The beginning of the procession of the immortal regiment. "Immortal Regiment": an action that united millions
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What's new was shown at the military parade on May 9 in MoscowVictory Day in 2017 turned out to be extremely cold. The temperature dropped to almost zero, the sky was covered with low clouds.
“At the historical parade 72 years ago, the weather was exactly the same, it was gloomy and cold,” a correspondent of one of the federal channels rehearsed in front of the TV camera.
At that moment, light snow fell from the sky.
Due to bad weather, the aviation part of the parade was cancelled. On the eve of the holidays, the weather was sunny and warm, and at rehearsals a string of helicopters, fighters and heavy bombers gathered crowds of onlookers on the streets, but on May 9 the planes did not appear in the sky.
The night before, snow began to fall in Moscow. The Moscow authorities and the Ministry of Defense promised to disperse the clouds, but the bad weather turned out to be stronger.
Military aircraft can fly in any weather, but it would be too risky to assemble in the sky outside Moscow, to build up in a tight formation based on visual contact.
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The parade under the cold gray sky, without the final roar of aircraft engines overhead, turned out to be unexpectedly short, crumpled, despite the abundance of tanks, self-propelled guns and intercontinental ballistic missiles inevitable at such a parade.
When the last Boomerang armored personnel carrier left the square, a military tractor drove out from the shadow of the Execution Ground onto it - it was hiding there in case any car stalled in the middle of the parade, as it happened during the rehearsal in 2015.
This tractor ended the military parade instead of the bombers, hastily turning into a driveway near the Spasskaya Tower.
Image copyright AFP Image caption The newest tank T-14 "Armata" at the parade on Red Square."Immortal Regiment"
The procession of the "Immortal Regiment", which began a few hours later, on the contrary, seemed bright and impressively large. It was like this: this year, according to official figures, about 750 thousand people took to the streets in Moscow with portraits of relatives who died during the war.
Russian President Vladimir Putin was at the head of the column.
Image copyright Reuters Image caption Victory Day in Moscow was celebrated with a military parade and a procession of the "Immortal Regiment"“Hundreds of beautiful and strict faces around, looking at you from black and white portraits. When I look at them, my throat catches, always. Thank you,” writes Facebook user Oksana Mishchenko.
“I joined the ranks of the immortal regiment. It would be high time - after all, my grandfather reached Berlin. It’s a pity that we didn’t have time to get to know each other. Thank you for this feat, it will always be in our hearts!” Yulia Chuvaeva, a Facebook user, wrote at the bottom.
For the second year in a row, the two main events on Victory Day in Moscow - the military parade and the procession of the "Immortal Regiment" - are separated in time and place (in 2015 they were part of one event on Red Square).
Image copyright EPA Image caption More than 700,000 people reportedly participated in the procession of the Immortal Regiment.For the second year in a row, it passes a few hours after the noise of tank engines finally subsides over the center. This seems logical: the two main components of the holiday are essentially completely different.
The Immortal Regiment appeared in 2011 at the initiative of journalists from the independent Tomsk television channel TV2, which was closed under pressure from local authorities.
Back in Soviet times, war veterans gathered in the center of Moscow on Victory Day, met with fellow soldiers, and remembered their dead friends.
This tradition, also born spontaneously, without instructions from above, existed for many years, as long as veterans could come to these meetings. However, over time, they became less and less.
The idea of Tomsk journalists arose just when living human emotions, memories that day became sorely lacking.
Image copyright Nikolsky Alexey Image caption Vladimir Putin leads the Immortal Regiment procession for the third year in a rowUnder the direction of
The first procession took place in 2012 in Tomsk, and in a short time became so famous that by 2015 it was already quite officially held in Moscow.
When this movement became really popular, the Russian authorities tried not only to help this action, but to lead it. Actually, for the third year in a row, President Vladimir Putin himself is in the forefront.
The "Immortal Regiment" began to be prepared in advance, organized, and gathered people for it; among homemade portrait posters, more and more professionally made.
Image copyright TACC/Fadeichev Sergey Image caption The Russian authorities decided to take the action "Immortal Regiment" under their wingOn May 9, in the morning, there were many people with stalls selling caps on the streets, they began to let the procession through the metal detectors. In 2017, Immortal Regiment meetings were held in schools at the initiative of administrations and even in Russian embassies abroad.
