https: //www.site/2016-09-03/neskolko_shtrihov_k_arestu_blogera_ruslana_sokolovskogo
God and Pokemon
A few touches to the arrest of blogger Ruslan Sokolovsky
The story of Ruslan Sokolovsky is a bad story, no matter how you look at it. In addition, in it, as is often the case with big and loud stories, many ambiguities and clichés have appeared, and our task as journalists is to dispel these ambiguities and overcome clichés as much as possible. Therefore - a few comments.
Firstly, the interpretation used by everyone that the blogger Ruslan Sokolovsky was arrested "for catching Pokemon in the Temple-on-the-Blood" is only partially correct. The case was initiated not for catching Pokémon, but for Ruslan's posting on YouTube of several videos, which someone recognized as offensive to believers. The video itself with the Pokemon catching recorded on it became just one of three episodes of the criminal case. Therefore, it is more correct to say that "a blogger who caught Pokemon in the temple was arrested," and not "a blogger was arrested for catching Pokemon."
Secondly, in order to understand the context, it is important to say that it is wrong to look at Sokolovsky as a video blogger far from political and social topics, who, for a joke, went to the temple to catch Pokemon, and he was suddenly caught for this. The theme of religion is one of the most important in, so to speak, the work of Sokolovsky. He is a popular and active figure in various atheistic publics and groups. IN your blog he regularly addressed the topic of religion in the form of rather provocatively formulated atheism. According to him, he received all sorts of threats, and he was in constant skirmish with Orthodox activists. Such episodes can be seen in some of his roller skates (careful: strictly 18+, and the faint of heart shouldn't look).
Ruslan Sokolovsky even published his own satirical magazine "Sokolovsky!", Which can be downloaded as PDF or purchased on paper from his website. The blogger has a video in which he is distributing issues of his magazine in Yekaterinburg. Ruslan points to criticism of the Church and clericalism as one of the main topics of the magazine, and he cites Charlie Hebdo, known for its provocative cartoons (and the tragic consequences of their publications), as an example for inspiration. At the same time, I did not come across in his video calls to somehow discriminate or show aggression towards believers - although, of course, I did not watch all the videos.
We have to make allowances for Sokolovsky's age and his maximalism, but one must admit that in at least several videos he asks topical and difficult questions that are related not only to faith, but also to the structure of the country in general. For example, citing figures for the size of the middle class in Russia (4%), he notes that “the entire population of Russia lives in disgusting conditions,” and, in his opinion, the only thing that distracts people is faith. He encourages to soberly realize the severity of the situation and think about some changes.
Sokolovsky also spoke about Platon or Roskomnadzor, raises questions of freedom of speech on social networks. That is, we have not just a “case against a blogger,” it is, in a sense, a case against a public activist and publicist.
Do not rush to smile at this place. If you think in terms of media, and this is thirdly, Sokolovsky is a fairly successful one-man media outlet: 273,000 users have subscribed to his channel, and the number of views of the most popular videos has exceeded half a million. There are much more popular video bloggers in the country (for example, Katya Klep - more than 4.7 million subscribers), but for a young provincial guy (Sokolovsky comes from Shadrinsk, recently moved to Yekaterinburg) this is a very decent result. We can say that Sokolovsky is more popular than the overwhelming majority of Yekaterinburg media outlets. Both his provocative format and the content of his video were in demand among the audience. As far as we know, video blogging was the main source of his income, Ruslan also helped his disabled mother. Formally, he cannot be called a journalist or a publicist, but if we have a person who regularly discusses social and political issues with an audience of almost 300 thousand people, then is this not journalistic journalism? Albeit in a kind of 2016 format.
Fourth, in order to understand the Sokolovsky phenomenon, one must understand the general phenomenon of “youth video blogging” and “youth Runet” (it sounds awful old-fashioned, but what to do). It is rather difficult for people of the older generation (even mine - although I am only nine years older than Ruslan) to accept the card of acceptable and unacceptable that exists in this area of \u200b\u200bthe Runet. Sokolovsky's blog, like many other phenomena of this world, is filled with provocations, deliberate scandals, hoaxes and obscene language. It can be said that provocation is his main "creative method", which makes his work similar to some representatives of contemporary Russian art (including, probably, with the art group "Voina" and Pussy Riot, one cannot do without these comparisons). Here are some titles of his video: "I am a racist", "Patriarch Kirill, you p ...", "Children's porn from the Ministry of Culture." (Headlines should not always be taken literally - for example, in the video "I am a racist" Sokolovsky speaks out "against any racial discrimination", but also against "reverse discrimination", when representatives of national minorities are given certain quotas and privileges only on the basis of belonging He explains that it is wrong to think of all people as the same: for example, statistically, Kenyans run better than others, although this does not mean that some European cannot run better than a Kenyan).
