Yura is gone.

I am so angry.

And ashamed. I have posted about Jura, but the beginning of that post was a bit stupid.

I spent yesterday evening with a (Russian) friend – thanks to whom this whole Chervochkin affair was in IStori in the first place. (IStori is not a big deal, but spreading the word is somewhat important.)



Jura died yesterday. His would have celebrated his 23rd birthday on the New Year's Eve.

Jura died after being beaten up by the police in fron of his home. After being in coma for a fortnight. After his mother tried to raise money from friends, organisations, everywhere, for the hospital bills. (A day in a Russian hospital cost 20 000 rubles ie. 500 euros per coma patient, we learned.)

He was his mother's only child.

My friend from Russia also told me that "Jura was a worker in an industrial plant, and he liked to spend his time off with the opposition."

Hanging out with his political friends. And with his girlfriend.

And distributing leaflets.

This autumn he started receiving anonymous phone calls and SMS's – the message of which was clear: he will die if he goes on.

"Goes on... doing what"? I asked, wanting to know why they were so eager to kill the youngster. (As if the guy was a big politician, and I'd be sorry for not having heard of him before. EDIT: But still, he was the leader of the National Bolshvik organisation, in the Moscow oblast. Yet, no reason for killing anyone...)) "They said he will die if he keeps on distributing the leaflets of The Second Russia", my friend told me. "He, as well as his friends, got several death threats under the Duma elections."

How very, very sad.


*****


Old news (situation last week):

Yuri Chervochkin from Serpukhov (Moscow Region) is still in coma after he had been beaten up on November 23, the day before the March in Moscow. He was found at the entrance to his apartment building. He suffered a grave head injury and had hurt his arm when trying to protect himself. ---

Yuri had called the office [of the local branch 2nd Russia movement] an hour before he was found with his head broken. He told that there were two UBOP servicemen who threatened him with "tearing off his head" a few days before that.

He told that he was being followed by some UBOP people who he had recognized. It was not a robbery as the assaulters didn't take the money, or a watch or an expensive mobile phone.

He has been taken to Burdenko Hospital. His doctors find his condition to be stable but grave. They tell that it is possible to save his life although the consequences of the head injury are inevitable. Yura is trying to open his eyes and he reacts to pain irritants. He has not regain consciousness. ...