Judge of Solombalsky District Court of Arkhangelsk Inna Utkina fined eco-activist Anna Veshkurtseva for 2 thousand rubles for the performance of the anthem of Russia at a protest rally against the construction of the landfill at Shies. Veshkurtseva herself is sure that she was not informed about that hearing. She learned about the verdict from the media on November 26.
The trial itself was held on November 18, Anna Veshkurtseva was not present. In the court's decision, judge Inna Utkina pointed out a number of situations prescribed in the law, when it is possible to perform the anthem — these are official events, holidays, raising the national flag and diplomatic meetings. The judge considered the fact that the anthem was not performed in a festive or solemn atmosphere on September 22 a violation of the law on the anthem and equated it to an outrage over the state symbol.
Activists of movement "Russian North is Not a Dump!" called this punishment «the penalty for patriotism»:
«The organizers felt that opening the event with the Russian anthem would evoke a sense of solidarity with other Russians who were also concerned about environmental problems (and this is true). <...> Not everyone is allowed to be proud of Russia. At the same time, the law does not contain a direct ban on the use of the anthem during rallies and does not provide evidence that the melody played on September 22 is the anthem of Russia. At the rally, only the part from the anthem of the USSR was heard. The decision will be appealed, but it is already obvious: while we are trying to unite society, the authorities are trying to divide us in every possible way.»
Politician Dmitry Gudkov supported Veshkurtseva in his Telegram channel:
"It’s logical: if Tambov privatized the country, then the anthem belongs to them, not to citizens."
Alexey Glukhov, the head of the legal service of the Apology of Protest human rights project, told 7x7 that if the court of second instance found the fine legal, it could be challenged in the European Court of Human Rights.
Activist Anna Veshkurtseva has previously been fined for delaying a rally by five minutes after the allowed time.
Protests against the construction of the landfill at Shies began in Arkhangelsk Oblast at the end of 2018. Several times, activists organized "united days of protest" with rallies in several cities and regions of Russia.
