Russian Anarchists Refuse to go to Court

In Moscow there has been a growing movement of residents fighting against the uncontrolled construction of luxury housing. The buildings going up are not only unaffordable for most people, but often are built in parks or public space between housing blocks. They often block the view of other residents, destroy all public and green areas and sometimes even are built in such a way that threaten the foundations of less stable buildings. The usual gentrification process often also takes place, displacing the poorer residents from areas they can no longer afford to live in.

Many of the protests have included direct actions such as blocking streets or construction work. Anarchists have been taking part in these actions.

On Oct.8, there was an action in Moscow and 19 people were arrested including 6 members and sympathizers of KRAS, the Russian section of the IWA. The arrested anarchists were kept overnight and beaten. One of them was forced to go to court and was sentenced to 4 days in jail and a fine of 2000 roubles. The rest decided that they would refuse to appear in court in an act of protest.