Thus, Ruslan Sokolovsky is a slightly more complex phenomenon than just a "video blogger who caught Pokemon in the Temple on the Blood." Personally, I am not particularly sympathetic to his provocative manner, I do not share his vulgar attitude towards religion and believers, but you need to be aware that this is an intelligent young man with an active life position. Yes, from the point of view of a traditional, “non-networked” society, he obviously played too much. But I am sure that it is wrong to put a person in prison for his words, if these words do not carry a direct public threat. In my opinion, the words that Ruslan utters, for all their provocativeness, do not carry such a threat.
Now - about who Ruslan Sokolovsky insulted. According to his lawyer Stanislav Ilchenko, the investigation did not submit any statements from the victims or offended believers that would call for punishment for Ruslan. A side plot next to Ruslan's story was the act of the URA.Ru agency employees, who made a note in their note about Sokolovsky that they turned to law enforcement agencies with a request to check the blogger's statements for compliance with the criminal code. Later, media employee Andrei Guselnikov said that in fact there was no appeal, and the postscript was made at the insistence of lawyers in order to protect the media from claims from Roskomnadzor. According to Ilchenko's lawyer, indeed, no statements from the editorial staff have appeared in the case yet, and, according to him, the prosecutor’s office began checking Ruslan's actions before the publication of the URA.Ru article. Nevertheless, in my opinion, whether there was a statement or not, the media reported about it, and this act could create a more comfortable atmosphere for initiating a criminal case and arresting the blogger. But this, again, is a side story.
Whom did Sokolovsky insult, and where did his case come from? There is no insider, it's hard to say for sure, but the following can be assumed. Most likely, after the first media publications that the video blogger was catching Pokemon in the temple, the prosecutor's office and the police began an inquiry into the fact, which would probably have ended quite humanely if the discussion around this act had not developed rapidly. Feeling the growing interest of the audience and the media, Ruslan Sokolovsky published several more videos on this topic, in which he continued to provocatively criticize the church and law enforcement agencies. The topic began to be very widely discussed on social networks and other media, Sokolovsky was sharply criticized by the TV Agency of the Urals, known for its "Orthodox" position. There were stories on federal channels. The noise was serious. This could lead to a more attentive study of Sokolovsky's numerous videos - perhaps by investigators, or perhaps by some influential Orthodox people, even in Moscow or Yekaterinburg. Realizing that this is not just a naughty blogger, but a consistent "enemy of the Orthodox faith," they decided to punish the guy in full for an ostracism. (This, again, is my guess)
But what will come of it? The story is even more controversial than with Pussy Riot: at least they staged a real provocation in the temple, and the guy just walked with a smartphone, didn't bother anyone, and then made a video about this. Yes, the video is mocking. Is it okay to put a person in jail for a bullying video even if it offends us? Of course not.
The court arrested the video blogger Ruslan Sokolovsky, who caught Pokemon in the temple
Probably, in a sense, Sokolovsky is a follower of Pussy Riot. And this is just very important to take into account when thinking about his actions and possible punishment. I am almost sure that if at one time the authorities and the church had not gone to the indicative severe punishment of the members of the punk group, the relations between the intelligentsia and the Church would not have been so complicated now, which means that the militant atheist Ruslan Sokolovsky (or, according to at least he would not be so popular, and his actions would not attract such attention). As we can see, in this case, the severity of the punishment does not at all stop those who want to joke in the church, on the contrary, there are more of them, more and more people are trying to test the system for strength. This is a self-winding spiral of conflict, and the more they now try to punish Sokolovsky, the worse it will ultimately be for the Church and society itself.
In addition, people cannot help but come to an involuntary comparison of Sokolovsky, who is in prison for videos, and people who are at large, although they are suspected of much more serious crimes (or even have already been convicted of such). “Overcome Crime”, “Found the Main Enemy” - this is now a very popular commentary on Ruslan's story, and I think this opinion is heard not only on Facebook.
