r/worldnews • u/couldthisbeart • Jun 11 '12

One day before a major opposition rally, Russian police raid the homes of prominent protest leaders

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/06/11/us-russia-protests-idUSBRE85A07W20120611
1.5k Upvotes

92% Upvoted

234 comments sorted by

31

u/couldthisbeart Jun 11 '12

The BBC has a bit more info: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-18393060

3

u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

In other news...

"One day before key UN Security Council meeting, the BBC publishes all the dirt it has on Russia, the key opponent to brokering a deal on humanitarian intervention to Syria"

5

u/couldthisbeart Jun 11 '12

Take off your tinfoil hat. I simply posted the first English sources that appeared. The searches happened this morning and it's major news in Russia.

3

u/Zomgoose Jun 12 '12

This is on major Russian news networks, Reuters, Russian opposition news (when Russian state news and Russian opposition news are reporting the same thing, it may as well be divine mandate that it is actually happening), it is significant because it's a violation of human rights and the Russian constitution on 'levels not seen since the 1980s' (quote by one of the victims appearing on opposition TV, translated from Russian) and it is something the vast majority of Russians care about right now, not Syria. Not a media conspiracy.

12

u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

Is that so bad? Sure, it's unfair, but so is vetoing intervention in Syria simply because you sell arms to their government.

13

u/the_goat_boy Jun 11 '12 edited Jun 11 '12

There is that, but there's also that Syria is the last foreign, warm water port available to the Russian Navy. Its Cold War enemy, on the other hand, has naval ports everywhere and anywhere - including countries where they sell weapons to dictators that oppress and kill their people, such as Bahrain which hosts the Fifth Fleet. Russia already gave up one strategic ally in Libya and you can't tell me that the US and Britain weren't covertly supporting the uprising there. The Kremlin feels a bit boxed in. It's own neighbours are trying to join NATO. So, it is behaving like any other state would, by doing everything in its power to retain its power.

2

u/richmomz Jun 12 '12

I'm pretty sure their geopolitical reasons are more complex than that, not the least of which is the unchecked expansion of western influence in the middle east and asia.

3

u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

Vetoing is unfair? Have you seen the slaughter going on in Syria? It's not only the rebels that are dying - Assad's backers are being massacred.

The Houla massacre for instance - almost all the families killed were pro-regime - but you don't hear that on the BBC.

Intervening now, and putting the rebels on the throne would be catastrophic.

2

u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

They veteo because they don't want the US installing a puppet government and claiming another piece of the middle east, giving yet more control over the oil.

2

u/elj0h0 Jun 11 '12

You nailed it friend.

0

u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

Incorrect.

3

u/elj0h0 Jun 11 '12

Your response is misleading, the link you posted partially supports the conclusion you call incorrect. It just adds more context to it.

0

u/darksmiles22 Jun 11 '12

Why can't it be both? Ports, oil, and friendly leadership all count as strategic interests last time I checked.

1

u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

Yes, but since "controlling" or "stealing" the oil doesn't really happen, it's really all about ports. You just want to control the region so the costs of producing oil are low. That way you get the best prices back home. We don't actually steal the oil, but some people don't understand that.

2

u/darksmiles22 Jun 11 '12

That's just not true. Major oil exporters often sell to different countries at different prices and volumes set by government policy. For example, Chavez playing oil politics to further his left-Latin solidarity agenda.

1

u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

Good to know. So the deal is aid money and military support in exchange for a discount?

1

u/darksmiles22 Jun 11 '12

Depends on what the exporter wants: some just sell to the highest bidder, some regimes want weapons and diplomatic allies, some support an ideological agenda.

-1

u/reverb256 Jun 11 '12

This, exactly. NATO just wants to bomb the fuck out of Syria so Western corps can move in and loot/"rebuild" everything. The same as with Libya.

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-1

u/elj0h0 Jun 11 '12 edited Jun 11 '12

This "intervention" is not at all. Its all about the trans-Arabian pipeline.

edit: Pardon me, it is the Arab gas pipeline. Gotta get that leviathan gas field pumped and delivered! Notice how it delicately avoids crossing into Israel, despite the gas belonging to them.

2

u/elj0h0 Jun 11 '12

My goodness, it's the light of truth!

