Evgeny Roizman was nailed to history – Newspaper Kommersant No. 4 (7449) of 01/12/2023

Bas-reliefs with portraits of ex-mayors of the city Yevgeny Roizman (included in the register of foreign agents) and Alexander Vysokinsky were installed in the building of the Yekaterinburg City Hall. Mr. Roizman was unable to attend the ceremony because, being a defendant in a criminal case on discrediting the armed forces, he is restricted in his movements. Journalists were surprised that the image of a politician is not accompanied by the inscription “foreign agent”. The current mayor of Yekaterinburg, Alexei Orlov, believes that the status of Mr. Roizman does not interfere with the restoration of “historical justice”: “In 2013, he was the popularly elected head of the city of Yekaterinburg. You can’t take words out of a song.”

In Yekaterinburg, the gallery of bas-reliefs of the former mayors of the Ural capital has been updated. Images of Yevgeny Roizman and Alexander Vysokinsky appeared on the third floor of the city hall, where sculptures of all the rulers of the city are presented. The ceremony was timed to coincide with the 300th anniversary of Yekaterinburg. It was attended by the current mayor Alexei Orlov, as well as his two predecessors – Mr. Vysokinsky (led the city in 2018-2021) and Yevgeny Porunov (in 2010-2013), as well as Alexander Yakob, who headed the city administration under Yevgeny Roizman.

It should be noted that Mr. Roizman, who ruled Yekaterinburg in 2013-2018, for almost half a year is under investigation in a criminal case on discrediting the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation (Article 280.3 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). Senator Vysokinsky – almost a year under EU sanctions.

“This is our history, which must be remembered, somewhere we need to learn lessons, somewhere we need to learn from past mistakes,” said Alexei Orlov. “The history is different.”

“It’s nice to be on a par with such honored people,” Alexander Vysokinsky admitted, proposing to introduce a tradition of placing not only bas-reliefs of mayors, but also large general photographs of administration workers in the administration.

Journalists, however, were interested in something else: the lack of a signature on the bas-relief of Yevgeny Roizman indicating the status of a “foreign agent” and the absence of Yevgeny Roizman himself at the ceremony due to a ban on participating in public events.

In March and April of last year, the courts fined Mr. Roizman in the amount of 50 thousand rubles. under the article on discrediting the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation (part 1 of article 20.3.3 of the Code of Administrative Offenses). In May, he was fined 85,000 rubles. for “disrespect for the authorities” for publications on the network (part 3 of article 20.1 of the Code of Administrative Offenses). In August, 59-year-old Yevgeny Roizman was detained by the police on suspicion of “discrediting the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation” in his apartment, the Museum of the Nevyansk Icon and the Roizman Foundation (the opposition politician is also a philanthropist and collector) passed searches. The investigation is still ongoing, a measure of restraint in the form of a “prohibition of certain actions” has been chosen against Mr. Roizman. In particular, he is forbidden to participate in any public events, use the Internet, send letters and telegrams. In addition, in November last year, Yevgeny Roizman was included by the Ministry of Justice in the register of foreign agents.

“What does the foreign agent have to do with it? – Answering the questions of journalists, Alexei Orlov himself asked them. – In 2013, he was the popularly elected head of the city of Yekaterinburg. You can’t take words out of a song. I think it’s just historical justice.”

Note that the requirement for labeling materials and public messages of foreign agents applies to both people and organizations with this status. Moreover, such requirements are prescribed by law for both text and audio and video materials. Text marking for individuals recognized as foreign agents, for example, should include 13 words (including the full name of the person), be placed before any message on the network, and the font size should double body text font. Mass media or companies mentioning foreign agents (if we are talking about public reports) should also indicate the status of foreign agents, but in a free form. There is no list of media or public platforms that must necessarily indicate the status of a foreign agent when it is mentioned, the ban on non-indication applies only to the media.

Roizman’s lawyer, Vladislav Idamzhapov, is sure that the absence of the status of a “foreign agent” on the bas-relief of the politician “does not violate the laws of the Russian Federation”: “The legislation does not contain provisions indicating the need to place such a label on the bas-relief. Therefore, there was no need to put a label.

Katerina Yakusheva, Yekaterinburg