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R 171225Z JUL 09
FM AMCONSUL ST PETERSBURG
TO SECSTATE WASHDC 2803
INFO AMEMBASSY MOSCOW 
AMCONSUL ST PETERSBURG 
AMCONSUL VLADIVOSTOK 
AMCONSUL YEKATERINBURG 
EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS ST PETERSBURG 000090 
 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: RS PHUM
SUBJECT: RUSSIAN POSTAL SERVICE FIRES OPPOSITION ACTIVIST FOR 
POLITICAL ACTIVITIES 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary:  The St. Petersburg branch of the Federal 
Postal Service forced an employee to resign on June 24, 
reportedly after its management discovered information regarding 
his past political activities.  Both the company and the 
employee publicly stated that the "separation" was based on 
mutual agreement.  But, off-the-record, postal management 
revealed that the order to dismiss the employee had originated 
in Moscow and was politically motivated.  End Summary. 
 
¶2. (SBU). Yevgeniy Konovalov, Chairman of the Russian 
Social-Democrat Youth Union (RSDSM) and a member of the Union of 
Social Democrats (SSD, founded in 2007 and chaired by Mikhail 
Gorbachev), recently reported to Poloff that he was fired on 
June 24 from the St. Petersburg and Leningrad Oblast office of 
the Federal Postal Service (UFPS) on political grounds. 
 
¶3. (SBU) Konovalov is an important local dissident activist, and 
as leader of the RSDSM organization maintains contact with 
numerous other activists from various political parties, youth 
organizations and labor unions in St. Petersburg, other parts of 
Russia, and internationally.  He has played an instrumental role 
in organizing the annual anti-racism movie festival "Open Your 
Eyes" (most recently held in St. Petersburg this past March) as 
well as the anti-government street rallies known as the "Marches 
of Dissenters."  He is also a founder of Xenophobia.net, a 
movement which attempts to draw politically disaffected youth 
into productive counter-racist activities.  In 2008, Konovalov 
travelled to the U.S. as part of the international visitor 
program "Young Politicians and Activists in Northwestern Russia 
City Governments." 
 
¶4. (SBU) Konovalov began working at UFPS as the head of the 
advertising and marketing section in early June.  He had 
relevant higher education and job experience in advertising, 
including a number of previous marketing positions in both 
Moscow and St. Petersburg.  According to Konovalov, the 
management of UFPS was satisfied with his performance during his 
brief employment, and he had already implemented some changes 
which had improved the local office's marketing policies. 
 
¶5. (SBU) Konovalov's problems at UFPS began abruptly on June 23, 
when a member of management researched his past on the internet 
and discovered Konovalov's connection with various opposition 
organizations, and in particular his key role in organizing the 
"Marches of Dissenters."  Konovalov told us that management also 
discovered that he and RSDSM in 2007 had supported a labor 
strike against the St. Petersburg postal service itself.  (Note: 
The strike ended with the dismissal of all labor union 
activists.)  Postal management was also upset, according to 
Konovalov, to find out that in October, 2008, RSDSM had signed a 
joint declaration with the Georgian Youth Socialists Union which 
condemned both Russian and Georgian violence during the South 
Ossetian conflict. 
 
¶6. (SBU) Management informed Konovalov that the Russian Postal 
Service barred all postal transfers to Georgia as a matter of 
policy, and that they were not willing to employ someone who 
maintained any communication with that country.  Konovalov's 
manager specifically warned him that, because the postal service 
was now aware of his participation in opposition political 
circles, he should be ready to face the consequences of those 
actions.  According to Konovalov, all of these "findings" 
regarding his political activity were forwarded immediately to 
Moscow.  Late in the afternoon on June 23, the Director of the 
St. Petersburg office received a telephone call from a 
high-level postal management representative in Moscow with 
instructions to fire Konovalov immediately. 
 
¶7. (SBU) Konovalov was fired the next day.  A management 
representative explained to him, in the presence of other 
employees, that the sudden dismissal was the result of 
Konovalov's past political activities.  Nevertheless, postal 
management requested Konovalov sign a protocol stating that his 
separation was based on mutual agreement.  Konovalov was told 
that if he refused to sign the protocol, he would be fired with 
prejudice - thus spoiling his employment records and future 
employability.  Konovalov agreed to sign the protocol, as he 
also knew he was still within the probationary period of his new 
job, and hence it would have been easy for management to dismiss 
him anyway. 
 
¶8. (SBU) On June 29, as reported by the newspaper "Novaya 
Gazeta," Mikhail Gorbachev spoke in support of his SSD movement 
colleague:  "I am not only surprised but also outraged. [...] 
Russian citizens should firmly stand against such violations of 
their constitutional rights." 
 
¶9. (SBU) UFPS categorically denies having dismissed Konovalov 
due to political considerations and refers to the 
above-mentioned mutual agreement protocol as the legal grounds 
for the company's action.  Moreover, as has been reported in the 
local press, UFPS considers Konovalov's claim that he was fired 
on political grounds to be slanderous, though as of yet there 
have been no reports that UFPS will pursue any legal action 
along those lines.  Konovalov, in turn, plans to consult with a 
lawyer to explore his options regarding the possibility of suing 
the UFPS or filing a complaint with the Prosecutor's Office. 
 
¶10. (SBU) This event is not the first time Konovalov has been 
harassed by governmental authorities for his political 
activities.  In 2008, Konovalov reported that local MVD officers 
had talked to him on orders from the regional GUVD Chief 
Vladislav Piotrovsky.  They advised him against any further 
participation in street protests and requested he present 
himself at a police station for further discussion of his 
political activities.  Nothing came of this, as Konovalov heard 
nothing from governmental authorities after he made a public 
statement through "Echo Moskvy" radio stating what had happened. 
 
¶11. (SBU) Comment.  If Konovalov's allegations are true, and we 
have no reason to suspect they are not, his firing from a 
non-political job because of his political activities represents 
another serious step in the wrong direction.  Konovalov's 
chances of prevailing in the court system (if he chooses to go 
that route) to get compensation for what happened to him are 
slight, given that he signed the protocol letter which gives 
legal cover to the postal authorities.  End Comment. 
 
 
GWALTNEY