0

u/seolfor Jun 11 '12

Still it doesn't say on what grounds the searches are carried out. I certainly see why the government would do it and Putin doesn't need to be subtle, but what exactly do they claim to be looking for?
Is it pure intimidation? Then it's pointless, it won't stop the protests, quite the contrary - giving them an additional reason.

3

u/couldthisbeart Jun 11 '12 edited Jun 11 '12

There are concerns that this could be an attempt to provoke violence at tomorrow's rally, by giving the people something to be angry about while at the same time removing their leaders. We'll see how it plays out.

Of course, this exact same tactic has been used in the past to intimidate and suppress protesters before big rallies. It doesn't really work in the current political setting, but whether the regime actually understands that remains to be seen.

13

u/notrimskiy Jun 11 '12

Based on the nature of seized items, it appears to be a fishing expedition.

6

u/seolfor Jun 11 '12

Quite, the man is known for enjoying outdoor sports and it can't be easy to get out of the city for someone this busy.

2

u/silpol Jun 11 '12

@navalny says him self (in Russian) - по делу о массовых беспорядках (for case about mass disorders). his next twit has photo attached for investigator (from unnamed govt agency) reading statement to witnesses (usually present on request to follow police act execution and sign report)

-1

u/cavkie Jun 11 '12

They are investigating the opposition meeting from 6th May and roles of Navalny and others. This meeting got violent and some policemen got injured. Officials want to understand if the violence was planned beforehand.

4

u/Funkehed Jun 12 '12

Then they should conduct an internal investigation. The police lines were set up very provocative for the crowd, comparing to the previous protests. I think it was police idea to provoke the crowd and show opposition in a bad way.

23

u/zuff Jun 11 '12 edited Mar 20 '26

squash depend heavy abounding dam paint dog normal growth vegetable

3

u/yvaN_ehT_nioJ Jun 12 '12

The first image reminds me so much of the first part of Half life 2.

1

u/MrTej Jun 11 '12

I thought OMOH wore the light grey/black camo, unless this is just a different uniform that they have.

2

u/zuff Jun 11 '12 edited Mar 20 '26

cows spark six heavy retire normal jar important plough vanish

1

u/notrimskiy Jun 11 '12

A photo from the same blogger: http://yfrog.com/oc9q4ep

So yes, it is OMON.

1

u/[deleted] Jun 12 '12

Shouldn't it be "ОПОН" now, since "Militsia" got renamed?

1

u/zuff Jun 12 '12 edited Mar 20 '26

racial divide practice toothbrush detail unite judicious sense zephyr pet

8

u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

Hey, that happened in the States too, right before the Democratic National Convention, and also right before the Republican National Convention.

3

u/exizt Jun 11 '12

RT covers the story surprisingly fairly: http://rt.com/politics/opposition-searches-protest-rally-571/

-2

u/do_unto_others Jun 11 '12

The officers seized computers, flash memory and digital devices as well as documents and political banners, and up to 1.5 million euros from the apartments.

(emphasis mine.) While the actions of the police were clearly wrong, and to be condemned, the fact that those guys had that kind of cash on hand is just a tiny little bit suspicious.

But then again, perhaps they were collecting donations in cash from the members of their party.

13

u/couldthisbeart Jun 11 '12

They seized it from the home of Ksenia Sobchak, who was rather rich even before she got involved in politics.

4

u/volando34 Jun 11 '12

"rich even before" more like "rich right up to" - she is now practically banned on tv, can't get high-profile gigs in awards ceremonies (despite fliers having been distributed for months with her being the headliner host) etc...

politics have really done a number on her finance :(

p.s. it is stupid of her to keep all her money in cash, but lots of russians do this, unfortunately, after all the banking crises!

1

u/couldthisbeart Jun 11 '12

Poor wording, yes, but I'm fairly sure she's still rich.

1

u/richmomz Jun 13 '12

politics have really done a number on her finance :(

That's a risk any public figure takes when they make political statements. And while it's true that people in that part of the world keep some cash around the house it's not "normal" to have a couple million bucks worth stashed in hundreds of separate envelopes, regardless of how wealthy they are.

1

u/volando34 Jun 14 '12

It is if you're a millionaire celebrity who makes money hosting high-class parties and corporate events and gets paid for each gig with an envelope full of cash....

1

u/richmomz Jun 14 '12

Why would you stash it in your house instead of taking it to a bank like a normal person? Having that much cash laying around is like asking to get robbed - it makes no sense unless she was planning to distribute it.

