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Viewing cable 09STPETERSBURG117, ST. PETERSBURG AUTHORITIES CONTINUE HARASSMENT OF OPPONENTS

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Reference ID Created Released Classification Origin
09STPETERSBURG117 2009-09-03 11:13 2011-08-24 01:00 UNCLASSIFIED Consulate St Petersburg
R 031113Z SEP 09
FM AMCONSUL ST PETERSBURG
TO SECSTATE WASHDC 2835
INFO AMEMBASSY MOSCOW 
AMCONSUL ST PETERSBURG 
AMCONSUL VLADIVOSTOK 
AMCONSUL YEKATERINBURG 
EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
UNCLAS ST PETERSBURG 000117 
 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: RS PHUM
SUBJECT: ST. PETERSBURG AUTHORITIES CONTINUE HARASSMENT OF OPPONENTS 
 
1. (SBU) Summary.  The St. Petersburg police recently conducted 
a raid, with questionable justification, on the offices of a 
local offshoot of the Communist Party which had been vocally 
criticizing the city government.  Separately, the city 
authorities denied permission to civil rights activists to hold 
a rally commemorating the failure of the 1991 Soviet-hardliner 
coup, citing dubious maintenance and reconstruction requirements 
at the proposed rally site.  These incidents are just the latest 
in a series of actions reflecting a broader trend of government 
harassment of perceived opponents.  End Summary. 
 
--------------------------------------------- ------ 
Police Raid Offices of Communist Offshoot Organization 
--------------------------------------------- ------ 
 
2. (SBU) The Movement of Communists of St. Petersburg and 
Leningrad Oblast (KPLO) is a far left-wing St. Petersburg-based 
political organization distinct from the Communist Party (KPRF). 
 Unlike the KPRF, the KPLO does not cooperate with the federal 
and regional governments, and occasionally participates in 
opposition rallies.  Recently, KPLO members launched a campaign 
to protect the Lenin monument located in front of the Finland 
Railway Station which had been vandalized earlier this year. 
The KPLO fears the city government is more likely to dismantle 
the monument than restore it. 
 
3. (SBU) On August 18, according to local press accounts, the 
St. Petersburg police raided the offices of local attorney Yuriy 
Savin, where the KPLO rents office space.  Media reported that 
the raid ended during the early hours of August 19, and that the 
action had been initiated by the St. Petersburg branch of the 
Investigative Committee of the General Prosecutor's Office. 
 
4. (SBU) Two KPLO computers were seized, along with the party's 
official seal and numerous documents.  These documents included 
membership data and various papers prepared by KPLO candidates 
for the upcoming municipal elections in Leningrad Oblast that 
will be held in October.  Press reports the search was 
officially explained as supporting a criminal investigation into 
a real estate deal arranged by Savin's firm.  However, KPLO 
Leader Sergey Malinkovich is highly skeptical of the official 
explanation.  Malinkovich has asserted through the media that 
the police had no legal right to search KPLO's section of the 
office building, and claims that the raid was politically 
motivated. 
 
--------------------------------------------- ------ 
City Prevents Rally to Commemorate 1991 Coup Defeat 
--------------------------------------------- ------ 
 
5. (SBU) August 21 marked the 18th anniversary of the failed 
1991 putsch.  Popular resistance to the putsch in St. Petersburg 
centered around St. Isaac's square, located in the very heart of 
the city.  Various political and civil activists hoped to 
celebrate the victory of pro-democracy forces and on August 10 
they applied for permission to hold their commemorative rally at 
the same St. Isaac's square.  However, the city administration 
denied permission for the rally based on the purported need to 
conduct maintenance work on the site.  As an alternative, the 
city government offered a venue in a park far away from the city 
center - a location not associated with the 1991 events. 
 
6. (SBU) The organizers, one of whom is a consulate contact and 
recently met with Poloff, subsequently filed a lawsuit 
challenging the government's refusal.  On August 19, the local 
district court ruled to uphold the government's decision.  With 
that ruling, the organizers then decided to hold a commemoration 
event within the limits of what they were permitted to do by the 
government by altering the format of their event such that it 
became a "meeting of witnesses of the 1991 events," rather than 
an official commemorative ceremony. 
 
7 (SBU) About 50 people attended the truncated gathering, which 
was almost indistinguishable from everyday activity on the 
square since no one brought any banners, posters or loudspeakers 
- all of which were prohibited in accordance with the revised 
format of the gathering.  The police were present during the 
small rally, and ordered the group to disperse on several 
occasions.  No participant was arrested or detained.  The media 
reported that the maintenance work cited by the government as 
the reason the rally could not be held at the site consisted of 
several construction workers idly standing around the site. 
 
8. (SBU) Comment.  The police raid on the communist offices is 
reminiscent of their raid on the St. Petersburg Memorial 
headquarters in December, 2008 - both raids were explained by 
the government based on prosaic reasons.  However, the main 
drive of the raid appears likely instead to have been an attempt 
to harass and scrutinize an organization whose politics 
increasingly challenge the government.  Likewise, the denial of 
a demonstration permit to the activists demonstrates the 
government's general intolerance of  dissent and the public 
expression of views it considers to be potentially disruptive. 
End comment. 
 
 
GWALTNEY