Partisans of Primorye

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The partisans of Primorye ( Russian Приморские партизаны ), also called police-hunters , Primorye gang or gang of Primorye partisans and similar [a], was a group of young people from the Primorye region in Russia who waged a guerrilla war against the Russian police in 2009/2010 and against the corruption and brutality in their ranks. The group was forcibly broken up.

The judicial processing of the events of 2009/2010, which began in 2012 due to some problems with the formation of the jury panel, lasted until 2018. After the first judgment in 2014, following appeals by the defendants and the public prosecutor's office, there were several follow-up hearings in which the Judgments were partly overturned, reduced or then confirmed again.

Name of the group

The term " partisans ", as the group called itself, can also be found in some Russian sources. Especially when it comes to Kremlin-friendly sources, other terms are also used (such as “ gang ” in some variations, etc.) to emphasize the negative or “harmful” character of the group. The term partisan in Russian is closely related to the Soviet partisan groups in World War II who fought alongside the Red Army against Nazi Germany - basically for a good cause. The authorities therefore tried to defend themselves against the term "partisans" as a name for the group.

English-speaking mass media used both the term “partisans” and “guerrilla”.

Background, story

The young men came from the Kirovsky urban-type settlement in the Primorye region of Russia. Andrei Suchorada, who was later characterized by his former headmistress as a “leader with a great influence on his friends” Vladimir Ilyutikov and Maxim Kirillow, admired Adolf Hitler as a teenager and developed a fascination for fascist atrocities. In 2004 he became a member of the National Bolshevik Party of Russia , which was banned the following year and for which he took part in several political actions. According to reports from the tabloid Moskovsky Komsomolets and the state-owned news portal Gazeta.Ru , he was part of a group of skinheads who beat a Chinese man in Vladivostok in July 2006 and stole his mobile phone.

Over a long period of time, Alexander Kowtun, Andrei Suchorada and their friends had negative experiences with the Russian police, whose actions they described as brutal and degrading. Ilyutikov's father was killed by the police under unknown circumstances. They decided to use force to defend themselves against police violence . In the following actions, a traffic policeman was shot dead, a police station was ambushed and a police officer was stabbed to death. In September 2009 they are said to have killed four field workers in the village itself. The police initiated a large-scale manhunt. Finally, the group arrested them on June 11, 2010 near the Chinese border in Ussuriysk . Two of them shot themselves during the arrest (Suchorada, Sladkich) [b], two surrendered (Kovtun, Ilyutikov), two were arrested before this attack (Kirillow, Savchenko).

Political scientists Jan Holzer , Martin Laryš and Miroslav Mareš (* 1974) rate the case as a borderline case with regard to a possible right-wing extremist background to the acts: Some of the “partisans” had connections to militant nationalism and at least two of them had already been there had been charged with racist attacks, but radical nationalism was not the main driver for their attacks on police officers. Regardless of this, nationalists would later have “appropriated” their deeds and created a cult around them as “white heroes”, within the framework of which the state and its repressive apparatus provided classic images of the enemy .

Processes

This “guerrilla war against the Russian police and state power”, according to the official version, was the subject of several judicial hearings.

Process 2012/2014

After there had been problems with the formation of the jury panel (it was difficult to find people for the panel), the trial of the "partisans" before the court in Primorye did not begin until 2012. On February 4, 2014, the jury announced that they would found the accused guilty of the crimes they were accused of (including multiple murders, robberies, car thefts, etc.); all of the accused were found to be members of a gang and found guilty. The jury found Wadim Kowtun's membership in the gang unproven, but found him guilty of helping gang members in some cases. On April 28, 2014, the court followed this judgment and sentenced Alexander Kovtun, Vladimir Ilyutikov and Alexei Nikitin to life imprisonment in a prison camp , Roman Savchenko to 25 years in prison and Maxim Kirillow to 23 years, and Vadim Kovtun to 8 years and 2 months in prison.

At the beginning of the hearing it became known that a total of three files had "allegedly disappeared" from the trial files. It contained data from the preliminary investigation between June 21 and July 12, 2012, with a list of police officers who had taken bribes.

Appointment 2015

On May 21, 2015, the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation reviewed an appeal by the defendants. The sentences of Alexander Kovtun and Ilyutikov were reduced from life to 25 and 24 years respectively, that of Savchenko from 25 to 24 years and that of Kirillow from 23 to 19 years. The sentences against Nikitin and Vadim Kovtun have been overturned. However, the murder of four people in the village of Kirowski in September 2009 was to be tried later.

Process 2016

The district court in Primorye again dealt with the murder of four people in 2009 and came to the judgment on July 20, 2016 that these acts could not be proven. Alexei Nikitin and Vadim Kovtun were released (however, the rest of the group remained in custody as they were convicted of other offenses).