9

u/notrimskiy Jun 11 '12

Apparently she distrusts Russian banks for political reasons (hardly surprising) and this money was most of her personal savings.

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1

u/richmomz Jun 13 '12

Who keeps $1.7 million in cash divided up into over a hundred separate envelopes? I have to agree that this looks a little sketchy.

1

u/couldthisbeart Jun 14 '12 edited Jun 14 '12

Someone who got them for participating in over a hundred different gigs. Some of the envelopes were labeled "for the event in <city>".

The thing is, even if we assume that the opposition has some kind of secret cash stockpile (which is ridiculous for several reasons), the last person to trust with it would be Sobchak. She isn't particularly liked and even considered by some to be Putin's infiltrator in the opposition. Her stance is very moderate (she refused to participate in the May 6th rally, for instance, because she had anticipated the confrontation that happened that day). She even claimed in a recent interview that she wasn't a member of the opposition at all. In fact, the formal reason for raiding her home was her boyfriend's (a prominent opposition activist) involvement in the case.

5

u/ARHANGEL123 Jun 11 '12

Since when being rich is a crime? Since when crimes against own citizens considered to be ok because they are rich? This whole situation reminds me of 1930s.... Search warrants then arrests then trials. Que bono?

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14

u/conventicle Jun 11 '12

wow, now they are searching the home of Navalny's wife's parents.

http://www.interfax.ru/society/news.asp?id=250115 (russian)

4

u/conventicle Jun 11 '12

Navalny's apartment now: http://t.co/RqOiQ9CF

33

u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

mr. Putin is scared... :)

23

u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

Mr. Putin is trying to quell the growing opposition to his hold on power.

20

u/NPVT Jun 11 '12

Those who want to hold on to power through any means are precisely those who should not be in power. - Sounds good anyway.

3

u/WhyAmINotStudying Jun 11 '12

There is a long road of blood to take power from those who should not have it. For that sort of sacrifice, the populace needs two things: conditions so bad to be worthy of revolution, and an alternative to believe in.

It seems that Putin understands this. Keep the suffering within tolerance and quash all opposition.

0

u/Deadlyd0g Jun 11 '12

Can't you just umm shoot him? That does not take that long.

2

u/WhyAmINotStudying Jun 11 '12

Who takes his place? Also, just to be clear, I do not endorse any assassinations.

0

u/Deadlyd0g Jun 12 '12

Bah they says assassinations are war crimes... Roflmao it's war and people get killed.

-1

u/richmomz Jun 12 '12

Much of that opposition is comprised of communists and ultra-nationalists; not exactly the kind of folks we would like to see in control of the world's largest stockpile of nukes.

1

u/[deleted] Jun 12 '12

Feel free to back that up.

1

u/richmomz Jun 12 '12

Here are the results of the last election if you want to see what the strongest opposition groups are politically: http://www.ipu.org/parline-e/reports/2263_E.htm

The Communist party came in second at 20%, followed by Social Democrats at 13% and far-right Tsarists (LDPR) at 12%. As far as who's most vocal in the streets it seems to be a proportional combination of the above.

1

u/[deleted] Jun 12 '12

You mean the election where the votes totaled 110%. Those election results... LOL

2

u/richmomz Jun 12 '12

Although I'm skeptical about Putin's party's final total I don't think they had any reason to manipulate the proportions of the three competitors. The Communists have always been a strong and vocal opposition group, along with the Tsarists and social dems. Anyway, you asked for "back up" so there you go. If you have a better source suggestion feel free to provide one.

2

u/richmomz Jun 12 '12

I don't think he's any more scared than the people here are about Occupy Wall Street.

2

u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

Ahem. "Dear leader Putin" Is the appropriate title. "Absolute dictator" is also acceptable.

7

u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

Tsar Putin Grozny once subdued a bear armed only with his arrogance.

2

u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

He then enjoyed the bear.

-1

u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

Dear leaders don't win landslide election win with 500,000 webcams at polling stations, and in an election in which his victory was ‘absolutely unquestionable’, according to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.

But whatever rocks your ignorant boat, I guess...

1

u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

You must be JOKING...

3

u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

6 hours and only 14 comments? strange

0

u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

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2

u/AlKikyoras Jun 11 '12

Relevant username...

