The great anti-torture revolution: thieves in law did not recognize the victims of lawlessness as turned-out

News from the criminal world is vigorously discussed on social networks: as if the so-called "thieves' run" is spreading in prisons, which is the appeal of thieves in law to all prisoners. The essence of the appeal, the authenticity of which was confirmed by journalist and human rights activist Eva Merkacheva, is truly revolutionary: do not demote those who have been tortured and raped at the request or with the approval of FSIN officers in the prison hierarchy!

One of the victims of torture in the tuberculosis hospital of the Saratov regional department of the Federal Penitentiary Service also said that such a "run-away" really exists, but his name was not named.

The document says, in part (spelling and punctuation preserved):

"People who were raped and humiliated with mops and truncheons due to the trash lawlessness and torture are not offended To humiliate and mock them is not human, because humanly they can only sympathize ..."

Even serious analysts comment on this publication, it seemed so sensational. For example, political scientist Yekaterina Shulman writes:

“That moment when (English: this is the very moment when) the" thieves' run "(whatever that means) contains more common sense, humanism and internal logic than most of the written and oral products issued by the state-bureaucratic objects of my research attention. The "mass of thieves" (the so-called collective of authors) have their own relationship with grammar, but at least the words have meaning and awareness of changing ethical norms. I will not quote this document, but I cannot help but join the call "do not make yourself demons". To retrain, or something, in criminology is a neighboring science, social, partly familiar, and the public there, apparently, is more decent. In the meantime, I feel like Brother Mycroft from a series about a stolen letter: "Since, Sherlock, you will not deal with the criminal world, but with politicians, do not believe anyone, not a single word"..."

Opposition politician Yulia Galyamina is surprised:

“We are living in an amazing time. The time when thieves in law seem more human compared to people in uniform. And not only the employees of the Federal Penitentiary Service. After all, violence has become the norm everywhere: in the army, in the National Guard, in the police ...

This news is a diagnosis of a state system built by people who have held power in Russia for a long time. And it demonstrates that society, even in its most marginal strata, has outgrown these former brothers who have now captured the Kremlin. Life is an amazing thing.

A public figure, the legendary Soviet dissident Alexander Podrabinek considers the document to be truly revolutionary:

“Video recording of rape and humiliation is becoming a means of manipulation by convicts, one of the ways to force them to cooperate with the prison camp administration. This is not new, it has always been. The mere threat of rape was often enough for the prisoner to agree to be an informant. After all, the raped person, regardless of the circumstances of this event, always automatically passed into the caste of "turned-out". This made his camp life unbearable.

The camp authorities, in words advocating the equality of prisoners before the law, in fact have always encouraged caste among prisoners - in this way they acquired an effective tool of intimidation and control.

The current prisoners' initiative is a direct attempt on the cops system, an attempt to de-energize the smoothly working machine of intra-camp repression..."

Journalist Mikhail Pozharsky, however, is not inclined to overestimate the significance of this event:

“Under pressure from the state, even such a bone and clumsy phenomenon as the domestic criminal subculture is slowly beginning to change - it is reported that a new ban on thieves is spreading across Russian camps and prisons. Looks authentic: greetings and goodbyes according to etiquette, characteristic grammar, all underscores are placed where required. In general, it looks like the real thing.

They write, they say, those who were raped with truncheons and mops (as in recent videos) are no longer considered offended, but can live together with the men. Thus, they are trying to get out of the trap into which the thieves subculture has driven itself with these rules, according to which sexual violence inevitably leads to the loss of status, even if it occurs "out of bounds" (not in accordance with subcultural norms). So you can deprive FSIN employees of one of the main methods of intimidation and manipulation (many can still endure pain and hardship, but being with roosters is the main fear). It is also an attempt to stop the flow of prisoners to camp activists - those who, at the behest of the operas, rape others so as not to rape themselves.

In general, this is, of course, a revolution. But not entirely serious. First, they write that the raped can live with the men, i.e. it is understood that the thieves will no longer be. Thus, it still remains a way of blackmailing thieves who do not want to lose their status. Secondly, there they distinguish between those who were raped with mops and those who were "touched by ***" , as well as not quite). Thirdly, they become activists not only out of fear, but also for preferences from the administration, for parole and the like. Fourth, thieves are not some kind of monolithic structure. Some write runs, others cancel, declare each other *** ...and so on. So, maybe this will still meet with resistance. Getting rid of native ideas about ritual purity is a difficult task..."

However, the thief in law Valera Valet in his video message, which we cannot cite because it is replete with profanity, doubted the real existence of this "run-through". First, said Valet, the document has not been signed by anyone, and therefore it is not clear whether to believe him or not. And secondly, for such statements, it is necessary to completely change the thieves' laws, and he has not heard anything about these reforms...