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MeMyselfAndI
Jun 3rd 2010, 04:54 PM
http://digester.ru/Cluster.aspx?uid=2010050213&id=9


In the city of Volgograd, on Ulyanovskaya street, at, approximately, 23:00, three off duty OMON (paramilitary police) troopers, Sergeants Oleg Gurianov, 23, Igor Kostyushko, 26, and Aleksei Kuledin, 32, spotted a young woman, 21-year-old Oksana Tsvetaeva. According to them, she was intoxicated and causing a scene. The girl, though, says it was the OMON men who were drunk, and came on to her with inappropriate language and demands.
At, roughly, the same time, 28-year old Anatoly Kurgan had just walked out the door of a nearby bar, where he had been resting with friends. The Specnaz GRU officer (Major; Specnaz GRU is Russian army's elite, counter terrorist special forces), and Chechen war veteran and his wife were celebrating the birth of their second son.
Anatoly claims he saw ‘three drunken hooligans in police uniforms harassing a young lady’. So, he came to her aid.
What happens next differs greatly, whether you listen to the version of the story told by the OMON members; or that by Major Kurgan. According to OMON Sergeant Kuledin, as his two colleagues were still attempting to restrain the ‘raving, screaming woman’, he turned to Kurgan and ‘politely asked him not to interfere’, at which time Kurgan hit him in the face with a Specnaz combat move that knocked him off his feet and broke his nose. He then dispatched the other two OMON troops in a similar manner while citizen Tsvetaeva walked off the scene.
According, however, to Anatoly Kurgan, he was the one who, at first, simply asked the men wearing OMON uniforms and insignia to leave the girl alone. Kuledin then turned on him, swore at him, and tried to hit him. Kurgan admits that he then defended himself ‘as I was taught in the GRU’. Gurianov and Kostyushko then turned on him as well, prompting him to ‘lay them out’ as well.
Afterward, more uniformed police had arrived on the scene. Going by their notes, Gurianov had cuts on his face, a big black eye, and a dislocated shoulder. Kostyushko suffered a broken finger on his right hand and was missing a tooth. Kuledin, indeed, had a broken nose. Tsvetaeva’s dress had a tear on its right sleeve, and her arm was bruised and scratched in that area. Kurgan had a bloody bruise on his right cheek. It has not been disclosed whether any of the parties was, indeed, in a state of alcoholic intoxication.
The investigation is still ongoing.

Knowing Russian police, they will defend their own in this. Even though they were, probably, ones who were attackers here. Police here are thugs. And thank God for Specnaz. One part of Russian military left where 'honor of officer' still means something.

Michael
Jun 3rd 2010, 05:35 PM
I'd go with the GRU officer just because his story seems to fit the facts best and follows logic.

The police story doesn't add up.

Btw, isn't Volgograd the city formerly known as named Stalingrad?

MeMyselfAndI
Jun 3rd 2010, 05:45 PM
I'd go with the GRU officer just because his story seems to fit the facts best and follows logic.

The police story doesn't add up.

Btw, isn't Volgograd the city formerly known as named Stalingrad?

Yes, Volgograd was Stalingrad once. And agree on police story, they are probably lying.

Michael
Jun 3rd 2010, 07:11 PM
Yes, Volgograd was Stalingrad once. And agree on police story, they are probably lying.

I use the "who has the most to gain or lose?" approach to assessing such situations. When one looks at the basic facts of the matter, the cops appear to have a lot to gain or lose here - thus they have strong reasons for lying. The GRU fellow doesn't appear to have a gain/lose position - thus one doesn't have strong reasons for lying.

Now it is possible that this assessment is incorrect, but on the balance of probabilities, I find the ones with the material motives to be most suspect.

As for Volgograd, is that the original name for the city 'pre-Stalingrad'?

MeMyselfAndI
Jun 3rd 2010, 09:25 PM
I use the "who has the most to gain or lose?" approach to assessing such situations. When one looks at the basic facts of the matter, the cops appear to have a lot to gain or lose here - thus they have strong reasons for lying. The GRU fellow doesn't appear to have a gain/lose position - thus one doesn't have strong reasons for lying.