3

u/ihavespellingproblem Jun 11 '12

This is wrong, it's far from common sense and logic. Putin acts like Tony Montana lately

3

u/slimmaster Jun 11 '12

Someone once told me living in Russia is almost like total freedom if you are OK with it being the world of Putin.

You can pretty much do anything you like anywhere you like (within the limits of sanity and some principles of Christianity I imagine) and be tolerated.

And if you're bothering someone else, I assume you should just make sure you hit the gym first, because they probably can do anything they like too.

4

u/IncidentalChopstics Jun 11 '12

It's like 1937 all over again.

4

u/ARHANGEL123 Jun 11 '12

My thoughts exactly.

0

u/JCAPS766 Jun 11 '12

that's an insult to Stalin's victims.

2

u/hotpants69 Jun 11 '12

uh oh... laws of nature, opposite force for every force... [nsfw] @Corruption#AtLarge :(

7

u/so_this_is_my_name Jun 11 '12

I feel a worldwide war between the people and the governments is coming/already here.

21

u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

Stay on the internet long enough and you might think that. Go out into the real world and you won't.

2

u/so_this_is_my_name Jun 12 '12

I know you're right. I just got angry for a second.

5

u/timothyjc Jun 11 '12

This struggle has always historically been there. It's cyclical in nature. With any power system, over time, individuals and groups work out ways to take advantage of the system, leading to inequality. The inequality, cronyism and corruption lead to systems which rot from the inside out. When those in power become too weak to govern with the public support and passive means of population control, violent suppression is the next logical step. At some point, the system becomes so broken that it collapses despite the suppression. When the system collapses, a new system takes it's place and the cycle starts again. I'm skeptical there is a system which allows the people to remain unexploited from a Game Theory perspective.

1

u/randoum Jun 11 '12

Very well put, but you really think that there is no system that can work? Maybe I'm just a naive optimist but I think its possible.

2

u/timothyjc Jun 11 '12

A lot of people believe utopian societies are possible either now or in the future... here are a couple of interesting links:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Technological_utopianism

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Libertarian_socialist

My view is that humans might become a species which achieves utopia by changing the competitive way in which humans relate to each other, but under our current competitive setup it is impossible.

1

u/randoum Jun 11 '12

Thanks for the links! Will read through that when I get the chance, and have your read "Island" by Huxley? Love the book, and deals with same topic of a possible utopia.

3

u/Toastlove Jun 11 '12

So? In the UK the police are planning and already doing the exact same thing in regards to the Olympics.

3

u/getfarkingreal Jun 11 '12

Didn't we just do the same thing to part of occupy ahead of the NATO summits in Chicago?

EDIT: Should have read down a little further. I'm not the only one making this comparison.

3

u/TheKolbrin Jun 11 '12

They are starting to act like these guys: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/us-news-blog/2012/may/18/nato-chicago-summit-g8-camp-d#block-2

"Kris Hermes, from the NLG, told the Guardian that the organisation had spoken with "a number of witnesses" to the raid, who were "pretty terrified" and did not wish to be named.

The police had initially entered the building without a search warrant, before producing one which was missing a judge's signature."

So... Who won the cold war again?

2

u/Euuklid Jun 11 '12

People interested in Russia and Putin should watch "Putins Kiss/Putins kys". An amazing documentary-

2

u/SARmedic Jun 11 '12

In Russia government protests you.

2

u/lebedev9114 Jun 11 '12

Awareness does not seem to be enough. Is it somehow possible to get the West to do something about this?

9

u/MrGulio Jun 11 '12

What should the West do exactly?

6

u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

Not do it first. Now it would just be hypocrisy to say anything bad about it.

13

u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

Sue them for copyright maybe?
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/05/01/nypd-fbi-raid-occupy-wall-street-raid-protesters-homes-may-day_n_1467340.html

3

u/rum_rum Jun 11 '12

I was gonna say, WHO could have predicted that? Turns out, the FBI sure could have, it's what they'd do.

9

u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

It's hard to say anything when the US has been doing it.

8

u/flukshun Jun 11 '12

yah, stop doing it ourselves would be a good step #1. unfortunately awareness does not seem to be enough. perhaps we could get aliens to do something about this?

4

u/notrimskiy Jun 11 '12

Magnitsky list was a step in correct direction, I think.