This manifested itself back in 2015, when many on social networks began to complain that people who clearly did not know whose portraits they were carrying took part in the procession. “Quantitative indicators are not as important as the meaning of what is happening. And there was no need to mobilize someone in advance. People would have been behind the eyes anyway,” one of the authors of the idea Sergey Lapenkov from Tomsk said then in an interview with the BBC.
On the one hand, it seems that the authorities are trying to organize and even initiate a movement, which in itself is much larger and larger than that which can be assembled by administrative methods.
On the other hand, many fear that, as a result, a sincere desire to remember the dead relatives is thereby eroded and vulgarized, turning into a kind of mass flash mob.
Image copyright TASS/Pochuev Mikhail Image caption People from different parts of the former USSR took part in the celebration of Victory Day in Moscow"Enthusiasm, sincerity, a real desire of people who remember the stories of grandfathers or fathers about the war, who are proud that they have a photograph of their father, grandfather, mother, grandmother hanging on their wall, who want to go out and show that yes, ours also fought, also died when it all turns into an order from above, of course it degenerates. How long it will degenerate, fizzle out, we don’t know," journalist Nikolai Svanidze told the BBC Russian Service.
Many others agree with him, who were embarrassed by the desire of the state to participate in the action, which was born on the initiative "from below".
However, so far there are no visible signs that this idea is fizzling out. Hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets of many cities with portraits of their dead relatives.
Photo: Press Service of the Mayor and the Government of Moscow. Evgeny Samarin
Participants of the commemorative procession carried portraits of relatives and friends, veterans of the Great Patriotic War, through the center of the capital.
The patriotic action "Immortal Regiment" in Moscow set a record this year. According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, more than 750 thousand people took part in it. They carried photographs of their relatives and friends who worked in the rear and fought at the front.
The participants started from the Dynamo metro station. The column of many thousands proceeded along Leningradsky Prospekt, Tverskaya and Tverskaya-Yamskaya streets, through Okhotny Ryad, Manezhnaya and Red Square.
The participants were joined by Russian President Vladimir Putin and. The head of state came out with a portrait of his father, a front-line soldier, and the Mayor of Moscow carried a photo poster with images their relatives who died in the Great Patriotic War.
Sergei Sobyanin noted that the action "Immortal Regiment" is part of the national memory that each of us carries within himself. “There is no such family in Russia in which relatives, relatives in the war, did not die, did not participate in these battles. For me personally, it is very important that I can join this feeling - a sense of solidarity, a sense of common memory, a sense of patriotism, and pay a debt, a tribute to those people who died for us, for the future of Russia, ”he said.
“In our father’s family, four brothers went to the front. Two of them did not return. One of them died in Ukraine, defending Kharkov. The second died in the battle near Moscow, near Rzhev in February 1942. So for me, this is also a holiday, a close, dear holiday that the whole family remembers,” the Mayor of Moscow added.
Sergei Sobyanin also thanked everyone who took part in the procession, despite the inclement weather. “Hundreds of thousands came. All Tverskaya is filled with people. We try to create a holiday for them, organizing concert venues. Even this year, kitchens, tea, soldier’s porridge were installed in such a way as to at least create a festive mood for people in this inclement weather, ”he said.
According to the Mayor of Moscow, festive events continue at all major venues: in parks, squares in the city center and in districts. “In total, somewhere around 140 events, including the largest ones will be on Poklonka, where will it take place concert. Well, in the evening, as always, a big fireworks display. I invite all Muscovites to take part in the festive events,” said the Moscow Mayor.
The Immortal Regiment campaign has been running since 2007. For the first time in Tomsk, on Victory Day, local residents took to the streets of the city with photo portraits of their relatives-front-line soldiers. More than 6,000 Tomsk citizens took part in the solemn procession. In 2015, about 12 million people took part in the Immortal Regiment campaign across Russia. Last year, twice as many participants came out with photo portraits of their veteran relatives - about 24 million people, and the action itself was held in 50 countries. In Moscow . Muscovites and guests of the capital then carried over a million portraits of the defenders of the Motherland.
You can also perpetuate the memory of your relative - a participant in the Great Patriotic War, tell about his life, show photos on the website "Immortal Regiment. Moscow" . There are already more than 178 thousand entries in the electronic Book of Memory about the participants of the Great Patriotic War and home front workers.
