“I don’t plan to apologize”: a student who asked Mizulina about denunciations spoke about the consequences

The head of the Safe Internet League, Ekaterina Mizulina, continues her tour of Russian universities. On Friday she met with students of the Kazan Federal University.

During the debate, one of the students argued with Mizulina about banned artists and denunciations.

We contacted the young man to find out how it all ended.

After Ekaterina Mizulina’s meeting with KFU students, videos from the event appeared on the Internet.

… “An image is being formed in the country where denunciations wake up again – this is bad,” said Arkady Zaitsev, a third-year student at the Faculty of Regional Studies of Russia, during a debate with the head of the “Safe Internet League.”

– What’s bad? Have you read the Russian Constitution regarding the rights of citizens? – Mizulina retorted.

– Yes, I have the right to freedom of speech.

– And I have the right to contact any government authority if I see a violation of the law…

The guy failed to convince the official.

We called that same student.

— How did the event end for you?

“I returned home calmly,” says Arkady. “Then the topic began to go viral on the Internet. I received a call from Vladislav Davankov and was invited to become a confidant of the presidential candidate. I agreed.

— How long did the meeting with Mizulina last?

— About 2.5 hours. Format of the meeting: question and answer; Mizulina also spoke on her own behalf about the global agenda. Overall, I don’t understand the point of these meetings. I can’t assess whether they are beneficial. But in my case, there was a benefit, I was able to express my opinion. I think it’s better to let the Safe Internet League help with meals at school.

— When you asked about denunciations, was Catherine irritated and angry?

“I wouldn’t say she was angry.” Rather, she was trying to get out of the situation, saying that her activities were not about informing. By the way, there were students who asked similar questions. They asked about musicians, the pressure on the cultural, creative society, about what is relevant and popular. There were enough bold questions. Tatarstan has shown itself as a place where freedom is respected and where there is character. But it was not possible to convince Mizulina. She was proving her truth. It seemed to me that Ekaterina Mikhailovna and the students had quite a different position in their views.

— Did other students support you?

“It’s clear that some are afraid to speak out openly, but I felt support.” They came up to me, said that I was great, and took pictures with me.

— How did the university teachers react?

— So far there has been no reaction, I hope there will be no pressure in the future either. In any case, I don’t plan to apologize. I expressed what I think is necessary. By the way, this time Mizulina also did not ask any of the students to apologize.

— There are videos on the Internet that at some point students began to leave the hall. Why?

— I would not say that this was a planned action. It’s just that when the questions ended, many people thought that what happened next would not be so interesting. Some left after the debate, some went to take pictures with Mizulina.

— Were all university students invited to the meeting or selectively?

— To be fair, the invitation was posted on the official website of the university, so anyone could come.

— Were precautions taken?

— When I went up on stage, they tried to inspect me and asked me to leave my bag in the hall. That’s all.