A Russian policeman speaks out

November 12, 2009 3:40 AM

During the last week, a senior detective in Novorossiysk, Russia named Alexei Dymovsky had a viral hit on YouTube with a series of videos (in Russian: 1, 2. With English subtitles: 1) complaining about working conditions, accusing officers of corruption, and claiming that he and other police were ordered to stage crimes in order to put innocent people in jail. Dymovsky was promptly fired, but the Russian government has since admitted that parts of the police have been turned into criminal businesses. More here and here.
posted by twoleftfeet (11 comments total)

Corruption? In Russia? I am shocked! Shocked!
posted by PenDevil at 4:09 AM on November 12 [2 favorites has favorites]

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(Preemptive.)
posted by absalom at 4:52 AM on November 12 [2 favorites has favorites]

Brave man. Glad he was able to say what he had to say before they silence him. This here, this is the power the internet.
posted by Civil_Disobedient at 5:11 AM on November 12

Not only was he fired, the local authorities were also pretty quick to claim that he was working for the Americans.
posted by daniel_charms at 5:22 AM on November 12

daniel, he clearly is in cahoots with those damn capitalists at the youtubes.

on a more serious note, corruption is near impossible to beat when cops earn peanuts.
posted by dearsina at 5:33 AM on November 12

More news from Russia: Medvedev calls for economy reform

The Soviet model no longer worked, he said, and Russia's survival depended on rapid modernisation based on democratic institutions.

...

Inefficient state giants should be overhauled and issues of accountability and transparency addressed, he said.

...

"Instead of an archaic society, in which leaders think and decide for everybody, we shall become a society of intelligent, free and responsible people."

...

Government had to become more transparent, he said, and corruption should be punished. The giant state companies created by his predecessor, Vladimir Putin, had "no future", he said.

posted by Anything at 7:05 AM on November 12 [1 favorite has favorites]

i'm not sure that 'viral hit' is the appropriate term for something like that. The guy isn't promoting his new movie.
posted by empath at 7:36 AM on November 12

Viral hits existed long before marketing scum discovered them. This is exactly what viral distribution means: Exponential growth of 'infected' population, person to person infection.

This is suicide, even if nothing in the videos is surprising to anyone who has talked to a Russian lately. I hope he can make it out before he has some accident.
posted by dirty lies at 7:54 AM on November 12

Must've had some photos he'd rather be airbrushed out of.
posted by Sys Rq at 8:02 AM on November 12

No problem accessing the video here. He's right, although I don't understand his motivation for posting it. I've had plenty of contact with Russian police, especially this year, and most of it was pretty professional. Hell, a cop gave me a lift home tonight after work. I was robbed by two cops last month, but all in all it wasn't too bad - there's only so much arguing a non-citizen can do when two men with weapons are holding his passport. I know people who have gotten far worse, but my personal experience here in provincial Russia is OK (I just wish I didn't have to spend so much time thinking about whether and how to avoid them).

Corruption here is... expected. It's part of the social order. There are police that seek bribes, there are police that merely accept them. If I was given 14000 rubles a month, a badge, and effective legal immunity, bribes would pretty much be my duty to my family. Combine that with the, as someone said to me "he gets money, I get away, everyone wins", attitude to bribes, and the situation is pretty impossible. Oh, not to mention quotas for work - if you're stuck in a stakan all night, you have to prove that you were doing your job by pulling a certain number of people in, at least around here.

I really would be interested to know if he is being influenced by American money, directly or indirectly. Attacks of conscience are rarely this public or inadvisable. I'm extremely glad he has international exposure- safer, if not safe.
posted by Wrinkled Stumpskin at 10:54 AM on November 12 [1 favorite has favorites]

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posted by ruelle at 5:53 AM on November 13