Now the Church can go in two ways. First: to demand the punishment of the video blogger "to the fullest extent of the law." In this case, in turn, two scenarios are possible. First, Ruslan Sokolovsky will be convicted and put in prison for 2-3 years. Second, the investigation will not be able to prove anything, and the guy will be released from the jail in 4-6 months. In both cases, history will be additional irritants for society, add mistrust in relations between the intelligentsia, law enforcement agencies, and the Church. Perhaps, after leaving the jail or later from the camp, Ruslan Sokolovsky will no longer engage in his video provocations, but I am almost sure that there will only be more others who want to troll the ROC. And thousands of his subscribers will decide that Sokolovsky was absolutely right in presenting the Church as a bunch of embittered narrow-minded people. Its subscribers are mainly schoolchildren, the future of our country.
There is a second option - to ask the investigation for leniency towards the young man. If Metropolitan Kirill of Yekaterinburg and Verkhoturye had turned to the investigators with such a petition, I am sure they would have been able to release Sokolovsky from the pre-trial detention center under house arrest or a recognizance not to leave the place. Or the court of second instance could mitigate the sentence after seeing the attitude of the representatives of the diocese. This is exactly what you expect from Christians. And in this case, people's trust in the Church would, on the contrary, grow. Even those who are critical of it would see that the ROC knows how to forgive and seeks peace, not conflict in society.
Taking this opportunity, I appeal to Metropolitan Kirill of Yekaterinburg: Your Eminence, show Christian kindness and do not allow this story to turn into something more dangerous. See this as an opportunity to show people the best things about the Church.
I am sure that only those who are internally ready to be offended can be insulted. In the desire to put a person in prison for the video, anger and inner weakness are felt. There is strength in the ability to forgive.
P. S. After the column was published the website with Metropolitan Kirill of Yekaterinburg and Verkhoturye, who is now in Chisinau. He said that he would ask for the release of Ruslan Sokolovsky on bail if the blogger wants to accept such help. Vladyka hopes that in case of his release, Sokolovsky will take part in the work of the diocesan mercy services.
CHANGED SURNAME IMMEDIATELY AFTER SCHOOL
- Elena Borisovna, how did you find out about Ruslan's detention?
On Friday, a lawyer called. He said that he needed to come to Yekaterinburg and bring the documents. Not long before that, we talked with my son on the phone. He told me that he had made some kind of video and that a case was being brought up against him. I was very worried. He hadn't expected that things would turn out so seriously. In theory, he did not offend anyone, did not offend anyone.
- Before he was arrested, when was the last time you saw your son?
A month ago. He came to me in Shadrinsk.
This is the name of his father. Yes, he used to wear it, but then he decided to change it. Ruslan went to all sorts of parliamentary debates and Olympiads all the time. He said that people there are constantly confused, pronouncing his last name: supposedly it is too difficult to pronounce. When Ruslan finished school, he just went and changed it.
- Where is his father now?
He became very ill and died when Ruslan was still in the third grade. So I raised him alone. We had no one to hope for. Because of this, Ruslan became independent very early. Already in the 8th grade, he began to work - he was engaged in the optimization of Internet sites. I made money and helped me. If not for Ruslan, I would not have survived at all. Several years ago, I was diagnosed with cancer. They underwent a major operation, after which they were assigned the 2nd disability group for life. At one time they paid a disability allowance, and then they said: "Let's do it yourself somehow." Now I can no longer work. Heavy. I am 60 years old already. All my income is a pension of 5820 rubles and another 2-3 thousand allowances. Of this money, 7 thousand I have to pay for an apartment and for one more to somehow live. A year ago, Ruslan's elder brother died in Tobolsk, leaving two young children. His heart stopped right at work ...
At the funeral of my eldest son, my heart ached. They were taken away by ambulance. Now we have to go to a paid cardiologist, since we don't have free ones in Shadrinsk, and we have to buy very expensive medicines. Ruslan paid for all this. If he is imprisoned, then I do not know how I will continue to live. But this is not the only point! He needs to study, not to sit in jail. They will ruin!
WANTED TO STUDY IN PERM FOR A BIOLOGIST
- His program on the Internet has a lot of viewers. He wanted to be a celebrity since childhood?
