March 6, 1954
В Izhevsk was born Sergey Mokhnatkin — an unyielding human rights activist who used not only the law but also his fists in his fight. He resisted the system even after guards broke his spine.
The police have become so brazen that they have started to attack without the slightest warning, unexpectedly
After school, he earned two higher education degrees, worked as a programmer, and taught at university. In the 1990s, he went into business, and in the 2000s, he moved to Moscow. It was then that he became interested in politics, attending rallies and pickets.
On December 31, 2009, he stood up for an elderly woman being dragged by police officers. According to the official version, he broke one of the officers' noses and received a two-and-a-half-year prison sentence.
A fight is a fight, you can't run away from it. Today, it's the authorities who are lying, not me. It's a small advantage, but it's an advantage.
In April 2012, without admitting guilt, he received a pardon from Dmitry Medvedev — the first case in the history of modern Russia.
After his release, he continued his human rights work, assisting those involved in the Bolotnaya Square case. In December, he was arrested again for assaulting a police officer and sentenced to four and a half years. He had the opportunity to flee abroad, but he chose not to.
I consider running from the authorities a disgrace. The slightest chance of them accusing you of cowardice is internal death.
He was remembered as a man with a difficult character: he fell out with almost all human rights activists and lawyers. Instead of working on his criminal case, he resolved the problems of his fellow inmates and fought for reform of the Federal Penitentiary Service. He filed 17 lawsuits against the penal colony and even secured cosmetic repairs.
The conclusion is a platform for analysis. You can't study the system outside of it. You have to get into it.
In March 2016, guards broke his spine for refusing to follow a prisoner transfer. He was released in December 2018 due to a serious illness. He continued to attend protests and human rights meetings. He died on May 28, 2020, due to sepsis.
Everything possible must be thrown against the system. Not a single step can be left unpunished. Any compromise always benefits the bandit.