Strong, emotional and infinitely touching procession of the "Immortal Regiment" annually unites millions of people around the world. How it goes in Moscow - we tell.
folk roots
At first glance, it may seem that the Immortal Regiment movement is a young phenomenon. This is partly true, but it is important to understand that in one form or another, such actions took place long before today. So, it is known that back in 1965, students of the 121st school came out onto the streets of Novosibirsk with portraits of veterans. In 1981, residents of the village of Tatsinskaya, who celebrated the centenary, marched with photographs of their dead sons in 1981, according to the plan of director Yulia Sinelnikova, who organized the holiday. Moreover, such parades were held not only in the USSR and Russia - in 1999, for example, a mournful and memorable event took place on the streets of Jerusalem.
Residents of the village of Tatsinskaya in 1981. Photo: from the archive of Yulia Sinelnikova
Dozens of actions similar in concept were spontaneously invented by the most ordinary people - all whose families were touched by the hardships of the war years. People came out with portraits of their dead relatives, because their hearts and that very historical memory that defies logical explanation told them so. In this sense, the "Immortal Regiment" has become only a synergy of local events, the design of a universal popular idea, a movement in which everyone could participate.
In Moscow, the action was first held in 2013 - then the march gathered about a thousand people. However, two years later, on the day of the 70th anniversary of the Victory, half a million people took to the streets of the capital. And a couple of months later, a separate all-Russian public civil-patriotic movement "The Immortal Regiment of Russia" arose, which to this day is engaged in preserving the people's memory of the terrible years of the Great Patriotic War.
Action "Immortal Regiment" in 2015 in Moscow. Photo: AGN "Moscow"
Meaning that cannot be imposed
The main thing that distinguishes the "Immortal Regiment" from other civil movements is its absolute nationality. All generations, all nationalities and all views converge here - after all, one way or another, the Great Patriotic War did not bypass anyone.
However, there is another secret. The thing is that the "Immortal Regiment" is not only about a common tragedy, but also about a personal, family one. Every year people take to the streets of the city with portraits of their relatives - those whose memory cannot be betrayed. It is she - personal memory - that is the main meaning of the "Immortal Regiment". The most real, not invented and therefore so valuable.
During the action "Immortal Regiment" in 2018 in Moscow. Photo: Alexander Avilov/AGN "Moscow"
For people, the Immortal Regiment has become a sincere occasion to study family archives, revive the history of generations and pass it on to their children, remember their roots and, importantly, digitize these memories. The production of each banner becomes a special experience for everyone, and participation in the procession is a reason for pride, first of all, for one's family.
According to the rules of the action, only their immediate relatives can carry photos of war veterans. If you don’t have data on a veteran ancestor, you can honor the memory of those who never had time to start a family, or who have no living relatives left - information about these war heroes is stored in the military commissariats and councils of veterans.
memory path
Today, the "Immortal Regiment" is more than 1000 involved cities around the world (in 2016, for example, the procession took place in more than 60 countries). In Moscow, the action takes place every year along an impressive route through the city center and to Red Square. The road is divided into several sectors.
This year the procession starts at 15:00, the gathering of participants is scheduled for 14:00.
It is not necessary to start the journey from the very beginning (that is, from the Dynamo metro station): you can join the column, for example, from the Belorusskaya, Mayakovskaya, Pushkinskaya, Chekhovskaya and Tverskaya stations. Important: the last three stations will close at 13:00, and "Mayakovskaya" - as the street fills up, so it's better to approach the chosen "point" in advance. Volunteers guide the movement (you will recognize them by a special form), which, of course, can be contacted for all information.
The route passes along Leningradsky Prospekt, st. Tverskoy, st. Tverskoy-Yamskaya, through Okhotny Ryad and Manege, and ends on Red Square. Then the procession will split up: it will be possible to turn onto Moskvoretskaya embankment and go towards the Kitay-Gorod metro station, or go to Tretyakovskaya across the Bolshoy Moskvoretsky bridge. The road is long, so wear comfortable shoes and dress for the weather. Organizers also advise taking a plastic bottle of water with you (they won't let you in with "glass"), although this year water will be distributed free of charge. Just in case, don't forget your passport.
"Immortal Regiment" on Red Square in 2017. Photo: Andrey Lyubimov/AGN "Moscow"
Special Experience
Victory Day is a sad and solemn holiday at the same time, so be prepared for the fact that you will experience a whole range of emotions along the 7-kilometer route. This year, for example, you can feel the atmosphere of wartime in specially equipped field kitchens, where soldiers' porridge and sweet tea will be distributed. Along the way, volunteers will also share with the participants souvenir paraphernalia - flags, St. George ribbons, stickers, caps and balloons.
