Kirill Formanchuk (born 25 August 1983) is an

activist Activism consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived common good. Forms of activism range from mandate build ...

for motorists' rights in

Yekaterinburg Yekaterinburg (, ; ), alternatively Romanization of Russian, romanized as Ekaterinburg and formerly known as Sverdlovsk ( ; 1924–1991), is a city and the administrative centre of Sverdlovsk Oblast and the Ural Federal District, Russia. The ci ...

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

. On October 12, 2007, he suffered severe injuries from a beating while in police custody, which has led to increased public and media scrutiny of traffic police in a number of Russian cities. He was a member of the Committee to Protect the Rights of Motorists, an activist group. He was previously employed by the Yekaterinburg municipal government.

Early activism

Prior to the attack, Formanchuk had achieved local notoriety by challenging the lawfulness of traffic patrol stops, which are widely perceived in Russia to be corrupt and motivated by a desire for

bribes Bribery is the corrupt solicitation, payment, or acceptance of a private favor (a bribe) in exchange for official action. The purpose of a bribe is to influence the actions of the recipient, a person in charge of an official duty, to act contrar ...

. Formanchuk repeatedly refused to bribe traffic patrol officers, instead challenging them on their knowledge of traffic regulations and other laws governing traffic stops. In 2006, Formanchuk became one of the first Russian drivers to use a " Blue Bucket"-like installation atop of a car to challenge road police.

Beating

According to Formanchuk, he went to a police station on October 12, 2007 to register his car. He attempted to record video of his interaction with the officers, which he says infuriated them. He was subsequently attacked. Formanchuk did not positively identify his attackers as police officers, but he alleges that officers on duty did nothing to restrain the attackers. The police allege that Formanchuk became belligerent in the police station, was arrested, and suffered his injuries when he instigated a fight with the other occupants of his jail cell. Formanchuk was hospitalized after the attack, which caused injuries to his skull and brain.

Response

After Formanchuk's beating became public, motorists' groups in Yekaterinburg,

St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. The city had a population of 5,601, ...

, and

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

held demonstrations against the police. An Internet posting in support of Formanchuk has received over 200,000 hits. State-run media, which is usually reluctant to air criticism of government authorities, has begun to focus on Formanchuk's story, with one channel referring to his treatment as "outrageous." The Yekaterinburg edition of

Rossiyskaya Gazeta ' () is a Russian newspaper published by the Government of Russia. History ''Rossiyskaya Gazeta'' was founded in 1990 by the Supreme Soviet of the RSFSR, Supreme Soviet of the Russian SFSR during the ''glasnost'' reforms in Soviet Union, shortl ...

, the official government newspaper, cited Formanchuk's situation while admonishing law enforcement services to be more cooperative with motorists. Law enforcement officials denied any involvement with Formanchuk's beating and accused Formanchuk's activist group of inciting the public against the police. They further alleged that Formanchuk is a draft dodger with many serious traffic violations.

Later developments in activism

Formanchuk has founded the Committee to Protect the Rights of Motorists () and opened its offices in Ekaterinburg,

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

and

Ekaterinburg Senate

Formanchuk acted as a senator in civil Ekaterinburg Senate aimed at providing public control for official authorities. http://esenat.ru/senators.htm He focuses on automobile-related affairs.

Links

Formanchuk's English website

References

*Levy, Clifford J

''The New York Times'', October 28, 2007. Accessed October 28, 2007. {{DEFAULTSORT:Formanchuk, Kirill Russian activists Civil rights activists Living people 1983 births