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NO. 12 (1804) САНКТ-ПЕТЕРБУРГ-ТАЙМС WEDNESDAY, APRIL 2, 2014 WWW.SPTIMES.RU ALEXANDER BELENKY / SPT Due to unseasonably warm weather, despite Monday’s brief snowstorm, the Neva River opened for navigation on Apr. 1, a month earlier than usual. Early- OPENING NIGHT morning openings of the drawbridges along the river are to be rolled out over the next few days. For the latest schedule of opening times, visit www.sptimes.ru. BUSINESS FEATURE Irina Prokhorova Russian Dogs TRAVEL Led to Greener Myshkin: Pastures Where The Mouse Is King International humane societies make it their The fairy-tale origin of a sleepy On publishing, education mission to find homes town along the Volga. Page 18. and social change. Page 9. for Russian dogs. Page 6. LocalNews www.sptimes.ru | Wednesday, April 2, 2014 ❖ 2 Ombudsman Releases Report on Human Rights By Sergey Chernov which led to the effective cancellation of THE ST. PETERSBURG TIMES screenings, while anti-gay groups gath- Xenophobia in the city rose to alarming ered outside festival venues and at- heights in 2013, sometimes resulting in tempted to force their way in. violent crime, St. Petersburg ombuds- The most serious offence took place man Alexander Shishlov pointed out in on Nov. 3, 2013, when two masked men the presentation for his annual report at entered the LGBT community center the Legislative Assembly on Mar. 26. LaSky and began shooting a pneumatic The year was marked by the right- firearm at those present. The attack left wing initiative called “Russian clean- LGBT activist Dmitry Chizhevsky blind ups,” directed against migrant vendors in one eye. The investigators qualified that took place from July 26 to 31 in sev- the attack as “criminal misconduct.” eral districts of the city. Although called The report mentioned complaints by a measure against “illegal street vend- LGBT rights organization Vykhod ing,” many witnesses said that national- (Coming Out) for the repeated arrests ist activists harassed and used violence of LGBT activists even at authorized against foreign citizens, the report said. public assemblies. On one such occa- The illegal activity aimed at foreigners sion, the police detained about 30 activ- thought to be of Central Asian origin ists after a rally on the Field of Mars on was confirmed by video evidence. June 29, 2013. They were charged with On Nov. 4, 2013, People’s Unity minor offenses, but the cases were even- Day, ultra-nationalists carried out an tually thrown out by the courts. attack dubbed “White Car,” when a The right to freedom of assembly group of neo-Nazis entered a metro car was another source of concern in St. Pe- at the Udelnaya metro station and be- tersburg in 2013. gan attacking non-Slavic people while According to the city committee on shouting “Kill” and “All for one and law, order and security, a total of 452 ap- one for all.” A similar incident was re- / SPT CHERNOV SERGEY plications for public assemblies were sub- ported to have taken place at Nevsky Ombudsman Alexander Shishlov, left, with the chief of the St. Petersburg Public Security Police, Col. Alexei Smyatsky, mitted. Out of them, 271 were returned Prospekt metro station. at the unauthorised anti-war rally near Kazan Cathedral on Mar. 15. to the organizers, who were told to recon- The report said that a group of young sider the time or place of the event as well men wearing medical masks attempted Purporting to be a balanced assess- among minors” as contravening inter- law, while six cases were opened in 2012. as to adjust it to comply with the law. Al- to attack people of Central Asian de- ment of the facts, the report praised city national law. No court rulings were made, according though the report said that most rejec- scent on Prospekt Engelsa in northern authorities for such programs as “Tol- On July 24, 2013, Shishlov sent an ex- to the report. In reality, Moscow LGBT tions had legal grounds, in certain cases St. Petersburg on Nov. 23, 2013, but erance” and “Migration,” as well as for planatory note prepared at his request activist Alexei Nikolai was fined 5,000 the suggested “alternative” sites pre- were stopped by the police. According establishing a committee on inter-na- by the Office of the United Nations rubles ($145) in May 2012 for using a vented the organizers from achieving the to the police, of the 707 crimes that were tional and inter-confessional relations High Commissioner for Human Rights placard at a protest which was seen by goals of their events. committed against foreign nationals in in Jan. 2014, but pointed out that xeno- to the Legislative Assembly which re- the court as gay propaganda. As an example, the report cited a St. Petersburg in 2013, only was quali- phobic statements and calls to strength- fused to hear it. Meanwhile, many instances of