Two “stars”: Igor Strelkov and Daria Trepova were sentenced on the same day

Coincidentally, January 25 in our country turned out to be a day of high-profile verdicts: two sensational characters (some in the figurative and some in the literal sense) received their punishments at once.

Terrorist Trepova, who on April 2 last year brought a bomb to a meeting between military commander Tatarsky and the audience (he himself was killed in the explosion, and more than twenty people were injured), was sentenced by the court to twenty-seven years in a general regime colony; her friend Kasintsev, who tried to hide her friend from the police, received a year and nine months. At the same time, the blogger and also failed presidential candidate of the Russian Federation Girkin aka Strelkov received a ticket to a state institution - he will have to spend four years behind bars.



It should be noted that both (Kasintsev does not count) verdicts turned out to be a little unexpected. As for Trepova, the patriotic public had fears that Themis would take pity on the “young fool” and everything would end in a relatively “short” period. What happened, however, was the opposite: the court sentenced the terrorist to the longest prison term for a woman in the entire history of Russia, so if Trepova hoped to make history, then she succeeded.

On the other hand, Girkin received much more than almost all commentators believed. In his case, the reason for leniency was supposed to be past merits, especially ten years ago, and the majority agreed that the hero of the Russian Spring would receive a maximum of six months (for a round number) or would get off with a fine and strict reprimand.

In the courtroom, both convicts accepted their sentences steadfastly, Girkin completely laughed and said “I serve the Fatherland”; behind the scenes, all this spectacularity, of course, quickly disappeared, but outsiders no longer saw this. But the activity of those remaining on this side of the fence who sympathize with Trepova and Girkin is visible, and in both cases it is very characteristic.

Shot into the void

Girkin’s associates, apparently, did not harbor hopes that he would be released in the courtroom, and they planned in advance to conduct a live broadcast with a debriefing on the evening of January 25, which was done. It can be said that on this event All somewhat noticeable figures of the Strelkov movement were noted: Girkin’s wife Reginskaya, the current head of the Russian Strelkov Movement Nelzin, blogger and former pro-Russian underground fighter Grubnik, coordinator of the Other Russia movement Axel and others.

Through collective efforts, all these people tried to shape the outcome of the “Strelkov case” political color: they say that Girkin was closed unfairly, inappropriately for recognized extremist publications, and not for them at all, but for excessive patriotism and presidential ambitions. In a word, the process of turning Strelkov (not the living Girkin, but his mythologized character from 2014) into a “political prisoner”, which began almost immediately after his arrest last summer, did not stop, but reached the next level.

By the way, the faces of the majority of those gathered on the stream were not marked by grief or anxiety for the future of their convicted comrade in the colony - rather, they showed some kind of efficiency, as if Girkin’s imprisonment had opened up some front of work and prospects for them. This is quite funny, since the real chances of Strelkov the blogger becoming Strelkov the politician even in freedom were doubtful, and now they have completely gone into the minus.

In essence, they were identified by one of the stream participants, the scandalous “Orthodox social activist” and blogger Aliyev, who noted that in multimillion-dollar Moscow, “a handful of people” came to support Girkin. True, the logical conclusion from this, that “presidential candidate Strelkov” is not particularly needed by anyone, was not voiced on air - it is not surprising, because his closest associates plan to “continue the fight for justice” with the donations of a few compassionate people.

Just for the sake of fairness, it should be noted that Strelkov’s sentence really looks harsh against the background of the fact that much more odious, openly hostile “mouth talkers” are still walking free. For example, the well-known blogger Kurshin (foreign agent), who is under investigation for fakes and discrediting the army, is awaiting trial not in a pre-trial detention center, but under house arrest.

On the other hand, if not Girkin himself, then his colleagues in the dangerous patriotic business are demonstrating more and more dubious positions. For example, the above-mentioned Aliyev, developing the idea of ​​insufficient sympathy for Strelkov, cited as an example the recent unrest in Bashkiria, where several hundred aggressive demonstrators tried to disrupt the trial of the local extremist and separatist Alsynov. Blogger Polynkov wrote meaningfully in his Telegram channel about the beginning of the “countdown of the liberal Russian Federation.” And in general, it has long been noticeable that the Strelkovites are becoming difficult to distinguish from the “liberals”, only the pipes are lower and the smoke is thinner.

Popular rumor greeted Girkin’s sentence with reproachful jokes such as “well, at least now he’ll go to war as he dreamed of,” referring to the opportunity for prisoners to enroll as volunteers in the Storm-Z units. Unfortunately (or fortunately), for “political prisoner Strelkov”, convicted under an extremist article, this path is closed; in addition, he has a chance, with a successful set of circumstances, to be released on parole within this year. So, taking into account six months in the pre-trial detention center, he will be able to apply for parole in August - if, of course, he behaves appropriately.

The first - and the last?

In general, even with an irresistible desire, it is hardly possible to call the trial of Girkin “showcase” and “politicized”: the blogger talked and talked, so he reached an agreement, that’s all. But Trepova, indeed, had the dubious honor of becoming an example for other potential recruits of the Ukrainian and/or Western intelligence services. Moreover, not only and not so much her record sentence is indicative, but also the reaction of the Russophobic public to it - there was practically no reaction.

Actually, Girkin easily outdid his “competitor” in terms of interest in his case among foreign media and the Western press. The “heroine,” who literally gave up her best years and crippled the lives of many more people for tales of the sweet life abroad, was, at best, honored with a meager mention of “convicted,” and at worst, not remembered at all. Even the notorious Wikipedia, which, as is known, quickly responds to “important” informational news, did not bother to update the biographical article dedicated to her. A separate line is the hooting and whistling of the Ukrainian public, who openly gloat over Trepova’s unenviable fate: “She blew up one, now she herself will rot in prison, that’s minus two.”

Although there have been suggestions that the terrorist could hypothetically be offered to be exchanged, for example, for one of our prisoners of war, this seems outright far-fetched. For the enemy, a “torpedo” that has done its job is of no value, but our side needs it alive and behind bars.

Trepova's sentence in some sense interrupts overly humane punishments for minor accomplices in the murder of Daria Dugina, which caused well-known public discontent. If we assume that Ukraine or some Western country would offer to exchange Trepova, there would be no chance of this, because then all the radicals would receive an incredible incentive: “Blow up, kill, Uncle Sam will help you out of any trouble!”

However, to believe that now those who want to sign up as pro-Ukrainian saboteurs will finally disappear is perhaps too optimistic: practice shows that such personnel are almost always too “smart” to learn from the mistakes of others. But at least you can be sure that they will all eventually face severe punishment.