Issue #26/81, January 26 - February 1, 2000  

By Edward Limonov

On St. Sylvester’s Day of 1998 about fifty of us, members of National-Bolshevik’s Party, have staged picket near Ministry of Justice entrance. The day was cold. From time to time some Mercedeses would arrive and leave at the door some pot-bellied bureaucrat, carrying New Year’s present to Minister or to some high-ranking official of Ministry. We saw some Gucci’s and Armani’s bags. We hated Minister Krasheninnikov. He killed our political future, because he denied a All-Russia registration for a National-Bolshevik’s Party.

So, that is how my 1999 started. By hate of that sucker Minister.

Then on January 30, my boys went to Congress of Gaidar’s party. Democratical Choice of Russia thirteen of them against more than one thousand of democrats. The brawl occurred. When the next day I went out to buy a newspapers, seven out of nine newspaper I bought published a story about that fight at Congress of Democratical Choice of Russia. Democrats claimed a great victory of one thousand against thirteen teenagers.

The year went by in slow motion. Ordinary year of police state. On February 20, at about noon, commando of National-Bolsheviks have distributed leaflets at Radisson-Slavyanskaya Hotel, just before a presentation of The Barber of Siberia for journalists. Leaflet stated that Nikita Mikhalkov, famous movie director, is friend of butcher of Kazakhstan President Nazarbaev. Leaflet named twenty or so victims of Nazarbaev’s tyranny: some details were blood-chilling, as Elena Savchenko’s story: she was raped by Nazarbaev’s policemen, and was forced to dig a grave as if for herself in order to get her to betray her comrades. Miikhalkov have a guts to call himself Russian patriot, stated leaflet, but he is liar. So, that how we started to ruin Mikhalkov’s reputation on that very day. In that time Russian society talked about possibility of Russia Mikhalkov’s competing for Presidency of Russia. Few hours later, same day, my boys have found on staircase heading to our headquarters a box, containing 15 or so bottles of Molotov cocktails. Smart boys have smelled a rat, so they quickly delivered a box to neighboring police station. Just in time as twenty minutes after, a criminal police have raided National-Bolshevik’s Party headquarters on 2nd Frunzenskaya Street, on pretext that some passerby saw an armed men in our premises. No weapons been found of course. It was police provocation, they even invited few television cameras, and people from news agencies, that how they been sure of themselves. In my newspaper Limonka I have accused Minister of Internal Affairs Sergei Stepashin of provocation on behalf of his friend Mikhalkov.

On March 10, two of my boys Gorshkov and Bakhur have thrown eggs at Mikhalkov. They been detained on March 13, Gorshkov and Bakhur have been transferred to Butyrka Prison. Then it was a story of struggle for their liberation. Gorshkov was liberated a month later, Bukhur have stayed in Butirka for four months. Step by step even our enemies were outraged by Mikhalkov’s behavior. Some ugly details, as a video showing Russian patriot Mikhalkov, with his book kicking into face of Russian boy Dmitri Bakhur, were published even by Kommersant and Novaya Gazeta. Today, nobody would elect Mikhalkov as president or even deputy. In July, Bakhur was liberated from horrible Butirka prison.

Then on August 17 and 18, Taganski judge have confirmed decision of Ministry of Justice: National-Bolshevik’s have no right for a status of all-Russia party, so we were deprived a right to participate in parliamentary election. But political party have to do something, so we did. On August 24, fifteen or ours have landed in occupied by Ukraine city of Sevastopol, have seized a tower of Marin’s Club, and keeped it in sign of protest against Ukrainian occupation of Sevastopol. They been arrested and to the day that I am writing that very list of our exploits, they are behind the bars of Simferopol’s prison. As we know, the deal was made between Russia’s Foreign Minister Ivanov and his Ukrainian colleague to liberate our boys. But thanks to Russian General’s prosecutor’s office our comrades are behind the bars, because obviously General Prosecutor’s office have in mind to punish fifteen heroes for their crime of patriotical disobedience.

On October 27, in St. Petersburg, was detained a leader of St. Petersburg’s party organization Andrei Grebnev. He was accused of participation in beating up. He denied accusation, but despite all the evidences Grebnev was transferred to "Kresti," macabre St. Petersburg’s prison. He still there denied a lawyer’s help.

On December 18, a leader of party organization of Vladimirski Region, Nina Silina, tiny girl of 21 years old, was attacked at train station of city of Kovrov. She was severely beaten by unknown man. When on the ground, Nina was kicked in her face with a boots.

On December 27, Dmitri Bakhur was hospitalized in his native city of Zaporozhie with a temperature of 40 degrees Celsius, his diagnosis: tuberculosis. Tuberculosis he contracted in Butyrka’s cell. Thank you Mister Mikhalkov, we will not forgive you and Mr. Stepashin.

So, that is the short list of exploits of National-Bolshevik’s Party in 1999. I could made a much longer list, but what is obvious: we live here in police state. And police state will go together with us in year 2000.