“Electric shock torture and beating someone tied up is utterly despicable”. Anarchist Ruslan Sidiki’s statement just before he received 29 years in prison

I regret that my actions endangered [Alexander] Bogatyrev, [Sergei] Tarabukin, and [Dmitry] Unshakov. They were not the target, and I am glad it did not lead to serious harm to their health.

My targets were Russian military equipment and the logistical chains used to transport military hardware and fuel. In this way, I wanted to impede military operations against Ukraine.

Of course, any explosion or news of sabotage can frighten people. Just as missiles flying over homes and the outbreak of hostilities are intended to intimidate the population of the country against which these actions are directed.

I have said more than once that I had no intention of deliberately intimidating anyone. I chose the targets myself. I attacked the military aircraft parking area, intending to destroy the aircraft. The train was derailed to disable the railway line on which I had observed the movement of military equipment.

I would like to point out that I monitored the train traffic on the line I sabotaged and made sure there were no passenger trains running on it. For additional assurance, I maintained visual contact. If I had been indifferent to people’s lives, I could have derailed the train without direct involvement.

I have nothing to do with the attempt to manufacture a new explosive device and derail another train. The explosion on November 11, 2023, caused a significant stir, and I understood that security measures would be tightened. Besides, I had enough problems in my personal life.

I bear the Russian people no ill will; while there are disagreements regarding certain events since 2014, that’s no reason for me to hate anyone.

The impossibility of peacefully influencing the authorities’ actions and the criminal prosecution of those who disagree with them leads some to leave the country, while others decide to take action.

In any case, regardless of the severity of the act, the use of torture during interrogation is unacceptable if we live in a state governed by the rule of law. To torture someone with electric shocks and beat them while they are tied up is an utterly despicable act. Responsibility here lies not only with those who used these interrogation methods but also with those who know about it, those who fail to react, and those who help to cover it up.

And finally, I will read an excerpt from a poem by [a Ukrainian anarchist revolutionary during the Civil War] Nestor Makhno:

“Let them bury us now,

But our essence will not sink into oblivion,

It will rise up at the necessary hour

And will triumph, I believe in this.”

Editor: Dmitry Tkachev