“A man who takes up arms must act like a man”
The State Duma has agreed to the criminal responsibility of Communist Valery Rashkin for illegal elk hunting. And to administrative responsibility – for refusing a medical examination for drunkenness. At the same time, it turned out that on the day of the unfortunate hunt, Mr. Raškin also missed the plenary session … Only the Communist Party faction voted against, which considered everything that was happening to be political persecution.
Photo: kremlin.ru
According to Attorney General Igor Krasnov, Valery Rashkin was on October 28 in the Saratov region on the territory of a hunting farm that did not have a quota to shoot elk. “An experienced hunter, since 1999, could not know the rules of hunting, but did not get a permit, and concluded an agreement with persons he knew would be committing an offense,” continued Mr. Krasnov, who came to the State Duma with a petition “for waiving parliamentary immunity”. Raškina.
Mr. Rashkin illegally killed an elk, causing 80,000 rubles of damage, and when caught, “made clumsy attempts to apologize,” the attorney general said, personally referring to this kind of insincerity.
“A man who has taken up arms should act like a man, not regret and present himself as a victim of circumstances,” Krasnov said. He believed that a criminal offense under Article 258 (“Illegal Hunting”) had taken place in this case and asked Members to give their consent to the prosecution of Rashkin. And because traffic officers at the deputy behind the wheel noticed a “pungent smell of alcohol and speech problems” who refused to undergo a medical examination, the prosecutor's office also asked for permission to present it. administrative responsibility.
Otari Arshba (“United Russia”), head of the Duma's mandate commission, followed the rostrum. According to him, the Commission “unambiguously” concluded that there were signs of a crime. The Criminal Procedure Code allows the General Prosecutor's Office to refuse to waive immunity in the case of acts related to parliamentary work. But this is not the case, Arshba remarked: on October 28, according to Rashkin himself, he was in the Saratov region in the morning and the State Duma that day adopted the country's budget for 2022 in first reading, and the Communist is wonderful on this issue, as he voted – and also in other matters … (This, we note, is forbidden by the regulations of the Duma, but from time to time it happens in all factions.)
But Arshba still found a good word for his colleague in the chamber: the communist himself. He repeatedly turned to the committee of inquiry and the GPO to testify and “expressed a keen desire to cooperate in the investigation.”/p>
Valery Rashkin, who a few days ago accused, repented and lamented the commission, took an offensive position. He is considered guilty of killing an elk, but only of killing – old friends invited him to hunt and fish, and he was sure everything was legal. Mr. Rashkin is ready to transfer 80,000 to the government of the Saratov region immediately after sending the requisites, and an agreement has already been reached with the kindergarten in the Yaroslavl region to buy a moose cow “to restore the population.”
But Rashkin started with something else. “For almost a month, the media provided many hours and strips for this drama about the Willing, predicted guilt and assured me that I would end my days in prison. Not a single artiodactyl has received so many words, more have been written about the assassination of President Kennedy! ” “The scale of the scandal is disproportionate to the gravity of the act and is unprecedented in such a situation,” because the case has “political consequences,” the deputy said. or use it as a weapon to fight political opponents “…
Each faction had the right to ask three questions. But only the “New People” exercised this right. Sergei Obukhov (Communist Party of the Russian Federation) asked why they took weapons for illegal hunting against Rashkin and why the Prosecutor General's Office did not request the waiver of immunity when the United Russia Nikolai Valuyev was suspected of illegal beaver hunting in 2013. But Mr Krasnov did not answer that question. (Valuev then explained that he did not kill the beaver with which he was photographed and who became a victim of the circumstances, but picked him up.)
But Oleg Nilov (SR) decided to develop the issue and asked the Attorney General: “It is to be hoped that after such a significant case of Rashkin, all poachers will not escape with slight dismay.” case of waiver of immunity, and if you really want to discuss the fight against poachers, you must invite the Attorney General separately.
Georgiy Kamnev (Communist Party of the Russian Federation) asked why the investigation should certainly introduce precautionary measures in the form of a ban on certain actions against Rashkin: “Is there a risk that he will continue to shoot tickets?” And he offered to limit ourselves to the guarantee. But Krasnov said the restraint measures “are justified, Rashkin knows the people he was there with and can influence them.” The Attorney General categorically denied the allegations of political subtext in the case.
Here, Valery Gartung (“SR”) decided to clarify whether he correctly understood that after the investigation, the Prosecutor General's Office would turn to the Duma again for permission to transfer the case to court. In answering these and similar questions, Mr Krasnov brought some confusion to Members' minds. According to him, “there are examples from practice that suggest that such consent is not needed,” and he assured that everything would be in accordance with the law. Usually yes, the GPO itself seeks separate consent to refer cases to court, he explained, but “there was a precedent where a case was referred to a court without the additional request of the State Duma, and the case is now in court.”
There was a precedent in the meeting room: Deputy Justice Vadim Belousov, accused of particularly large-scale bribery. The Chamber agreed to prosecute him in 2018, the trial began in 2021, but without further sanctions by the State Duma. And Belousov was re-elected – he had not yet been found guilty …
“You are an experienced hunter and you say you were misled because you yourself have never released a vacuum, your comrades have always done so. And who has paid for your hunting pastimes for 22 years? Expensive fun, elk hunting today in the Saratov region costs from 80 to 150 thousand rubles, “- asked Alexander Khinshtein (” ER “). Rashkin explained that he never issued vouchers, and if someone was shot while hunting, those who “This is a legal practice,” he said, explaining that he usually never took “a single gram of meat and went home.”
Only the representative of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, Yuri Sinelshchikov, spoke in defense of Mr Raškin. He admitted that Mr Rashkin had “committed a number of absurd acts” but had no intention of committing a crime, so there was nothing to bring him to justice – there was ample moral responsibility to his own party. But given all the noise that came around the story, “giving consent is likely to lead to a guilty verdict,” he said. imprisonment means the loss of a Member's mandate.
The speech of the leader of the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia showed that Rashkin should be tried at least because he is a communist. “Elk is nonsense, millions of our citizens are to blame!” And when Vladimir Zhirinovsky stepped off the stage, they began to chant loudly: “Shame! Shame! ”Mr Hartung, on behalf of“ SR ”, said there was enough evidence to make an investigation. However, the question of restraint and the right to search in residential and non-residential premises, which is also required by the Prosecutor General's Office, has raised great doubts. Rashkin is a member of parliament, and a ban on certain actions may prevent him from fulfilling his duties in front of voters, the Justice reports reminded him.
Ksenia Goryacheva (New People) and Alexander Khinshtein (United Russia), on behalf of their factions, announced that they were in favor of waiving immunity. Gorjacheva noted that parliamentary immunity was not needed at all because “it has become a personal privilege over the years.” And Mr. Khinshtein said that everything Mr. Rashkin did and said after the unfortunate hunt in recent weeks was “either the law or the morals.”