He always said that he did not want to keep anything to himself, he wanted to speak out. He is generally a very smart boy. After school I applied to four institutes at once. Enrolled in three - Shadrinsk, Perm and Kurgan.
- Which of them did he want to do the most?
He wanted to go to Perm. They say they teach biology well. But we were late in submitting the original documents. Therefore, he entered the Kurgan University - psychology. He studied a little and said: "It's boring here." Then he transferred to Yekaterinburg to study law. True, he had to take an academic leave, which will end only in October. While he was resting, he lived with me in Shadrinsk. And in February he said that he had found an apartment in Yekaterinburg and left.
- Ruslan was baptized?
No. His dad was a Muslim. I'm Christian. My husband and I were always arguing. He says: "the son needs to become a Muslim." I say: "No, let's baptize him." They argued, argued ... In general, Ruslan remained unbaptized. Religion was of little interest to him.
DON'T LET THE SON IN SIZO
At the meeting, where it was decided whether Ruslan would be released from arrest, he was not brought: contact with him in the pre-trial detention center was maintained through video conferencing. Did you manage to talk to your son?
No. The TV was set so that I could not see Ruslan from my seat. I tried to get closer, but the bailiff drove me away. Only out of the corner of my eye I managed to see my son. He was shaved (Elena smiles bitterly). He had never worn such a hairstyle before.
- And in the pre-trial detention center you were allowed to see him?
No. I asked for a date. I wrote a formal request, but nothing was answered. Only things were allowed to be conveyed. He had nothing there.
- You live in Shadrinsk. Was it difficult to come to Yekaterinburg to support your son?
If non-governmental organizations hadn't helped me, I would have sat there and roared with despair. I simply would not have had anything to come and rent an apartment here while the investigation is underway.
- Did the investigators invite you to their place?
Yes, Thursday morning before the meeting. They asked how Ruslan was as a child, whether he belongs to any sect. No. Nothing! Ruslan is generally very good. It is he who plays the role of "villain" on camera, as many actors do. And in life he would rather sit at home than go somewhere for some kind of drunkenness. He studied very well. Best Graduate! He even received a letter of thanks from the governor of the Kurgan region and a letter from the mayor of Shadrinsk. And now suddenly everyone shows that he is a criminal! It's good that he was at least released under house arrest. I can finally see my son.
Ruslan Sokolovsky is a Russian video blogger, publisher and publicist. Ruslan was born in 1994 in the small town of Shadrinsk, which is located in the Kurgan region, where he spent his childhood and youth. When the boy was only 13 years old, a misfortune happened in the family - Ruslan was left without a father, and later he was raised by his mother.
The guy from childhood was addicted and inquisitive, tried to understand the rapidly developing computer technologies. He was especially interested in the Internet industry. As a teenager, Sokolovsky started building websites. From the age of 16, he began to earn money from a hobby: he became interested in freelancing, remotely completing the tasks of employers for writing and marketing analysis of Internet pages.
After graduating from high school, the young man enters the Kurgan State University at the Faculty of Psychology. But after studying one course there, Ruslan Sokolovsky realized that he had made a not entirely correct choice of his future profession. He moved to Yekaterinburg and in 2012 became a law student at the Ural Humanitarian Institute, where he is still studying.
The blogosphere
Continuing to create websites, Ruslan Sokolovsky got a job in a large company as an SEO specialist, where he began to optimize the work of web portals. But a daily visit to the office was not what the soul of a creative young man required. He quit the office and at the age of 19 formalizes his first own company.
For some time he worked in the previous field of activity, then focused on marketing research and the promotion of content on social media networks. Later, he took on various Internet projects, created a personal public on the popular social network and a video channel on YouTube.
Success did not come immediately, but when Sokolovsky took up translations and dubbing videos, he managed to attract the attention of Internet users. Having found his niche, Ruslan realized himself as a video blogger, uploading videos to the network in which he expressed his opinion about famous personalities, popular movies, events in the world community or about himself.
During the year, Sokolovsky's blog gathered over 100,000 subscribers on the YouTube portal and about 45,000 on the VK social network. The fans of the project participate in the life of the blog and actively comment on the videos they like.
