In Russia, Putin sued

The Supreme Court of Russia on Thursday will consider a class action lawsuit by lawyer, chairman of the Freedom of Information Foundation Ivan Pavlov, Russian journalists and activists against Vladimir Putin.

According to the plaintiffs, on the one hand, the decree is directed against investigations about the death of the Russian military in Donbas, and on the other, it is intended to discourage the relatives and friends of those who died, the desire to communicate with journalists or to demand material compensation from the Ministry of Defense.

The lawsuit was filed in the Supreme Court in early June. Putin's decree amending the 1995 law “On State Secrets” was signed on May 28.

This happened after one of the plaintiffs, civil activist Ruslan Leviev, went with his friend Vadim Korovin on a trip around Russia to find the graves of Russian soldiers who died on a Ukrainian “business trip.”

Leviev and Korovin managed not only to find burials, but also to communicate with relatives and local residents, who confirmed that the dead were career military personnel and died “in battle.” The graves were fresh; according to activists, the soldiers buried in them died on May 4 and 5.

The plaintiffs in the case, in addition to Pavlov and Leviev, are military journalist Arkady Babchenko, the author of reports from Donbass for the Dozhd TV channel Timur Olevsky, Novaya Gazeta reporter Pavel Kanygin, journalist and former political prisoner Grigory Pasko, as well as Pskov deputy Lev Shlosberg , one of the first in Russia to report the burial in Russia of paratroopers killed in Ukraine, and others.

Let us remind you that Reuters spoke with Russian soldiers who fought in Ukraine. Some soldiers decided that “it was better to leave the army than to go fight in Ukraine.”

Russia has repeatedly denied information about the participation of Russian troops in hostilities in the east of Ukraine. On straight line On April 16, 2014, Russian President Vladimir Putin said: “I’m telling you directly and definitely: there are no Russian troops in Ukraine.”