VZCZCXRO5862
RR RUEHDBU
DE RUEHMO #2778/01 3161215
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
R 121215Z NOV 09
FM AMEMBASSY MOSCOW
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 5376
INFO RUCNCIS/CIS COLLECTIVE
RUEHXD/MOSCOW POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 MOSCOW 002778 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/11/2018 
TAGS: KCOG KDEM KJUS PGOV PHUM PINR PREL RS
SUBJECT: CRIME(FIGHTING) DOESN'T PAY FOR BLOGGING POLICEMAN 
 
Classified By: Political Minister Counselor Susan Elliott for reasons 1 
.4 (b) and (d). 
 
 
¶1. (C)  Summary: Novorossisk police Major Aleksey Dymovskiy's 
November 5 and 10 online video postings, where he accused 
local police chiefs of illegal and immoral actions, has 
touched a raw nerve in Russia, where trust in police is 
already low.  Police officials, human rights activists, and 
journalists have commented, for and against, Dymovskiy's 
actions and motives.  More broadly, the event has shed light 
on the ability of President Medvedev, Prime Minister Putin, 
and others within the Ministry of Internal Affairs to 
implement anticorruption reforms.  We are not in a position 
to comment on the authenticity of Dymovskiy's claims, but in 
either case, public trust in police in the short-term is 
likely to diminish further.  End Summary. 
 
-------------------------------- 
People Listen to the Blogosphere 
-------------------------------- 
 
¶2. (SBU)  On November 5 Major Dymovskiy posted two videos on 
his blog addressed to Putin in which he described a number of 
corrupt police practices in the southern Russian city of 
Novorossisk.  Dymovskiy discussed the pressure to improve 
crime fighting statistics through illegal and immoral means, 
such as arresting those known to be innocent, falsifying 
evidence, and claiming that an officer is working when he was 
sick.  He also noted inadequate compensation and difficult 
working conditions.  Dymovskiy asked to meet with Putin to 
discuss these violations in more detail.  Dymovskiy's 
postings were quickly picked up by mainstream media and his 
world crashed down around him.  Oddly enough, Dymovskiy's 
blog was posted the same day as an interview by Moscow's 
recently hired Police Chief Vladimir Kolokoltsev, in which he 
discussed the need to increase public trust in and respect 
for police officers. 
 
¶3. (SBU) On November 9 Dymovskiy held a press conference in 
Krasnodar region and said that his life had been threatened 
and that he feared for his pregnant wife.  He attempted to 
fly to Moscow that day but was briefly detained at the local 
airport, and when released, discovered that his debit card 
had been blocked and he could not buy an airline ticket. 
Dymovskiy decided to drive to Moscow instead.  He held a 
press conference November 10 in Moscow, which happens to be 
"Police Day," in which he repeated the allegations and asked 
for a meeting with Putin. 
 
-------------------------------------------- 
Blame Game Strikes Everyone, Including USAID 
-------------------------------------------- 
 
¶4. (SBU)  Two days after Dymovskiy's accusations surfaced, 
Interior Minister Rashid Nurgaliyev ordered an investigation 
into Dymovskiy's claims.  At the same time, Novorossisk 
Interior Department Head Valeriy Medvedev called for an 
investigation into Dymovskiy's statements as a crime for 
slandering his police colleagues.  Krasnodar region 
authorities soon thereafter determined that Dymovskiy's 
accusations were false and began formally investigating him 
for libel.  On November 9, Interior Ministry Spokesman Oleg 
Yelnikov said that Krasnodar region Interior Department Chief 
Sergey Kucheruk had fired Dymovskiy for falsely accusing 
fellow officers. 
 
¶5. (C)  Interfax quoted a source within the Interior Ministry 
who said that Dymovskiy's actions were a public relations 
stunt by the U.S. to discredit Russia.  The source implied 
that Dymovskiy was working on behalf of the U.S. since he was 
somehow connected to a Novorossisk human rights organization 
that had allegedly received money from the Southern Regional 
Resource Center (SRRC) in nearby Krasnodar, which in turn had 
received funding from USAID.  Director of Grant Programs for 
the SRRC told us that SRRC had never given a grant or any 
other financial support to the Novorossisk human rights 
organization in question. 
 
¶6. (C)  Novaya Gazeta journalist for the Southern Federal 
District Yevgeniy Titov said that Dymovskiy's story was 
difficult to confirm, but Dymovskiy probably had either a 
mental breakdown due to fatigue, was the tip of the iceberg 
within an unhappy police force, or was being used as a pawn 
to force a shakeup within the elite of Novorossisk or 
Krasnodar region.  Krasnodar region human rights ombudsman 
Aleksandr Kozitskiy told us that Dymovskiy had not appealed 
to them for assistance, but doubted that he was a "fighter 
for justice."  Kozitskiy added that Dymovskiy's actions were 
more likely for personal gain or a result of mental problems. 
 
MOSCOW 00002778  002 OF 002 
 
 
 Russian media also reported that one of the doctors 
Dymovskiy accused of collaborating with Novorossisk 
authorities had denied Dymovskiy's allegations and suggested 
that he showed psychopathic tendencies. 
 
¶7. (SBU)  Many, but not all, human rights activists supported 
Dymovskiy's right to discuss his claims.  Head of the NGO For 
Human Rights Lev Ponomaryov stated that Dymovskiy called him 
to ask for help, and that Ponomaryov replied that he would 
bring a level of protection to the ten-year veteran of the 
police force by helping to publicize his claims.  Other 
anti-regime figures such as Yuliya Latynina, however, have 
written that Dymovskiy should not have spoken publicly, and 
that he should have quit long ago if he had problems with the 
way the police department was run. 
 
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Comment 
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¶8. (C)  Medvedev and Putin have yet to comment on the case, 
and some observers have suggested that Dymovskiy had created 
an awkward situation that the tandem would need to discuss 
jointly before speaking publicly, if either one of them spoke 
at all.  Putin, as the de facto leader of the security 
services, was the go-to person on these types of matters. 
Medvedev, however, had pushed anticorruption strongly as one 
of his key priorities for Russia, including most recently in 
his November 12 speech to the nation.  Dymovskiy's direct 
blog address to Putin is seen by many here that the police 
officer, like most other observers, viewed Putin as the 
tandem member who can resolve problems.  Officials' knee-jerk 
reaction in firing Dymovskiy before knowing and fully 
investigating his accusations has only compounded the public 
relations problem the country's police force has suffered 
from for years.  Whatever happens on the elite level, public 
confidence in police officers could decrease whether the 
accusations are confirmed, found to be false, or like most 
criminal investigations, linger on unresolved. 
Beyrle