orga- rally in support of opposition leader fied as racially motivated. ening repressive measures in the sphere nized counteraction against legal LGBT Alexei Navalny, who was imprisoned in Shishlov’s report, however, omitted of migration had been heard in the city. rights assemblies were seen in 2013. Kirov on July 18, 2013. The report men- the high-profile murder of an Uzbek The report said that it was “alarming” Hostile anti-gay groups prevented tioned the date of the rally, but did not national committed following the Pa- that such calls occasionally came from The report specifically the LGBT demonstrators from entering specify the reason for the rally. triotic March, also known as the Rus- officials but did not specify any names. the sites of the rallies, hurled insults at The organizers filed applications for sian March. After the march and rally The report expressed concern that mentioned the rise of them and attacked the participants. The the rallies to be held at one of the four organized by the pro-Kremlin nation- the term “illegal migration,” which pro- homophobia, alongside report provided several examples of sites; Ploshchad Akademika Sakharova, alist party Rodina and held on People’s vokes a negative reaction, has become such attacks. Ploshchad Proletarskoi Diktatury, Ko- Unity Day on Nov. 4, 2013, some par- universally accepted, helping to create a general increase in During the International Day Against nyshennaya Ploshchad or Pionerskaya ticipants dispersed throughout the city, the impression that most migrants are xenophobia, in the city. Homophobia and Transphobia on May Ploshchad, but received refusals for all where they harassed and beat those present in Russia illegally, whereas less 17, 2013, anti-gay groups threw smoke of the sites. they perceived to be foreigners. than 4 percent of foreign nationals were bombs and stones at the participants of Eventually, an unauthorised protest The Uzbek national was killed by a charged with violating immigration law Referring to a letter from the office the rally, which was stopped by the police was held on Malaya Sadovaya Ulitsa in group of young men, who stabbed, in St. Petersburg in 2013. of the Russian Foreign Ministry in St. within 20 minutes due to “threats against central St. Petersburg, where police de- punched and kicked him. On Nov. 21, In his report, Shishlov specifically Petersburg, Legislative Assembly Chair- the life, health and property of citizens.” tained more than 50 people. 2013, seven suspects were detained, in- mentioned the rise of homophobia, man Vyacheslav Makarov replied that A number of LGBT activists and one “It appears that unfounded refusals cluding 30-year-old Andrei Kosnikov, alongside a general increase in xeno- the conclusions of the OHCHR did not police officer were injured by the anti- to authorize public events, effectively 18-year-old Sergei Bondar and five mi- phobia, in the city. impose any obligations on the Legisla- gay groups during an LGBT rights rally making them impossible to be held law- nors aged from 15 to 17 who were re- He criticized the local law prohibit- tive Assembly. on June 29, 2013. fully, may push residents to violate the turning from the nationalist rally, the ing the “promotion of sodomy, lesbian- In 2013, only one administrative case The LGBT rights film festival Side by law and hold unauthorized protests,” Investigations Committee reported. ism, bisexuality and transgenderism was opened into alleged violation of the Side was subject to several bomb threats the report said. РЕКЛАМА ALL ABOUT TOWN Wednesday, Apr. 2 Friday, Apr. 4 agents and all associated with the in- AmCham’s Tourism and Hospital- Interested in acquiring or develop- dustry are encouraged to attend and ity Committee meeting is this ing property? Then make sure you learn more about not only Russia’s morning in their office in the New don’t miss the St. Petersburg Inter- incoming tourism industry but other St. Isaac Office Center at 24 Ulitsa national Property Show beginning nation’s as well. Yakubovicha. today at LenExpo and finishing to- Learn about the challenges of au- morrow. Both real estate agents and Monday, Apr. 7 tism with Light It Up Blue, a world- property developers welcome the Learn all about the latest achieve- wide organization for autism aware- chance to not just invest in the bur- ments in earth science at the St. Pe- ness, during its event this evening. geoning property market of one of tersburg International Geosciences Along with a presentation of special- Europe’s largest cities but to sell to Conference and Exhibition beginning ist Julie Ertz’s new book about au- a selected audience of high-income today at the International Exhibition tism, there will be a flashmob at the buyers. Business Center at 2 Nab. Reki Smo- Peter and Paul Fortress, which will lenki and continuing until Apr.