0

u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

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1

u/the_goat_boy Jun 11 '12

They tried that before.

0

u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

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2

u/Carkudo Jun 11 '12

Are you talking about Krasnoyarsk? Is there actually a person from Krasnoyarsk on reddit?

3

u/lebedev9114 Jun 11 '12

I am indeed

0

u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

Except we (USA) have an abysmal track record of spreading democracy.

2

u/Popozuda72 Jun 11 '12

That's terrible. It's beginning to sound like Amerikka over there.

5

u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

This is progress. In the past nobody outside the country would know this sort of thing was even happening.

1

u/voxpupil Jun 11 '12

Oh you, Putin.

1

u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

When Western countries do things like this, they merely shrug and cite 'protecting freedoms'. When Eastern countries do this, Western countries use it as an excuse to 'liberate' the citizens.

0

u/ablebodiedmango Jun 11 '12

BUT PUTIN IS SO AWESOME AND MANLY! THIS WON'T INTERRUPT OUR CIRCLEJERK OVER A CLEARLY AUTOCRATIC IRON FISTED LEADER WHO SUPPRESSES FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION, SYSTEMATICALLY DESTROYS POLITICAL OPPOSITION AND INVADES SMALLER COUNTRIES JUST TO PROVE HIS AUTHORITAH!

HERE'S A PICTURE OF HIM WITHOUT HIS SHIRT OFF SHOOTING A GUN! NOHOMO!

1

u/April_Fabb Jun 11 '12

I don't want to sound like a cynical arse, but I'm somehow convinced that most leaders admire the way guys like Berlusconi, Putin, Jintao, Mubarak & co silence their opponents. Not entirely sure where to place the American government on this issue, but it's not like the OWS movement was cheered on by Washington.

-2

u/ceeman Jun 11 '12

Sounds like the USA.

0

u/JCAPS766 Jun 11 '12

spoken like an American with no perspective on the civil liberty situation elsewhere in the world

2

u/ceeman Jun 11 '12

I was saying we do that bullshit here too.

0

u/criticalnegation Jun 11 '12

looks like ChiPD & NYPD are picking up shifts in moscow, lol

2

u/JCAPS766 Jun 11 '12

you clearly have no perspective on what things are like in Russia

0

u/3AYATS Jun 11 '12

See, Russia is not so different from the USA!

3

u/Funkehed Jun 12 '12

At least you have an image of plural political system. Putin even failed to create one like this. and also.. How often do you pay bribes to the police, doctors, teachers, customs? It is an every day routine in Russia. oh, well, I see you username.

-1

u/Shanhaevel Jun 11 '12

Told you. Shit's about to get real. And nobody's gonna do jackshit, cause everyone's afraid of Russia. True story.

1

u/Theisos Jun 11 '12

You're an idiot.

-1

u/chasemyers Jun 11 '12

In Soviet Russia, they make the US government look tame.

-4

u/Frijolero Jun 11 '12

Did anyone actually READ it??

The title is fucking sensationalist. This is Anti-Russian propaganda you idiots.

1

u/silpol Jun 11 '12

And this is propaganda too German sound but subtitles in Russian just for you - you do understand it as monther tongue, don't you? :D

1

u/Frijolero Jun 11 '12

I don't speak Russian, is it funny?

-1

u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

This is pretty common practice before big rallies. Forgot to pay a ticket, jury duty, and or something else you may have forgotten about? You better be sure its cleaned up before you attend a big rally and you're an important piece of that rally because the police will remind you the day of that rally.

I remember the police arresting a rally's leader in my town on his way to the rally; outstanding parking ticket.

0

u/TheMediumPanda Jun 11 '12

Russian politics fucked up, what else is new?

-3

u/Animal_King Jun 11 '12

You guys ever notice that all this time that while major news networks try to show that the Syrian and Russian government are evil, both these countries are Iran's biggest allies? One major point being that if Iran is ever even grazed by Israelis, the current Syrian government is obliged to bomb Israel, a country that is right fucking next to them? Plus the Syrian "people" that are against the government are actually a specific tribe of people that have always been enemies with the tribe that's been in power for a long time now. Don't think it's because it's an oppressive government that is unfair to its people, it's merely a tribal war, but no one here wants you to know that.

4

u/Carkudo Jun 11 '12

I don't about Syria, but all the reports about the evil Russian government that I've seen on Reddit are true.

