we have outside units under Moscow responsibility: Podol SPU and Schelkov SPU, controlled personally by the Minister of Interior.

"Break up this market. You are fully authorized"

Our commander and his deputies so discredit themselves as “criminals inside police” that one of us told Colonel of Police Yevtikov: “You do not deserve colonel rank”. In 2008, the Oversight Police Department received a complaint about 9 police officers with false diplomas. It was possible to buy a Sports School diploma for 22 thousand rubles paid to the battalion commander. In order to occupy a position of a company commander one had to pay 5 thousand US dollars. The salary of those who paid, as they stated, increased in 4 times from 25 to 100 thousand rubles.

The battalion became a business company. The conflict with the chiefs became open when our entire platoon refused to break up the local residents’ meeting at commercial center “Moscow”, used by traders from closed “Cherkizovskiy” Market. SPU deployment on assignment to the market was paid. When we arrived, a plainclothes person told us: “I’m a chief of security service. Now the local residents are coming to protest against the market closure. Your task is to break their posters, do not touch women and children, but to pull in men to our location”. As we didn’t have any official document, order or authorization, we all asked: “What are you? Are you our chief? Where are the relevant documents?” Normally when we attend such meetings we are instructed: “Unauthorized meeting. Number of persons reported”. But this time we had not been instructed. Our team leader Senior Lieutenant of Police Andrey Cheklanov began calling to his chiefs. The local police station commander was surprised and told: “I even didn’t know that we had SPU in our area”. Then the local prosecutor officers arrived and asked us: “What are you doing here?” We were redeployed outside the market. All our chiefs arrived. They talked in a very bad language and Colonel of Police Yevtikov took over the police certificate from our team leader next day, while telling him: “You deprive us so good money, fool”. Our team leader Senior Lieutenant was dismissed from police.

We learnt that SPU details had already been working at the market many times. Money was paid by the market administration not once. But that day it was our turn to work at the market. And we didn’t have young and dull soldiers. The youngest soldiers have already completed three years of service and six others have been after their retirement term. In SPU 13 years are enough to get pension on retirement. That means we are experienced, know ourselves what to do, what documents we need when on assignment; and we don’t want to get in trouble. There was one story after massacre at “Petrovsk-Razumovskiy” Market. In 2008, there was a conflict between the regional administration and commercial interests, when Colonel of Police Yevtikov ordered: “Break up this market. You are fully authorized”. The SPU soldiers were pleased to break up the market, but there was no order to detain anybody. After that the concurrent sides agreed, and one SPU soldier was under criminal investigation then. Our Colonel told him: “Resign! You are thief, and I don’t need a thief”. - But he fulfilled his order!

"We secure one Georgian “thief in law”:
he likes, that in the 90th years the local SPU and Department of Organized Crime (DOC) persecuted him, and now they secure him"

What is the SPU services pricelist? How much are theirs services?

It is individual in every case. It depends on how you manage to agree. Every businessman can make an agreement with battalion commander Yevtikov, a company commander or even a soldier, who can report: “I agreed to secure a “Shaurma” food company. Can you authorize? I will pay 2 thousand rubles a day”. One our soldier secured a “Shaurma” food company at a restaurant in Izmajlovo Area. But this is miscellaneous. For example, our battalion secures eight cottages on “Rublevskoye” Highway, a factory in “Filja” Area, one Georgian “thief in law” office on Arbat Street. Today he is a businessman, who likes, that in the 90th years the local SPU and Department of Organized Crime (DOC) persecuted him, and now they secure him. Two jeep vehicles escort him. He makes an agreement directly with our colonel and pays him 12 thousand rubles for one soldier, which receives 1500 rubles from this money. Soldiers used even official weapon on these assignments before. But if one used his weapon, what would be a legal ground? Thus, the official weapon was not allowed any longer. Then the soldiers started changing the color of their uniform from blue to black for these assignments, but still they use distinguished chevrons of “SPU”. In order to cover themselves the police chiefs took reports from every soldier: “We have been instructed not to take part in business activity”; and soldiers sign their dismissal reports (not dated), which are kept in Colonel Yevtikov’s safe box. If case of an incident, a soldier is dismissed post factum allowing his chiefs to avoid responsibility for a former SPU member.

Just recently, one businessman reached Minister of Interior named Nurgaliev showing him pictures of those, who attacked his office. The second battalion soldiers are on the pictures. The Minister assigned an internal check, but that was the end. Who will stop profitable business? One “Gazel” make vehicle of Moscow SPU costs 50 thousand rubles for one commercial raid. Normal procedure is simple: break in, break the doors, and remove all the persons outside. Computers or equipment is either removed or stolen by employees themselves. Afterwards keep the seized office until new owner arrival. We used to seize one factory in “Filja-Davydkovo” Area, and secured it from September to February, until all property issues were solved.

