Institutionalization of political

prisoners in contemporary Russia

Konstantin P. Kokarev
Department of poitical science, INION RAN
Development of Russian Law-VII: Law-Making and Law-Breaking in the
Context of Securitization and Neo-conservatism, 20 21 October 2014,
University of Helsinki

Konstantin P. Kokarev, INION RAN

20 October 2014

PP as a legal and political

issue 1

Subjects: laws, by-laws,

legal practices, criminal
and administrative cases.
Goals: understanding of
current process and
looking into the future of
judicial system and it's
influence on society.

Konstantin P. Kokarev, INION RAN

Subjects: cases of political

prosecution; public
opinion; attitudes of
political and civic groups.
Goals: understanding of
political process and role
of political prosecution in it
and looking into the future
of contentious politics and
evolution of political
system.

20 October 2014

PP as a legal and political

issue 2

This two approaches are

complementary. Inside of
discipline they are selfsufficient, but if we want to
predict something we
need them both.
Legal analysis of political
prosecution in Russia is a
very developed field
because many legal
professionals work with
political cases.

Konstantin P. Kokarev, INION RAN

Political analysis of political

prosecution is less
developed because almost
nothing stimulates this study.
In many scholars who deal
with this topic are
themselves involved in
political activities and also
have personal attitudes on
the issue (or it's literature
from system's of justice
organizations on
extremism.

20 October 2014

Institutionalization of PP 1

There are different views

on institutionalization:
phenomenological
sociology focuses on
routinisation and
legitimation; organizational
approaches focuses on
development of institutions
and institutional fields.
Contemporary Russia
shows signs of both
approaches.

Konstantin P. Kokarev, INION RAN

Many years mass polls

show that most of citizens
believe that there are
some PP in Russia
(LevadaCenter).
Mass media (commercial
and activists') and
interviews of activists
show that PP is an
important issue for
politically active part of
Russian society.
20 October 2014

Institutionalization of PP 2

Groups have brochures or

web-pages on the topic of
criminal and administrative
prosecution, some of them
make lectures on this
topic.
Organizations that are
most under the threat
have created there own
groups to defend their
members.

Konstantin P. Kokarev, INION RAN

Some groups have

developed contacts with
human right activists.
State Duma, regional
legislative bodies, and
executive organs have
developed system of laws
and by-laws that give the
authorities opportunities
for overwhelming control
over activists' actions.

20 October 2014

List of groups defending PP

Anarchist black cross (left,

antifascist, antiauthoritarian);

Direct help (antifascist);

ROD: Russian (ethnic) rights

defenders (non-extreme right);
Russian verdict (non-extreme
right);

Rosusnik (mostly liberal);

Rus sidyaschaya (liberal);

Public verdict (PP is not the

main interest);

Konstantin P. Kokarev, INION RAN

Memorial human rights center

(human rights activists);

Russian public control (nonextreme right);

OVD-Info (media resource).

Unity of prisoners (national

Bolsheviks);

League of solidarity with

political prisoners (liberal);
Za volyu (all groups);
Etc less well-known and
regular functioning.
20 October 2014

Institutionalization of PP 3

Repressive legislation is
supplemented with regular
legal abuse by different
law enforcement agencies.

Political lawsuits are rarely

seen by general public
and activists as fair.
System for political
prosecution is elaborated
and it operates on regular
basis.

Konstantin P. Kokarev, INION RAN

There is a debate about

the meaning of term PP
and it last for years. We
can talk about legal,
human rights and political
(left and right) approaches
to PP.
Different groups have
created and update
regularly list of PP and
oppressed persons.

20 October 2014

Institutionalization of PP 4

Government officials have

made some statements on
PP topic declaring that in
contemporary Russia
there in no such
phenomena.

Konstantin P. Kokarev, INION RAN

We see all aspects of

institutionalization:
organizations within
institutional field (laws, bylaws, courts and law
enforcement agencies,
groups of defenders) that
see each other and act
strategically; knowledge
about PP became a
common sense for
activists and PP are visible
for general public.
20 October 2014

PP: elaboration of common

meanings 1

Depending on professional
position and political
ideology we can
differentiate some
definitions of PP. We will
call them legal, human
rights, liberal, left, and
right position.
All groups are on common
ground at one point: in
Russia there are political
lawsuits and prosecution.