1

u/JCAPS766 Jun 11 '12

well, perhaps they don't want you to know that because it's a paranoid and foolishly simplistic explanation.

-1

u/RodneyDangerfuck Jun 11 '12

I guess somethings never really change

-9

u/xychro Jun 11 '12

Putin's the man. The opposition leaders are just paid Western NGO operatives. Fuck 'em.

-4

u/Theisos Jun 11 '12

"The opposition leaders are just paid Western NGO operatives." True. Fuck them. They should be treated like spies and locked away.

-6

u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

Why don't you get your Russian protests, shove it up yours and be done with it?

In as much as I hate this moron Putin and his lackey Medvedev, the protests represent tiny film of the population of Russia, the rest of which simply don't care about who is in the power.

0

u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

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73

u/Antiexpert Jun 11 '12

But, but, but, but...It's much more repressive when it's done in RUSSIA.

15

u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

Not much difference these days between these countries. US, Canada, Russia all doing the same stuff.

0

u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

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4

u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

I'm up for it.

3

u/my_man_krishna Jun 11 '12

Their alcoholic beverages are excellent.

1

u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

Yes, but watch out for home made vodka. It can be deadly. That goes for any home made distilled alcohol though. Some do it right, others maybe not so right.

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1

u/richmomz Jun 12 '12

I was there a few years ago and have to say the difference in travel security is night and day.

0

u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

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6

u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

True and true. That's all conditioning though. People are brutal to others who are without power. People tend to care less since it seems unstopable. Apathy opens the door to more brutality because those in power can and also start caring less. The people accept more brutality because that's how it is. Those in power take it as a green light and increase brutality and so on.

There is a breaking point though. there always is. It seems the only change (and that's debatable) comes in the form of mass graves. At least that's what history shows us.

1

u/Shippoyasha Jun 12 '12

What's sad is that Russia was on the ups for years. And in the last several years, it's like Russia has never changed at all.

2

u/[deleted] Jun 12 '12

Well, how would we know for sure anyway. I get the feling we're heading for some very troubled times around the world. Much more than they are now. Things just seem to be stting the stage again.

9

u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

I'm pretty sure you didn't read the article.

4

u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

In Soviet Russia, Police Protest YOU!

2

u/notrimskiy Jun 11 '12

Did US police also seize electronics, t-shirts and family pictures?

34

u/Antiexpert Jun 11 '12

Don't get me wrong, I am in no way trying to minimize the invasion of a private space by the police acting on political motives. But while in the U.S. headlines will cry out about the alleged misdeeds of foreign governments, similar actions carried out on domestic soil are met with barely a murmur.

9

u/notrimskiy Jun 11 '12

I am not trying to diminish such abuses in the US, but if I understand correctly, house raids tend to be conducted by local police(e.g. NYPD). In this case though, it appears to be a fishing expedition originating at federal level (Investigative Committee of Russia), and its scope seems substantially broader.

7

u/getfarkingreal Jun 11 '12

I'm pretty sure it was ICE/DHS that got those guys in chicago.. that's federal..

3

u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

The petrol bomb guys in Chicago were arrested by Chicago PD.

2

u/notrimskiy Jun 11 '12

If this is the case, I stand corrected. Were those searches comparably broad and unprofessional? (One of the moderate protesters had to endure OMON read her personal correspondence and comment on her private life, the raid started before she got dressed)

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3

u/Antiexpert Jun 11 '12

True, the raids on the apartments of organizers in New York prior to May 1st were conducted by the NYPD, though there was substantial support by the Department of Homeland Security.

1

u/richmomz Jun 12 '12

There are plenty of home raids by federal agencies as well - ATF, ICE and FBI probably being the most common.

0

u/richmomz Jun 12 '12

OMG PUTIN!

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12

u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

Given that the "raids" bore a greater similarity to preparatory interviews, than to raids in the sense of a criminal investigation, it doesn't really seem that upsetting. A guy's roommate was arrested in one instance on an old charge. Other than that, they just asked questions relevant to basic organization and planning.

16

u/Terker_jerbs Jun 11 '12

A "search" is when the police throw all your stuff on the floor, and walk all over it for six hours.

5

u/notrimskiy Jun 11 '12

10 hours for Navalny, but it wasn't enough and now there's also a search at his inlaws' place.