Appointment 2016/2018

The public prosecutor of the Primorye Territory appealed against the acquittal. On December 26, 2016, the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation overturned the judgment and sent the case to the Primorsky Regional Court for reconsideration. The decision in this appeal was issued on April 10, 2018 - all defendants were again found guilty and sentenced to the following sentences: Alexander Kovtun to 25 years, Nikitin to 23.5 years, M. Kirillov to 21.5 years, V. Ilyutikov to 25 years and Wadim Kowtun to eight years.

Encouragement in the population

While law enforcement agencies, such as the head of the internal affairs department in Primorye, Andrei Nikolaev, warned against romanticizing the image of partisans (which "can be extremely dangerous"), the group found some popular sympathy, especially in the capital Moscow . The radio broadcaster Echo Moscow (Эхо Москвы) reported that in the past it was rated as somewhat independent of the Kremlin that many people in the Russian Far East supported the group's goals - according to a survey by the broadcaster, 60 to 75 percent of listeners sympathized with the “young Robin Hoods ”and were ready to offer them help.

An investigation by the Levada Center - the largest independent opinion polling institute - found in June 2010 that a majority of 52% of Russians condemned the group's acts, 37% thought the perpetrators were "criminals and bandits" and 34% were people who had been driven to their deeds by police arbitrariness; only 22% openly expressed sympathy. In Moscow, on the other hand, the situation was reversed: only 9% of those questioned condemned the attackers, 46% expressed sympathy. Lev Gudkov , director of the Levada Center, attributed the great differences between the capital and the rest of the country to the fact that the police in Moscow are more brutal than elsewhere and also prefer to harass two groups of people, which are mainly in Moscow: immigrants and young people with money.

For a majority of 55% of Russians, the case showed the “extremely negative attitude of the Russian population towards the police in general”. When asked who a normal citizen of Russia should be more afraid of, the police or such "people's avengers" ("народные мстители"), 37% cited such "people's avengers" as a greater threat, 34% the police and 29% found them Difficult to answer question.

In the Duma , the chairman of the far-right Liberal Democratic Party of Russia, Vladimir Zhirinovsky , stood up for the “partisans” during the plenary session on July 7, 2010 and defended their campaign of revenge as “right”, for which he was whistled by numerous other MPs.

Reception in art

The story of the “Partisans of Primorye” prompted the Czech artist and painter Josef Žáček (* 1951) to deal with their fate. Žáček already dealt with the problem of “ terrorism ” from the point of view of an artist in 1993 in his cycle “Searching in Lost Space” with portraits of some members of the Red Army Faction (RAF). In 2011 he reflected on the history of the Primorsky Partisans and created the series “No Comment”, which he showed at the DOX - Center for Contemporary Art in Prague . As in his portraits of the RAF members, Žáček tried to show the radical tendencies against the abuse of power by totalitarian regimes without showing solidarity with the participants or their actions.

Members

The group of Partisans of Primorye includes a total of six people:

  • Alexander Kovtun ( Александр Ковтун ), born on August 30, 1989, leader of the group
  • Andrei Suchorada ( Андрей Сухорада ), born on July 25, 1987, shot himself on June 11, 2010 [b]; former member of the National Bolshevik Party of Russia, which was banned in 2005
  • Alexander Sladkich ( Александр Сладких ), born on September 18, 1989, shot himself on June 11, 2010 [b]
  • Vladimir Ilyutikov ( Владимир Илютиков )
  • Roman Savchenko ( Роман Савченко ), born on April 22, 1992
  • Maxim Kirillow ( Максим Кириллов )

In addition, depending on the source, the following young people are also named in connection with the group:

  • Alexei Nikitin ( Алексей Никитин ), arrested on July 31, 2010 as an alleged co-instigator
  • Wadim Kovtun ( Вадим Ковтун ), Alexander Kovtun's brother, was also arrested and charged with aiding and abetting, although he was not a member of the group
  • Roman Muromzew ( Роман Муромцев ), also Roman Muromets, veteran of the Chechnya war and air traffic control officer and air force officer; however, his membership in the group was immediately denied