Now it is possible that this assessment is incorrect, but on the balance of probabilities, I find the ones with the material motives to be most suspect.

As for Volgograd, is that the original name for the city 'pre-Stalingrad'?

Agree. Russian police are bullies, criminals, prey on the vulnerable. When a person fights back, defends himself, as here, they are shocked. They beat up helpless, unarmed opposition activists, that is what they are good for. This time, their victim was not scared, they did not know what to do. Scum, bastards.

As for Volgograd, original name was Tsaritsyn. Actually nothing to do with 'Tsar'; comes from Tatar "Sary-Sin" (Yellow Island), the island on the Volga river, where the city stands now. Tatars are the native, well, not native, native there were Bulgars, before the Tatars came and defeated them and expelled them (so now they live where Bulgaria is now, in the Balcans, they moved there on thier boats, through all the rivers); but Tatars are the titular nation in that whole region now. One of the four anyway. Tatars; their brothers Bashkirs; and the Finno-Ugric Udmurts and Mordva. Also there are Cossacks there, a lot of new settlements now, they come from the South, from North Caucasus, from Ukraine also; and from the East, from Siberia; some 20,000 there now. Volga German families now returning also to resettle their traditional areas, not just from Siberia and Kazakhstan, but even from Germany: they say they are treated like crap there, like second class people, there is no employment for them, only menial, dirty work. And Volga is their home. Also, of course, Russians are still majority there, and a sizable Ukrainian population. Closer to Orenburg, there are Kazakh villages. So, a very diverse place. Very interesting.

Americano
Jun 3rd 2010, 10:50 PM
http://digester.ru/Cluster.aspx?uid=2010050213&id=9




Knowing Russian police, they will defend their own in this. Even though they were, probably, ones who were attackers here. Police here are thugs. And thank God for Specnaz. One part of Russian military left where 'honor of officer' still means something.

Were the OMON troopers drunk? Or tested? The hour and them being off-duty makes me wonder what they were doing subduing a woman for any reason other than destroying property or harming persons. Good for the major.

Margot
Jun 4th 2010, 03:22 AM
Btw, isn't Volgograd the city formerly known as named Stalingrad?

They also have a bitchen' statue: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Motherland_Calls

Michael
Jun 4th 2010, 02:02 PM
They also have a bitchen' statue: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Motherland_Calls
That would be this one...

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/99/The_Motherland_Calls.jpg/200px-The_Motherland_Calls.jpg

Indeed, a very fine looking statue. Sure beats the usual old fart on a horse! :lol:

MeMyselfAndI
Jun 4th 2010, 03:52 PM
That would be this one...

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/9/99/The_Motherland_Calls.jpg/200px-The_Motherland_Calls.jpg

Indeed, a very fine looking statue. Sure beats the usual old fart on a horse! :lol:

They have to have big trucks bring more and more soil and showel it under that statue. Because if they don't, it will fall down. It was unfortunate place, for such a memorial. Ground there very soft, swamps and such. So, they have to bring soil from elsewhere, for many years now, to keep it standing... It is expensive. But it is an important statue though.

Michael
Jun 4th 2010, 07:37 PM
They have to have big trucks bring more and more soil and showel it under that statue. Because if they don't, it will fall down. It was unfortunate place, for such a memorial. Ground there very soft, swamps and such. So, they have to bring soil from elsewhere, for many years now, to keep it standing... It is expensive. But it is an important statue though.

Yes, that thing must weigh millions of tons! And you don't want to turn that into the Leaning Tower of Volgograd! :lol:

I believe that's exactly the reason why the famous tower at Pisa leans the way it does (soft ground).

Btw, I really enjoy the way you bring Russia to life here with your interesting posts about the people and events there. :thumbsup:

Americano
Jun 5th 2010, 09:52 PM
I second that thank you for bringing your viewpoints of Russia based on personal experience to the forum.

MeMyselfAndI
Jun 5th 2010, 10:23 PM
I second that thank you for bringing your viewpoints of Russia based on personal experience to the forum.

You are welcome. :)