Konstantin P. Kokarev, INION RAN

BUT. Different groups

have dissimilar conception
of political: what we should
see as a political action
and what we should not
(e.g. beating, burning).
BUT. Different groups
have unalike goals: legal
and human rights groups
seek justice political
groups are trying to
defend their members.
20 October 2014

PP: elaboration of common

meanings 2

Common meanings does

not suppose common
grounds or goal: we see
acknowledgment of
others PP, but no
collective action to defend
them.
There is no general list of
PP: every group develop
their own focusing on it's
members and ideological
allies.

Konstantin P. Kokarev, INION RAN

During mass
demonstration (Bolotnaya
case) anarchist never
shouted names of
nationalist and vise versa;
many columns have
shouted names of nonBolotnaya PP.
There are two exceptions:
Bolotnaya case and group
Za volu: with limitation
both.
20 October 2014

PP: elaboration of common

meanings 3

Cooperation between
political enemies in case
of PP is almost absent
because reputational costs
of the cooperation is
higher than possible gains
(all groups compete not
only with groups with other
ideologies, but with similar
views). Defending of PP is
a part of contentious
politics.

Konstantin P. Kokarev, INION RAN

Political parties and

journalists could be a
source of common
meanings. But PP as a
topic is not used by parties
(except Communist party
but they sound like old
story about oppression of
workers). PP as a theme
is excluded from TV and
lives almost only in WWW.

20 October 2014

PP: elaboration of common

meanings 4

Cooperation between
political groups is
complicated because a
lack of compromise culture
and lack of faith in
success.
Cooperation between
political and legal
communities is
complicated because of
lack of faith in legal
methods.

Konstantin P. Kokarev, INION RAN

There is a problem of
violent actions, property
rights and hate speech.
Extreme groups from the
left and from the right
regularly have cases of
political prosecution for
these reasons. Due to fact
that human rights
defenders prefer not to
deal with this cases right
groups created their own
human rights defenders.
20 October 2014

PP and activists' attitudes to

system of justice 1

At the end of the first

decade (when first cases
of mass political
prosecution happened)
activist began some kind
of legal enlightenment. But
after Khimki case, Pussy
Riot and Bolotnaya case
believe in legal methods
decreased. Political
methods (international
compaigns, meetings)start
to look more effective.

Konstantin P. Kokarev, INION RAN

Legal system is seen as a

corrupt and highly
ineffective. Most activists
told about a devolution of
courts, law enforcement
agencies and political
police.
Creation of center for
combating extremism is
seen as on of the main
steps to creation an
oppression mechanism.
20 October 2014

PP and activists' attitudes to

system of justice 2

Almost all activist does not

see any internal oppressive
logic in legal institutions
itself. They all talked about
orders from executive
officials.
That is why political groups
do not held campaigns for
reform of legal institutions
(with week exclusion of
campaign against
mentovskoi bespredel
Sokolniki case).

Konstantin P. Kokarev, INION RAN

Political groups see one

solution for all judicial
problemsreplacement of
officials and paradigm shift
(one solutionrevolution
as it is said at anarchist
meetings).
No one representative of
political group (I talked to)
have any plans for reform.
Usually they have told that it
is unnecessary. We will
decide after
20 October 2014

PP and activists' attitudes to

system of justice 3

Political activist feeling

overwhelmed by system of
justice do not want to
develop a cooperative
strategy of PP defense.
Some reasons are: a) lack of
financial, time and human
resources; b) lack of support
from popular mass media
(no TV); c) threat of been
prosecuted themselves.

Konstantin P. Kokarev, INION RAN

All activists groups face the

lack of new ideas and
techniques of promotion
because system of justice
becomes more and more
oppressive too quick.
That is why activists mostly
rely on informal structures
that is hard to lock in legal
field.
This structures are easy to
reproduce but they are
unsustainable.
20 October 2014

Thank you!
E-mail: konstantin.kokarev@gmail.com
Twitter: konst_kokarev

Konstantin P. Kokarev, INION RAN

20 October 2014