In the Russian imagination, Petushky is the utopian destination of Venedikt Erofeyev’s autobiographical novel, where the Soviet author wanders around by train, while he indulges in his monologues on history, philosophy and politics. Today, the small town northeast of Moscow offers a completely different immersion in absurdity: that of the trial of three of Alexei Navalny’s lawyers.
The trial against Alexei Liptser, Igor Sergunin and Vadim Kobzev, who were arrested in October 2023, began four months before the death of Vladimir Putin’s most famous Kremlin opponent, who died mysteriously in prison on 16 February. He was serving several lengthy sentences, including nineteen years in prison for “extremism”. This is the same charge now brought against the defendants. They face up to six years in prison.
Before being sent to a prison camp in the far north of Russia, Alexei Navalny was imprisoned for a long time in the Vladimir region. It is in this same rural area, 125 kilometres from Moscow, that the three lawyers are being tried with the utmost discretion. In the middle of the woods, Pétouchki, a small, charmless but quiet village with less than 15,000 inhabitants focused on their daily lives, is the “perfect destination for an almost hidden trial…”, jokes one of the few Russian journalists who was able to attend the start of the first hearing on September 12.
At the request of the prosecutor, the judge decided that the rest of the trial would take place behind closed doors. The press, like the public, had to leave the courtroom. Since then, nothing has come out of the small regional court, a dull, decrepit two-storey building surrounded by fir and birch trees, at the end of Lenin Street, just beyond the only traffic light in the city.
“Nobody knows why the court decided to hold the trial in Petushki. And we protest against the closed session. We want transparent justice!”Andrei Orlov, one of the lawyers of Alexei Liptser, the youngest of the three defendants, confesses. Meeting in court on Thursday 19 September, shortly before the third day of the trial, he wanted to be very cautious. Like his colleagues, the closed session prevents him from publicly revealing what is said and happening in the courtroom.
“We believe in justice”
Except The worldNo other media, Russian or foreign, travelled to Petushki this time. Even the court’s reception room is forbidden to the press. The security forces are numerous and clearly visible in the surroundings. Plainclothes officers keep watch in their cars, more or less discreetly. “All this for whose safety?”we joked at the entrance to the court.
You have 46.82% of this article left to read. The rest is reserved for subscribers.