A volunteer distributes flags during the Immortal Regiment campaign in 2018 in Moscow. Photo: Alexander Avilov/AGN "Moscow"
Of course, there will also be music: 500 musicians as part of concert brigades and amateur art groups are responsible for it. It will also be possible to assess the scale of the column (although the organizers themselves rightly emphasize that the Immortal Regiment is by no means a race “for indicators”) in real time: screens with video broadcasts will be installed along the entire route.
Participants of the action in Moscow in 2018. Photo: Alexander Avilov/AGN "Moscow"
How to participate
The main idea of the procession is nationality, so anyone can take part in it. No registrations and even more contributions are not required. All that is needed is to come to the gathering place with a portrait of your relative. There are no strict requirements for the design of the picture: it is important that it be a photograph (the optimal size is A4), under which the name and surname of the veteran and, if known, his military rank appear.
The photo should be placed on a hard banner - you can digitize the picture and make a layout for free at the MFC department or at any photo printing salon (some, by the way, also provide the service for free). However, if you choose the second option, be vigilant and do not allow the logo of a particular company to be placed on the banner next to the portrait - such actions do not tolerate any commerce.
"Immortal Regiment" in Moscow in 2018. Photo: Alexander Avilov/AGN "Moscow"
Year-round work
Over the years of its existence, the Immortal Regiment has become not just a march on May 9, but a whole movement recognized to preserve the memory of all participants in the Second World War: veterans, partisans, home front workers, blockade survivors, children of the war and those who gave their lives in concentration camps. Of course, one procession in this case is not enough, and therefore work to perpetuate the feat of the soldiers is ongoing. Here are just a few projects that deserve attention.
Excursions
We learn a lot about the hardships and highlights of the war from books, films, history books and museums, but sometimes we forget about the most obvious source of historical knowledge - our hometown. That is why the whole week leading up to Victory Day, Moscow will host open tours of memorable places in the capital.
This year, Muscovites and guests of the city will have seven themed walks accompanied by experienced guides.
Have you thought, for example, about how the relationship between the two star commanders of the USSR - Zhukov and Rokossovsky? Were they friends or eternal rivals? Find out the answers in the author's tour of Bella Voronova
"Immortal Regiment" in 2018 in Moscow. Photo: Alexander Avilov/AGN "Moscow"
Which districts of the capital were the first to suffer from fascist bombs, how did the Moscow air defense differ from London, where did Napoleon flee from the Moscow fire? On May 1 and 4, during a two and a half hour excursion, you will learn what you had to look for in several history books at once.
On May 3 and 5, come to the Ernst Telman monument on Chernyakhovsky Street (Airport metro station) for an exciting excursion - to find out how domestic aviation developed and what happened to it during the Second World War.
On May 4 and 5, take a look at VDNH, where there will be an excursion under the romantic name to find out which of the designers and cosmonauts proved themselves on the fronts of the Great Patriotic War and whose calculations the Americans used in the famous Apollo program.
You will learn about how the USSR almost lost a key facility - the Losinoostrovskaya station - and who saved it from complete destruction, on May 5 and 8 on an excursion.
Did you know that the famous Memorial Complex on Poklonnaya Gora was thought about back in 1942 - before the Battle of Stalingrad and the Kursk Bulge? So strong was the confidence of the USSR in the defeat of the Nazis. You will hear about the fate of Victory Park and the symbolism of this place on an excursion.
View of the building of the Belorussky railway station. Photo: mos.ru
Finally, on May 7 and 8, there is a chance for two hours to immerse you in the history of the “Moscow window to Europe” - Tverskaya Zastava Square and standing on it. The military history of this place is really colorful and rich, because it was from here that soldiers and officers went to the front in the distant 1941, and it was here that victorious soldiers triumphantly arrived from Berlin in 1945.
All tours are free, but registration is required.
Internet portal polkrf.ru
What if all the heroes of the war were alive and could independently tell the whole world their story? Relatives and all those who are not indifferent diligently collect the memory of each on the site polkrf.ru, which was created using social networking technologies. Each veteran has his own “profile”, in which all the information found about him is concentrated - who he was, where he served, what happened to him in the war, or how his life turned out after May 9, 1945. The project plans to unite on one platform about 300 million users - relatives of those who fought at the front or worked in the rear.
