Before the events that took place on Bolotnaya Square, few people knew the name of Leonid Razvozzhaev. But the wave of protests and riots that swept the Russian capital in 2011-2012 turned everything upside down. From an ordinary public figure, Leonid Razvozzhaev turned into a political criminal plotting a coup.
However, how true are the accusations made against him? Could Razvozzhaev have been involved in the conflicts on Bolotnaya Square? And what is generally known about this person?
Razvozzhaev Leonid: biography of early years
The future public figure was born on June 12, 1973. It happened in Angarsk, in the Irkutsk region. His first education began at school number 4. Of all the variety of subjects, physical education has always been a favorite. After all, it was not for nothing that at a young age Leonid Razvozzhaev was a member of the Angarsk boxing section and even competed at local competitions.
After graduating from school, he entered a vocational school to get a speci alty"gas welder" But instead of starting to improve in his profession, he decided to open his own business. In addition, in 1993 he began to earn extra money in the newspaper Nezavisimoe obozrenie.
In 1997, he was interrogated as a witness in a robbery case. So, 500 pure fur hats were stolen from a certain Vyacheslav Skudenkov, which at that time cost a considerable fortune. It would seem that there is something special? But 15 years later, this case will be reopened, and the main suspect in it will be Leonid Razvozzhaev.
In 1998, he joins the opposition movement of the left. It is this moment that is considered a turning point in the fate of the future activist. After all, if he had acted differently then, perhaps his fate would have been completely different.
Moving to Moscow
In 2003, Leonid Razvozzhaev decides to move to Moscow. At first, he got a job as a driver for the deputy of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation, Ilya Ponomarev. But soon the position of a simple driver got tired of him, and Leonid began to try his hand at politics.
The first significant victory was the entry into the apparatus of the Rodina party. According to official documents, he worked there from 2005 to 2007. Along the way, Leonid Razvozzhaev continued to work on promoting the influence of the Left Front. In particular, in 2004 he became one of the founding fathers of the Youth Left Front movement.
In 2011, Razvozzhaev became chairman of the Trade Union of Trade and Services Workers. And in October 2012, he made his way to the Council of the Course of the Left Forces. Alas, it was histhe last victory followed by a series of bitter defeats.
The story of one betrayal
In early October 2012, the Russian TV channel NTV released a film called Anatomy of a Protest - 2. This picture revealed a secret conspiracy woven in order to raise a wave of unrest in the capital of Russia. In support of this theory, the authors of the tape offered indisputable evidence - a video of the very meeting at which the fate of the country was decided.
The main characters were Givi Targamadze, Mikhail Iashvili, Leonid Razvozzhaev and Sergei Ud altsov. They were all present at a secret meeting that took place in Minsk in the second half of June 2012.
After the publication of the material, the department of the Investigative Committee filed charges against the participants in this meeting. And although not everyone believed in the veracity of this film, the police nevertheless received an order to arrest Leonid Razvozzhaev.
Flight to Ukraine
According to the reports of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Razvozzhaev was put on the federal wanted list on October 19, 2012. However, the activist foresaw this turn of events and fled to Ukraine. But at an opposition rally held in the Russian capital on October 20, people were informed that the fugitive had been caught.
Thus, according to the version of the left forces, Leonid Razvozzhaev was seized by unknown people in masks when he approached the office of the UN High Commissioner in Kyiv. And only a day later he was taken to Moscow, where he was illegally charged. According to the informationprovided by Ilya Ponomarev, Leonid was convicted that same evening in the Basmanny Court, depriving him of the right to a lawyer.
However, soon the Russian Interior Ministry provided other information. They assured that Leonid returned to Russia of his own free will, which is confirmed by the testimony of Ukrainian customs officers. Then he appeared at the Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and wrote a confession.
Statement of law enforcement pressure
Shortly after the arrest of Leonid Razvozzhaev, information appeared on the network that he was tortured. Only because of this, he pleaded guilty and now requires a retrial. However, on October 22, Anton Tsvetkov visited the prisoner and, according to him, he did not find any signs of torture. A similar statement was made by representatives of medicine. According to their examination, there are simply no injuries or abrasions on Razvozzhaev's body.
And yet, rumors of torture and abuse of the activist appeared on the net every now and then. But at the same time, not a single official complaint about the illegal actions of law enforcement agencies was received from Razvozzhaev himself.
Sentence
In July 2014, the Moscow Court sentenced Leonid Razvozzhaev to 4.5 years in prison. Also, a monetary pen alty in the amount of 150 thousand Russian rubles was imposed on him. No reconsideration of the case or parole is currently forecast.
Leonid Razvozzhaev: family
In the end, I would like to talk about one more important point - about the activist's family. Leonid Razvozzhaev andYulia Smirnova were a happy family raising two wonderful children. The accusation of her husband became fatal for them.
After all, even after the verdict, Yulia could not believe that Leonid was involved in treason. And although she is unable to change the current order of things, she is not going to leave her husband during this period.