Remarks

  1. ↑ The term Приморские партизаны ( Partisans of Primorye , English then Primorsky Partisans ) is used consistently in most of the sources.
  2. ↑ 1 2 3 According to some reports, Suchorada and Sladkich did not kill themselves, but were shot by the police.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b "Охотники на милиционеров" (for policemen-hunters), for example in aif.ru / ... , "банда приморских партизан" (for gang of Primorje-partisan), for example in kommersant.ru / ... , "приморская банда "(For Primorye gang) for example in interfax.ru / ...
  2. ↑ a b c d Christoph Laug: The »Partisans« from Primorye , in: Russia-Analyzes 205 of July 16, 2010, page 27f., Online at: laender-analysen.de / ... , accessed on April 27, 2021
  3. ↑ a b Russia Acquits 'Primorsky Partisans' Of Murder In Retrial , Portal RFE / RL (Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty), July 20, 2016, online at: rferl.org / ...
  4. ↑ a b Russia: New Video from Primorsky Krai Guerrillas , in: Portal GlobalVoices, online at: globalvoices.org / ...
  5. ↑ a b c Lucy Ash: The Primorsky Partisans , BBC Radio, November 29, 2010, online at: bbc.co.uk / ... (click on "show more")
  6. ↑ PrimaMedia.ru: Приморские "партизаны": как бандиты превратились в героев June 28, 2010, accessed April 27, 2021.
  7. ↑ a b Вячеслав Козлов: Приморские непартизаны . Online on Газета.Ru since July 30, 2012, accessed April 27, 2021.
  8. ↑ Анастасия Кириленко, Александр Кулыгин: "Партизан" Андрей Сухорада в 16 лет был бунтарем . Online on Radio Free Europe since June 13, 2010, accessed April 27, 2021.
  9. ↑ a b Московский комсомолец: Приморские милиционеры на радостях выбивают . June 14, 2010, accessed April 27, 2021.
  10. ↑ Lucy Ash: Why Russians backed anti-police rage , BBC Future portal, March 6, 2012, online at: bbc.com / ...
  11. ↑ a b c d e f g Расстрелы кончились самострелами. В Уссурийске покончено с бандой, нападавшей на приморскую милицию , in: "Коммерсантъ" No. 104 / В from June 15, 2010, online on: ...
  12. ↑ a b c Police in Russia's Far East Corner 'Robin Hood' Gang, Killing Two , Portal RFE / RL (Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty), June 11, 2010, online at: rferl.org / ...
  13. ↑ a b c d e Александра Баландина: Приговор "приморским партизанам": век воли не видать , overview of the processes in the news portal Gazeta.ru of 3 May 2018 online at: gazeta.ru / ...
  14. ↑ a b В Интернете появилось ВИДЕО-интервью приморских "партизан" , portal VL Novosti, October 10, 23010, online at: newsvl.ru / ...
  15. ↑ Jan Holzer, Martin Laryš, Miroslav Mareš: Militant Right-Wing Extremism in Putin's Russia: Legacies, Forms and Threats . Taylor & Francis Ltd., New York 2019, p. 107ff. ISBN 113859251X
  16. ↑ Присяжные признали "приморских партизан" виновными по самым тяжким статьям обвинени , Portal VL Novosti, online at: newsvl.ru / ...
  17. ↑ Приморских партизан приговорили к пожизненному , BBC news, April 28, 2014, online at: bbc.com / ...
  18. ↑ a b Присяжные во Владивостоке признали "приморских партизан" виновными в убийстве четырех человек , Portal VL Novosti, online at: newsvl.ru / ...
  19. ↑ Новый приговор "приморским партизанам": почему и за что их снова судили , BBC news, May 3, 2018, online at: bbc.com / ...
  20. ↑ Пропащее дело партизан , Gazeta.ru news portal from July 16, 2012, online at: gazeta.ru / ...
  21. ↑ Из дела "приморских партизан" пропали имена "оборотней в погонах" , portal Izvestija.ru, online online at: iz.ru / ...
  22. ↑ Из суда украли три тома документов по делу приморских партизан , Rosbalt.ru News Agency, July 16, 2012, online at: rosbalt.ru / ...
  23. ↑ Верховный суд отменил пожизненное заключение приморским партизанам , Agency RIA Novosti, May 21, 2015, online at: ria.ru / ...
  24. ↑ Суд присяжных оправдал приморских партизан , Agency RIA Novosti, July 20, 2016, online at: ria.ru / ...
  25. ↑ Прокуратура подала апелляцию на приговор приморским партизанам , Agency RIA Novosti, July 28, 2016, online at: ria.ru / ...
  26. ↑ Верховный суд отменил оправдательный приговор приморским партизанам , Agency RIA Novosti, December 26, 2016, online at: ria.ru / ...
  27. ↑ Echo Moskwy , report by the Dekoder portal, online at: dekoder.org / ...
  28. ↑ a b Левада-Центр: Россияне о нападениях на милиционеров в Приморье . June 29, 2010, archived July 6, 2010, accessed April 27, 2021.
  29. ↑ NEWSru.com: Опрос: "приморские партизаны" больше всего понравились москвичам - им сочувствует каждый вторт каждый вторый . June 29, 2010, accessed April 27, 2021.
  30. ↑ Коммерса́нтъ: Жириновский высказался в поддержку приморских «партизан» . April 7, 2010, accessed April 27, 2021.
  31. ^ Josef Žáček. Bez názvu (z cyklu hledání ve ztraceném prostoru 1993) , in an interview for Lidové noviny in September 2011, quoted from: Portal Místogalerie, online at: mistogalerie.cz / ...
  32. ↑ Святой Франциск и приморские партизаны , interview with Josef Žáček at Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty (RFE / RL), online at: svobodanews.ru / ...
  33. ↑ a b Партизаны несут потери в борьбе с голодом , in: "Коммерсантъ" No. 104 from June 11, 2010, online at: kommersant.ru / ...