Altai activist Viktor Rau left for Georgia because of the persecution under the “Dada” article

Oppositionist Viktor Rau, who lived in the Altai Territory, left Russia with his grandson. Earlier, a criminal case was initiated against the activist under the “Dada” article on repeated violation of the procedure for holding a rally. Rau is now in Tbilisi.

“Criminal cases were instituted against me and my grandson Miron was registered with the police department because of my opposition activities,” wrote oppositionist.

He added that “the totalitarian government does not need dissidents, it needs the silent.” According to Rau, he traveled to Georgia by “roundabout ways”.

In Barnaul, a criminal case was initiated against the activist under the “Dada” article (212.1 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). In April this year, a search was carried out in his house. The security forces seized a computer, a telephone and 65 posters. After being interrogated as a suspect, Viktor Rau was released on recognizance not to leave. Later this measure of restraint was canceled, informs “Siberia. Realities”.

Viktor Rau came out with a poster on the central square of Burnaul together with other activists in support of the former governor of the Khabarovsk Territory Sergei Furgal. He also took part in rallies in support of opposition leader Alexei Navalny. In March, Rau went on a hunger strike in a special detention center in protest against the arrest for 13 days because of a solitary picket on the day of the arrival of the head of the government Mikhail Mishustin to Barnaul. On March 2, the activist tried to personally meet with the Prime Minister, but traffic police officers interfered with him. Then the activist came out with placards and was taken into custody, writes OVD-Info.

In 2019, Rau received the Golos medal for the Defender of Free Elections for the discovery of 200 suspicious ballots in the 2018 presidential elections in Barnaul. International observers from the OSCE Office for Human Rights and Democratic Institutions arrived at the site. They began to count the votes and found another 100 extra ballots thrown in for Vladimir Putin.

During the gubernatorial elections in the Altai Territory, Rau was able to receive audio recordings in which, presumably, the heads of the districts tell how they collected signatures for all registered candidates at once.

During the pre-election campaign to the State Duma in 2021, Viktor Rau was first registered as a candidate for deputy, and then removed from the elections at the request of the Socialist-Revolutionary Alexander Molotov. The activist was accused of supporting extremist organizations, which included Navalny’s headquarters.

Article 212.1 of the Criminal Code (“Dadinskaya”) provides for punishment for violating the procedure for holding public events if a person at the time of initiation of the case has several decisions that have entered into force under Article 20.2 of the Administrative Code on the relevant violations within six months. The first person convicted under this article was activist Ildar Dadin, after his case the Constitutional Court recommended that criminal proceedings be instituted only if the actions of the alleged violator were a threat to society. Currently, one case under Art. 212.1 of the Criminal Code (an activist from Kolomna near Moscow Vyacheslav Yegorov) is being examined in court, four more cases (Viktor Rau in Barnaul, Alexander Kashevarov in Chelyabinsk, Evgeniya Fedulova and Vadim Khairullina in Kaliningrad) are under investigation. Kashevarov left Russia.