Mass arrests in Moscow: “Like mice in a cage”

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“Novaya Gazeta Europe” opens a window to Russia with the following article. You can find the whole article in Russian here.

Police arrested hundreds of people, including many minors, in a raid in central Moscow on November 7th. Those affected report violence by the security forces. Adults were also given draft notices and offered contracts with the Russian Ministry of Defense. This is reported by the independent newspaper Novaya Gazeta Europe.

The Kitai-Gorod district of Moscow is a popular meeting place for young people. Many are part of alternative subcultures, listen to music in public places or make TikTok videos with friends. For many, Kitai-Gorod is a safe space and an opportunity to connect with like-minded people.

In recent years, negative reports about the district have also increased. Journalists from the Bereg medium observed drunken young people or heard conversations about drug trafficking. Some of the young people also boasted about fights and attacks on migrants. National Socialist slogans are said to have been heard in one group.

The police and National Guard have been increasingly monitoring the neighborhood since the summer. According to the Medium Post, the operation at the beginning of November was the sixth major raid against young people since the beginning of the year - and the most extensive to date.

On the evening of November 7, security forces surrounded Gorky Park near the Kitai-Gorod metro station. According to media reports, around 200 people were arrested, the Russian news agency Tass even says several hundred.

An eyewitness reported that the police began cordoning off the area at around 7 p.m. and putting young people in prison vans. At this time, minors were still allowed to be on the streets. Minors under 16 years of age who are not accompanied by a legal guardian do not have to be at home until 11 p.m. There were also arrests outside the park. A journalist observed four security forces throwing a young man to the ground and taking him away.

The Russian Interior Ministry justified the operation with “preventive measures to ensure public order.” They wanted to take action against “alcohol consumption in public places”.

The reports about the treatment of detainees who were of legal age are particularly serious. One of those affected said that the police took their passports and then led them to a police station in groups of around 80 people each.

“Everyone received a call-up notice,” says the person concerned. “I have a deferral from military service, but I was still given a draft notice.” Security forces are said to have strongly offered to sign a contract with the Russian Defense Ministry to other detainees.

Ivan Chuvilyaev from the organization Idite Lessom (German: “Walks through the Forest”) confirmed to the television station Dozhd that two affected people had contacted the organization. Idite Lessom supports people not to get caught up in the Russian military service.

According to Chuvilyaev, the police randomly distributed call-up notices for the next morning without properly depositing them in the state online portal Gosuslugi. “The police acted on their own initiative,” said Chuvilyaev. In his opinion, those affected are therefore not obliged to comply with the request.

The operation sparked outrage among parents and young people. A Muscovite whose children regularly visit Gorka Park described the raid as “absolute madness” in an interview with Dozhd broadcaster.

“They just herded everyone together like mice in a cage,” she said. A 13-year-old friend of her son was also arrested and suffered a panic attack as a result.

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