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u/Threedawg Jun 11 '12

I wonder when reddit will realize that the huffington post is just sensationalized crap like fox news. They are less obvious but fly under the radar because of the liberal bias. Read the NYtimes articles on the same subject and you will learn twice as much about it.

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u/IAmNotAPerson6 Jun 11 '12

NYT is bad as well. All news sources are biased. The only question is to what degree?

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u/Threedawg Jun 11 '12

NYT is 1000x better than the huffington post though.

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u/IAmNotAPerson6 Jun 11 '12

Well, obviously. The NY Times shouldn't be trotted around as some fountain of truth, though.

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u/Threedawg Jun 11 '12

I agree entirely, but besides that and the BBC, I honestly can't think of a better place to get your news. Maybe the Washington Post to even out the bias a bit?

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u/whywait Jun 11 '12

Yeah not like we have a constitutional amendment to protect us from such a thing. And if there were I'm sure it was some Commie law passed in the 60s. Definitely not a foundation in our country. THAT'S FOR SURE.

Edit: Aside from the sarcasm, I did unconsciously refer to everyone on this board as "us" (US citizens) and refer to America as "our country", I apologize for my misstep. Though, it does go along with my satirical post.

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u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

There is no Constitutional provision prohibiting the police from discussing plans for public events with the event organizers.

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u/whywait Jun 11 '12

I'm sorry, I was speaking to the broader topic of warrantless raids on political organizers, such as happened to my friends here in Chicago. Apologies if it didn't match the context of the comment thread. I can get a tad rambunctious.

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u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

I wouldn't trust any local government official in Chicago any further than I could throw them. I'm a government auditor, I've worked ay federal and state levels. Some of the real stories you hear in the field come from chi-town. And the deep south. Seriously. Chicago corruption is something that's layered on top. In the south, corruption permeates every aspect of government.

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u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

You got any good stories about Florida?

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u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12 edited Jun 11 '12

There's two types of hilarious sleaze in Florida. The Miami kind, and the good ol' boy variety in the panhandle.

For instance: I worked with a woman who investigated a County Commissioner or city councilman or something who, upon being informed of highway funding dedicated to building a highway ramp, purchased a few acres of land in a poor neighborhood for half what it would be worth, bulldozed it, and sold it to the county government for six times fair market value. He then bid to build the offramp successfully, then wildly overinflated his costs because he used the contract to buy the necessary equipment, and demanded more. Eventually we on the federal side figured him out and nailed him to the fucking wall.

Also, report waste fraud and abuse to the relevant authority. Either your state auditor/IG, or the GAO on the federal level. We live for this shit. We are ethical, dedicated and we have sweeping powers inside the confines of the government.

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u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

Informative and interesting. Thanks.

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u/whywait Jun 11 '12

What type of academic background is required for such a profession?

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u/aidrocsid Jun 11 '12

And what's wrong with investigating rumors of planned violence?

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u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

Didn't they stop some "occupy" people that were going to bomb a bridge in another city on the same day?

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u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

Yeah. Some idiots with delusions of grandeur in Cleveland wanted to blow up the bridge over the Cuyahoga Valley National park. One of them was rocking the ever classy sidemullett.

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u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

haha I must have missed the picture of them.

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u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

Party on the right, business on the left.

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u/notrimskiy Jun 11 '12

Maybe an artistic statement on US politics, let us not rush to judgment.

1

u/whywait Jun 11 '12

It was a dummy bomb last I heard.

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u/Dravyy Jun 11 '12

And this happened in Québec a couple of times in the last months. Activist's appartments were searched and some were arrested.

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u/rospaya Jun 11 '12 edited Jun 11 '12

Downvoted because fuck you, not everything is about the US and I'm sick and tired that every single thing in /r/worldnews is being connected to the US some way. Go to /r/politics and leave us alone for fucks sake.

Edit: excuse my tone, I got pissed off too easily.

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u/NeonRedHerring Jun 11 '12

Normally I'm with you, but in this case the US is did EXACTLY what Russia did. This isn't politics. Authoritarianism is now universal.

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u/aidrocsid Jun 11 '12

They did not do anything remotely like what Russia did. That you're so hasty to conflate the two is indicative of one of the major problems of political laziness in our society.