They do not ask questions but award for precise work on assignment. Two deputies of Yevtikov were promoted to Lieutenant-Colonel ranks ahead of time. What was the reason? One of them Lieutenant-Colonel of Police named Ivanov collects money from prostitutes in “Himki” Area on the square of three train stations. All these spots are controlled by Moscow SPU. Sometimes they organize unpaid “subbotniks”, when girls serve officers in their offices for free. All prostitutes’ apartments are controlled by Moscow SPU in “Strogin” Area. There is our battalion base there, and a detail can attend the scene, if prostitutes’ visitors are violent or refuse to pay.

SPU provides traffic escort. Our soldiers escorted baggage wagons to Vladivostok City. When “Cherkizovskiy” Market was closed, we escorted wagons to “Moscow” commercial centre. The SPU escort of one wagon cost 100 thousand rubles. We didn’t destroy commercial goods, and didn’t detain or persecute anybody. At the first day of our work, Federal Migration Service officers requested us “to provide 30 illegal migrants for their reports”. And it was easy, as we had about 1500 illegal migrants. We were surprised to hear Vladimir Putin saying about cleaning operation in “Cherkizovskiy” Market. There was no cleaning operation and nobody destroyed infringing goods.

"If you see posters with bad words about the Ministry of Interior, Medvedev, Putin, break them immediately”

Why Colonel Yevtikov was not dismissed based on all signals from below? Because he told Deputy Minister of Interior named Mikhail Suhodolskiy, responsible for SPU: “We are ready for ANY assignment coming from you”. That’s why he has a good reputation. That’s why our second battalion breaks up “marches of inconsistent people”, “Russian marches”, pensioners’ demonstrations. Remind to yourself about “March of inconsistent people” in December 2008, when different soviet war veterans came to “Novopushkinskiy” Square. We made a line, broke them apart, but tried not to detain them. But our battalion commander did it as he broke a hand of one 80 years old veteran (Great Patriotic War veteran, head of Union of soviet officers in rank of Lieutenant-General named Aleksey Fomin was detained); and ambulance was even called for his medical evacuation. Supervisors named Haustov and Kozlov like him for that. He is “out of mind” according to the SPU staff. One veteran could not get into a vehicle for detainees, as he moved very hard. Four soldiers “loaded” him into the vehicle and delivered him to police station. "If you see posters with bad words about the Ministry of Interior, Medvedev, Putin, break them immediately”. They detain oppositionist named Limonov everywhere. There is unofficial order to detain him as soon as he is available. Afterwards investigators think how to prosecute him. We have a special “board of honor”, where famous persons named Limonov, Kasparov and Kasjanov are posted. We have regular meetings regarding information of the situation in the country. There is a big room in our basement. The chiefs gather and instruct us that all “marches of inconsistent people”, “Russian marches”, and “gay parades” are sponsored by foreign special services. The situation in the country is bad and American special services want to break up our state, so they use “inconsistent people” or “gays” to discredit Moscow. In 2008, we worked in enhanced regime at each underground metro station during 15 days. Our platoon was always responsible to secure the building of Federal Security Service (FSB). They were afraid that “gays” would come particularly there. They are afraid of everything, but if you watch First or Second TV channel, you hear that everything is good in the country.

Before every our assigned deployment we receive instructions about political parties. In 2005, when we broke up meetings against monetary reform of social privileges, we thought also about ourselves: “We also have free public transportation as privilege”. On 31 December 2009, when oppositionist Limonov brought his people to Triumph Square, we were assigned to break them up. No soldier would think if it is a participant of the meeting or an occasional passer-by. We detained everybody. On 31 December 2009, there were many passers-by and tourists, which were going to Red Square. We detained one youth with his girl, which came from Voronezh City for pleasure. Colonel Yevtikov personally explained them what they violated for long time, but they didn’t understand. In order to break up “marches of inconsistent people” they usually assign 300-400 soldiers plus surveillance staff (wee call them “parasites”). They all are officers wearing plain clothes, walking inside a crowd for surveillance.

The Kremlin authorities are afraid of people uprisings, “marches of inconsistent people”. Even famous chess champion Garry Kasparov was detained. When we detained oppositionist Nemtsov, he shouted and threatened to prosecute us. But Kasparov’s detention made us fun as he was calm, while Nemtsov threatened us. We also “removed” oppositionist Kasjanov. Don’t mention that even when a German reporter got his nose broken, nobody was responsible. We have orders regarding reporters not to allow them to video record. Before meetings the battalion commander instructs us: “If you see reporters, remove them accurately”. It is only now we remove them accurately, but before it was different… One time, when a reporter recorded good material, one plainclothes officer intentionally hit him in order to make his camera fall down and be broken. Another reporter got his head broken, while getting into “Ural” vehicle. Was anybody punished? There was no single case of punishment of any staff member.

We hopped that new chief of the Ministry of Interior Department in Moscow City would change the situation. But former chief named Pronin managed at least to listen to soldiers, while new chief strongly covers officers. Those of us, who were dismissed, will try to restore their positions through court trial. But there is a problem: our soldiers secure Moscow court judges and our Colonel Yevtikov have visited them and requested: “You would receive complaint of our four soldiers. They are bad persons. You should not restore their positions”.

Translated by dymovskiy.name command.

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