Exactly at 22:00, the first volleys of fireworks will thunder. There will come, in the literal sense, the brightest moment on May 9th. Looking into the evening sky, everyone will think of his own. But there is something that unites this day. With simple and warm thoughts, today almost eight million people across Russia took part in the Immortal Regiment procession. Two million more than last year. The action became truly nationwide. 850 thousand people came out in Moscow alone. It has become important to all of us.
Especially from a bird's eye view, you can see how this river of life and memory stretches through the center of Moscow. A real sea of people. And the day that united, the thread of Victory connected all generations - both those who died in battles and the living; and those who had this happiness - to kiss their hands and hug them tightly, thanking them for a peaceful life, and those who know their heroes only from stories and letters, from not always clear photographs that are kept at home as the most valuable memory. They took them out today for everyone to see - here he is, my hero!
Between the metro station "Dinamo" and the square of the Belorussky railway station an hour before the start of the procession, there is a complete sense of celebration. With us now are all those who decided to walk this path in its entirety - almost six kilometers to Vasilyevsky Spusk and, of course, past the iconic place. After all, here, on the platform of the Belorussky railway station, they said goodbye in 1941, seeing them off to the front, and rejoiced when they met those who survived and gave victory.
Faces, all as one, simple and open. Eyes that know the price of life and such expensive happiness - to live without war, without fear and tears. Their gift to us, the current one, cannot be appreciated by anything. All that we can do is just to go along with them in the same formation, squeezing frames with unclear photographs to white knuckles and guessing similar features in their great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren on the go.
Someone has no cards with their heroes left at all. And the time was difficult - not up to photos. And some simply did not survive the terrible years. But the important thing is that the memory is alive. And many carry whole scatterings of photographs. Families went to war.
“This is my father, this is his uncle, they survived after the war. And the older brother - he went missing. These are three brothers, all survived. And one lost his memory and lost his family,” say the participants of the procession.
Looking at the portraits, you clearly understand: from the first day they all believed in the Victory, that they would soon return home, but their fighting friends would never be forgotten. They believed, and therefore did not extinguish the living feelings in themselves for the most dear and beloved, who knew how to wait like no one else.
An amazing story happened almost live today. Two sisters, who had never seen each other for 60 years, met during the "Immortal Regiment" - they recognized each other from identical photographs and told Channel One journalist Pavel Krasnov about their father.
“My granddaughter suddenly saw a portrait of our grandfather, my father. We approach, I say: you must be Lena! Daughter by his first wife. And this is our father. And so we met today, ”says the participant of the action.
In the column of the "Immortal Regiment" today - and Vladimir Putin with a portrait of his father, Vladimir Spiridonovich Putin. He went to the front in June 1941 and, defending the Nevsky Piglet, a key bridgehead in breaking the Leningrad blockade, was seriously wounded by a grenade fragment. And today there is not a single soldier's fate, and even more so, a feat that would not irritate the soul.
How often after the war they tried to find each other. That pain ached, and front-line friendship was stronger than tank armor, haunted. "Where are you now, fellow soldiers?" they whispered all their lives like a prayer. And everywhere it seems to be spreading today: “We are all here!”
People are cheerful and friendly, sincere and cheerful. But it is impossible to fully describe the sensations from here, from inside the procession, in simple words. Today is quite cool, but it seems that the air itself is heated by emotions. Here, on Pushkin Square, we are no longer hundreds, and not even thousands, but tens of thousands - people with portraits flock from all the surrounding lanes. As they say, our regiment arrives, and ahead is the heart of the capital.
For the first time in 75 years, in the hands of a great-great-grandson, a wooden harmonica sang “Katyusha” to the delight of people today.
“Our great-grandfather, he loved her, he never parted with her. Unfortunately, he died. And finally, we convey these sounds, this joy to the rest of the people,” says the participant of the action.
Much of what keeps the warmth of the hands of the winners, their descendants today took with them.
“This is my grandfather's helmet. He was a tanker until he became a pilot. It was very noisy during the war, there were explosions, and therefore it was specially made so that at least a little they could not be heard, it was quiet, ”says a participant in the procession.
Military marches on bagpipes are not at all exotic for good spirits. Another reminder that this was our common victory over fascism with the allied countries, from where dozens of descendants of World War II soldiers also came. Thomas Connolly - Scottish Guardsman. Thrashed the Nazis in France, Belgium and Germany. His son Gordon Connolly says he couldn't help but get out.