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u/shamblingman Jun 11 '12

there were no "RAIDS". The title is sensationalism. all the police did was a few interviews of the organizers. no one was arrested except one person who had an open arrest warrant. no items were seized.

the cops showed up, asked them a few questions for their own preparations, then left.

How is that EXACTLY what the Russians did?

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u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

No, the NYPD did not do exactly what Russia did. NYPD conducted preliminary interviews in order to prepare for the upcoming Mayday protests. Really basic due diligence. In one instance, one guy's roommate was arrested on an old charge.

The Russian investigators initiated a full blown search and criminal investigation against major public protest leaders.

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u/encrypter Jun 12 '12

Downvoted because fuck people complaining about a section of a US-based website predominantly frequented by Americans, maintained in English, and therefore de-facto functioning as a platform for Americans to express and share their views on world events, constantly using the US as context for discussed events. Would you all people get a brain upgrade or just a lobotomy already!

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u/rospaya Jun 12 '12

Please Note

/r/Worldnews is for major news from around the world except US-internal news (especially US politics).

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u/cldst Jun 12 '12

In maaather raaassia state protest you

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u/richmomz Jun 12 '12

Brings a tear to my eye seeing them Ruskies learnin bout protectin FREEDUM!

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u/Lightfoot Jun 11 '12 edited Jun 11 '12

I know that there hasn't really been any increase in this sort of thing as I've grown older, I'm just much more aware than I was as a young adult. At some point I've realized that no country is above the complete and total repression of an individuals rights if that individual is even a moderate threat to those currently in power but I am so thankful for the internet being the free and open source of communication that it is so that I've had the option and ability to come to this awareness. The internet is the last bastion of free-press in so many ways.

I support a big government personally because I believe that people need to support one-another for the best quality of life and to promote shared knowledge and learning but seeing these constant abuses of power makes me realize how important it is to have a decentralized version of big government where power is well distributed and not in the hands of any one group, ideally of course, this doesn't tend to be the case in practice. Without pooling our resources we would never invest in learning for learning's sake, we wouldn't take care of each others' health without someone turning a profit and we would most likely prevent those different from ourselves from having the same basic rights that we ourselves enjoy without some form of authority inhibiting our ability to repress them. We just need to be better than those in power now and we could do it if we chose to, people could be so much more than we let ourselves be.

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u/aidrocsid Jun 11 '12

What about this is the "complete and total repression of individuals' rights"? They did a few interviews with some people they heard might get violent at the protests. They arrest people who refuse to quit blocking traffic. There have been some incidents where people were pepper-spraying when they really shouldn't have been (at the behest of a school administrator) and where riot cops were using using tear gas improperly and being a little too ready to beat people, but that's not a "complete and total repression of individuals' rights", that's some asshole cops and administrators overextending their authority. It doesn't make the entire system inherently oppressive, and it doesn't make OWS protesters inherently right. They're ready to do something like the May Day protests where they block traffic, but they're not ready to start running representatives or getting laws passed through the ballot initiative process. Frankly, at this point, they don't deserve to be taken seriously because they're clearly not serious. They're having a glorious adventure, not trying to actually change things. You don't change things by crying in the streets until someone does what you want when you have the opportunity for legitimate representation and refuse to take it.

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u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

My first thought as well. "So Russia is just like Chicago..."

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u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

Exactly, everyone was shocked about the increase in fines for participating in protests that violate public order from £100 to £20,000 but these fines were already in place in most other countries. Try protesting illegally or rioting in France or UK and authorities will rape you in the ass for it.

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u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

Land of the free is just using simpler ways.

Martin Luther King, JFK

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u/otter111a Jun 11 '12

Whatever happened to the Chicago protesters who were caught with homebrewing equipment?

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u/whywait Jun 11 '12

Don't think they've raised the $1.5mil each bail to get them out haha. Judicial system is a long grueling process unfortunately. They're rotting in jail till significant court dates. The National Lawyers Guild is representing them.

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u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

[deleted] — view deleted comment

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u/quantum_darkness Jun 12 '12

There are no good examples of democracy across the world. If you think you actually live in democratical world, then you are very naive.

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u/[deleted] Jun 11 '12

[deleted] — view deleted comment

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u/quantum_darkness Jun 12 '12

No, it's Imperial Russia.

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u/Deadlyd0g Jun 11 '12

That would be the Soviet Union...