Publishing
The latest brainchild of the video blogger was, which was created as a domestic adaptation of the scandalous French publication "Charlie Hebdo". A special logo of the publisher flaunts on the cover of the monthly, and on the pages Sokolovsky speaks rather sharply in a sarcastic form about all the events that excite him in Russian and foreign reality.
In parallel with the paper edition, an electronic version of the magazine is published.
Personal life
Ruslan Sokolovsky is not an ardent lover of talking about his private life and romantic relationships. It is known that he has never been married and has no children, since he adheres to the ideology of the childfree subculture, which is characterized by a conscious unwillingness to have children in the name of personal freedom.
I welcome guests and regular readers of the site website... So, a video blogger, publicist and critic Ruslan Sokolovsky (earlier Saibabtalov) was born on October 20, 1994 in Shadrinsk. In the nineties, his parents were engaged in the clandestine sale of alcoholic beverages. Due to problems with business, the family had to go out of town for a year. Due to abrupt changes, the boy becomes withdrawn. After the danger has passed, the family returns home.
At the age of 14, Sokolovsky lost his father - he died of a heart attack. During that period, the teenager becomes even more squeezed and devotes all the time to reading books, which he became interested in in early childhood. The young man mastered the entire parental stock of books, then began to buy new ones, and also signed up for the library.
Despite his great reading, Ruslan had practically no social skills, so he had no friends, and, in addition, was the sickest in the class. To fix this, in the 8th grade he began to engage in weightlifting, then switched to powerlifting. Sokolovsky quickly caught up with his peers in physical form, and later devotes time to fencing and throwing knives.
In high school he got carried away with parliamentary debates, where he competed with students and even defeated them. At that time, the young man was a frequent participant in various biology Olympiads.
When Ruslan got the Internet, he immediately became interested in how he could make money on the Internet. Whoever he was - a rewriter, copywriter, SEO optimizer. In those days, Sokolovsky paid more attention to making money on the Internet than studying.
After graduating from school, he enters a psychologist, but after the first session he realizes that this is not his. Then he tries to study to become a lawyer, but this university drops out even faster than the previous one. Then he tries to work in the office, open his own projects on the Internet, VKontakte, but all these activities quickly bored him.
On July 22, 2014, he registers his personal YouTube channel, on which he begins to release his own videos. It is this activity that Sokolovsky considers one of the most interesting in his experience.
Why am I afraid to make new videos (2015)
He started with translations and soundtracks of other videos, then he tried to make completely his own videos, in which he shared his position on various topical issues, and also talked about events, persons, films, books, etc. that interest him. Ruslan tried to choose topics that would be interesting to the audience with brains.
The Seven Most Bloodthirsty Characters in the Bible (2015)
Also, the guy in many videos was engaged in criticizing religion, including Orthodoxy in a very cynical and harsh form. The guy was inspired by the old program of Alexander Nevzorov "600 seconds".
PRISON PERIOD FOR ATHEISM (2016)
Since 2016 he has been publishing his own magazine "Sokolovsky", inspired by the infamous French publication "Charlie Hebdo".
SPRING MY JOURNAL ACROSS YEKATERINBURG (2016)
On August 11, I published a video in which a blogger, being in the Yekaterinburg Temple-on-the-Blood, searches for Pokemon in the popular mobile game "Pokemon Go".
The fact is that the media spread information that responsibility was introduced for catching Pokémon in the church. Sokolovsky, on the other hand, believed that there was nothing wrong with walking around with a smartphone in a church, especially in Russian legislation not a word was written about this situation. This is what became the prerequisite for recording a video.
CAPTURING POKEMONS IN THE CHURCH - 2016
On September 2, riot police broke into the guy's apartment and detained him on charges of "insulting the feelings of believers."
The guy spent 8 months in prison (he was in a pre-trial detention center and under house arrest). On May 11, Sokolovsky was found guilty on several counts (incitement to hostility and hatred, extremism, insulting the feelings of believers) and sentenced to 3.5 years probation. It is worth noting that the young man was tried not only for the video about Pokemon - they studied all the content that he posted publicly.
While at large, the guy plans to graduate from the university, as well as engage in volunteer activities under the patronage of the head of Yekaterinburg, Yevgeny Roizman.
He also starts working for the Znak.com media, for which he removes his column about the events of the last days. This decision is due to the fact that Ruslan wants to have the patronage provided by the mass media, which will competently polish his videos so that he is not imprisoned again.