“This war united everyone and showed what a feat Russia has accomplished for the whole world. My father told me that we owe you for the fact that we now live in the world - it was you who lost millions of people, more than all other countries, ”he says.
“My father fought shoulder to shoulder with Soviet soldiers. Said they were great guys. He liberated Europe, and it is very important to me that today he is at this grand celebration,” says John Paterson, the son of a World War II veteran.
For the first time, the grandson of Yuri Nikulin, his full namesake, along with great-grandchildren Stanislav and Sofya, are walking with a portrait of their famous grandfather in the Immortal Regiment. Senior Sergeant Nikulin was awarded the medals "For Courage" and "For the Defense of Leningrad". It is not easy to recognize in this picture another legend of our cinema - at the front, Anatoly Papanov commanded a platoon of anti-aircraft artillery, and in 1942 he was seriously wounded.
“For him, of course, Victory Day was the most important holiday of the year. He put on his orders, medals, because he had them. When their platoon occupied some village, and the whole village was burned, and in the morning they hear that a rooster is crowing! Dad says: we covered him with an overcoat, gave him some water, fed him something, and they had this rooster as a symbol of peaceful life, ”says Elena Papanova, daughter of Anatoly Papanov.
“Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya, my grandfather’s sister, and today people come up and ask. This is the same Zoya who was in the partisan detachment, who was the first woman hero of the Soviet Union. This is my duty, and it is very important for me that her feat is not forgotten. And so that people remember those who fought for them in the Great Patriotic War,” says German Kosmodemyansky, a descendant of Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya.
The most poignant stories in this ocean of people are, perhaps, the fate of the “children of the regiment”, boys who had to go through something that even many adults could hardly do.
“At the age of 13, he was left an orphan, his parents died, and he was picked up by troops passing by,” says a participant in the procession.
And how many more such front-line stories, told in a voice trembling with excitement, how many soldiers' destinies and views - a myriad. But each of us is here today only to bow and say to those who did not spare themselves under fire and in the rear: thank you, dear ones, for the Victory! Thanks for sticking with the price!
“We are grateful to them for the Victory, for this world that we now have. They had a dream to walk along Red Square during the parade. Thanks to this action, we can make their dream come true. I brought my dad here, he died in February 1942. And so I brought him to feel that he contributed to this victory. It is important for us to see our grandfather, because he himself could not pass here. I would like that he, even if on our hands, but passed here, today on this day. This is our family holiday, our family tradition. We want to pass this on to our great-grandchildren, my daughter. We remember how they celebrated this holiday when they were alive. We were not told a lot, this is a holiday with tears in our eyes. But it was clear from their faces what they had gone through,” say the participants in the Immortal Regiment action.
Here, on Red Square, it seems that people from portraits even look at us somehow especially warmly. These eyes, which have seen a lot of grief and horror, seem to ask us after a while: do not let this happen again! And silently thank those who gave life. For the fact that they remember, appreciate and understand how important it is for them, who have gone down in history forever, to be together here and now. Walk in this quiet formation. Rather, even float over our heads in the same place where the peaceful sky is.
For more than three hours this endless stream of smiles and glances did not subside. This series of thoughtful and cheerful faces. The songs of those years, bitter and joyful stories did not stop. And the May evening was filled with a clear feeling that everyone did not carry the portrait of the hero, but led him, his own, through all of Moscow, holding tightly by the hand.
The authorities of Ecuador have deprived Julian Assange of asylum in the London embassy. The founder of WikiLeaks is detained by the British police, and this has already been called the biggest betrayal in the history of Ecuador. Why is Assange being avenged and what awaits him?
Julian Assange, a programmer and journalist from Australia, became widely known after the website WikiLeaks, founded by him, published secret documents of the US State Department, as well as materials related to military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan in 2010.
But it was quite difficult to find out who the policemen, supporting by the arms, were taking out of the building. Assange grew a beard and did not look at all like the energetic man that he had so far presented in photographs.
According to Ecuadorian President Lenin Moreno, Assange's asylum was denied because of his repeated violations of international conventions.
He is expected to remain at a police station in central London until he appears before Westminster Magistrates' Court.
Why the President of Ecuador is accused of betrayal
Former President of Ecuador Rafael Correa called the decision of the current government the biggest betrayal in the history of the country. "What he (Moreno. - Approx. ed.) did is a crime that humanity will never forget," Correa said.
