«I won’t let you undress and search me», I said

«You know, you won’t manage to trample on my soul»

I heard [of the murder of Aleksei Navalny] during the day on the 16th of February. I saw the news on the channel of [a journalist] Aleksandr Plyushchev. I was so upset that I couldn’t do anything as tears were choking me.

I do respect Navalny very much. I know a lot of people despised him. What sort of foul things were ever told of him! Is it jealousy? I don’t understand it. He is very important for my family, for me and my daughter. Once I heard a bad thing happened to him, I first thought he had been murdered or poisoned. He had a court hearing on the 15th and gave a speech there. Exactly like [Boris] Nemtsov who visited the Echo radio channel just before his death.

It was so unexpected, although, of course, he was imprisoned in horrible conditions and was treated badly. Those in power were dreaming of destroying him so that he did not interfere with what they did. Who can replace this man? I was just listening to Zhanna Nemtsova, who was also asking the same question: who can substitute Aleksei, who was always smiling, no matter how bitter his life was? «Hi, it’s Navalny!»

I have participated in protests and marches since the Perestroika time. Once I heard of Aleksei’s death, I understood that I will not stay at home. Then I had read that the priest Grigory Mikhnov-Vaitenko was going to conduct a memorial service. I had prepared a poster. When collecting scraps from journals, I found his photo, a smiling boy [Aleksei Navalny — OVD-Info]. I wrote, «He did not die. He was murdered».

Early in the morning on the 17th of February, I bought roses and went [to the Solovetsky Stone, a memorial of victims of political repressions]. My daughter was at work at this time. It was horribly slippery outside, so I was going very slowly, almost crawling.

I came there and saw policemen standing in the distance. As I am an experienced person already, I turned so that they would not see me with the poster. I also wear a badge reading «No war» on my bag. Everybody pays attention to it in the subway or a bus. Once a young guy in the subway ripped this badge off and began shaming me publicly asking what right I have to claim things like this. I attempted to pick it up but he pushed me aside and began trampling the badge. I said, «You know, you won’t manage to trample on my soul». Nice that nobody denounced me. I made a new badge and placed it back.

«Don’t touch me, I will go on my own»

There were many people [near the Solovetsky Stone] queuing and laying flowers, everything was fine. Policemen were standing in the distance, not approaching us. I suddenly noticed that they began surrounding us. There was a cute girl standing by me. Later I found out her name was Varya, and she was detained together with me. She was holding a poster reading «Don’t give up!» I neared the policemen and asked, «Why are you taking the girl with you?»

After a while, they approached me. I did not manage to run away. When a policeman led me, I asked him not to pull me over. There was water everywhere, up to ankle level, and it was slippery, but he was pulling me over puddles. I said to him, «Don’t touch me, I will go on my own, I won’t run away». When I am being arrested [Valeriya Andreyevna had been repeatedly detained at protests in Saint Petersburg — OVD-Info], I always ask them to not touch me, as I am squeamish about it.