London, on the contrary, thanked Moreno. The British Foreign Office believes that justice has prevailed. The representative of the Russian diplomatic department, Maria Zakharova, has a different opinion. "The hand of 'democracy' is squeezing the throat of freedom," she said. The Kremlin expressed the hope that the rights of the arrested person would be respected.
Ecuador harbored Assange because the former president was center-left, critical of US policy, and welcomed WikiLeaks' release of classified documents on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Even before the Internet activist needed asylum, he managed to get to know Correa personally: he interviewed him for the Russia Today channel.
However, in 2017, the government in Ecuador changed, the country headed for rapprochement with the United States. The new president called Assange "a stone in the shoe" and immediately made it clear that his stay on the territory of the embassy would not be delayed.
According to Correa, the moment of truth came at the end of June last year, when US Vice President Michael Pence arrived in Ecuador on a visit. Then everything was decided. "You can be sure: Lenin is just a hypocrite. He has already agreed with the Americans about the fate of Assange. And now he is trying to make us swallow the pill, saying that Ecuador allegedly continues the dialogue," Correa said in an interview with Russia Today.
How Assange made new enemies
The day before his arrest, WikiLeaks editor-in-chief Kristin Hrafnsson said that Assange was under total surveillance. "WikiLeaks uncovered a massive spy operation against Julian Assange at the Ecuadorian embassy," he said. According to him, cameras and voice recorders were placed around Assange, and the information received was transmitted to the administration of Donald Trump.
Hrafnsson specified that Assange was going to be expelled from the embassy a week earlier. This did not happen only because WikiLeaks made this information public. A high-ranking source told the portal about the plans of the Ecuadorian authorities, but the head of the Ecuadorian Foreign Ministry, Jose Valencia, denied the rumors.
Assange's expulsion was preceded by a corruption scandal involving Moreno. In February, WikiLeaks published the INA Papers package, which traced the operations of the offshore company INA Investment, founded by the brother of the Ecuadorian leader. In Quito, they said that this was a plot by Assange with Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and former head of Ecuador Rafael Correa to overthrow Moreno.
In early April, Moreno complained about Assange's behavior in Ecuador's London mission. “We have to protect the life of Mr. Assange, but he has already crossed all the lines in terms of violating the agreement that we reached with him,” the president said. “This does not mean that he cannot speak freely, but he cannot lie and hack ". At the same time, back in February last year, it became known that Assange at the embassy was deprived of the opportunity to interact with the outside world, in particular, he was turned off access to the Internet.
Why Sweden stopped persecuting Assange
At the end of last year, Western media, citing sources, reported that Assange would be charged in the United States. This was never officially confirmed, but it was precisely because of Washington's position that Assange had to take refuge in the Ecuadorian embassy six years ago.
Sweden, in May 2017, stopped investigating two cases of rape in which the founder of the portal was accused. Assange demanded compensation from the country's government for legal costs in the amount of 900,000 euros.
Earlier, in 2015, Swedish prosecutors also dropped three charges against him due to the statute of limitations.
Where did the rape investigation lead?
Assange arrived in Sweden in the summer of 2010, hoping to get protection from US authorities. But he was under investigation for rape. In November 2010, a warrant for his arrest was issued in Stockholm, and Assange was put on the international wanted list. He was detained in London, but was soon released on bail of 240 thousand pounds.
In February 2011, a British court ruled to extradite Assange to Sweden, followed by a series of successful appeals for the founder of WikiLeaks.
The British authorities placed him under house arrest before deciding to extradite him to Sweden. Breaking his promise to the authorities, Assange asked for asylum in the Ecuadorian embassy, which was granted to him. Since then, the UK has had its own grievances against the founder of WikiLeaks.
What's next for Assange?
The man was re-arrested following a U.S. extradition request for publishing classified documents, police said. At the same time, Deputy Foreign Minister Alan Duncan said that Assange would not be sent to the United States if he faced the death penalty there.
In the UK, Assange is likely to appear in court on the afternoon of 11 April. This is stated on the WikiLeaks Twitter page. It is likely that the British authorities will seek a maximum sentence of 12 months, the man's mother said, citing his lawyer.
At the same time, the Swedish prosecutor's office is considering reopening the investigation into the rape allegation. Lawyer Elizabeth Massey Fritz, who represented the interests of the victim, will seek this.