News

During his working trip to the Leningrad Region and St. Petersburg, the Chairman of the Investigative Committee of Russia, Alexander Bastrykin, held an operational meeting with the participation of Deputy Chairman of the Investigative Committee of Russia, Alexander Klaus and Sergey Goryainov, as well as heads and staff of investigative departments of the North-Western Federal District, heads of departmental educational organisations and the Cultural Centre of the Investigative Committee of Russia with the hearing of the work of departments for 9 months.

Returning to the issue of the protection of monuments and cultural heritage, the Chairman of the Investigative Committee of Russia cited summarised data according to which 19 folk museums in the region had been shut down in recent years, expressing serious concern about what was happening. He urged his subordinates to continue analysing the situation as well as investigating criminal cases involving destruction or damage to monuments or cultural objects, and to launch an enquiry into possible illegal building on the shores of Lake Ladoga and the circumstances of restricting access to the 101 Battery monument.

The Chairman of the Investigative Committee heard reports on the results of the investigative departments' work in the current year, praising the results achieved in a number of areas of activity. The Leningrad Regional Investigation Department has increased the number of economic and corruption offences prosecuted, with a 100% clearance rate for murders and rapes. Thanks to the work of the investigators of the St. Petersburg Main Investigative Department, it has been possible to compensate victims of crimes to the amount of 4.2 billion roubles, or 80 per cent of the damage caused, while work on investigating non-payment of wages is also being actively carried out. The Investigative Department II of the Main Investigative Department of the Investigative Committee of Russia (in St. Petersburg) has also seen an increase in efficiency, including successes in the investigation of a number of probes into crimes of previous years, involving members of organised groups and persons of special legal status. The Western Interregional Transport Investigations Department has sent 24 per cent more criminal cases to court, the number of cases returned to court has fallen by 30 per cent and 60 per cent of the damage caused to victims has been compensated. However, certain shortcomings were identified in the work of some investigative units.

In addition, the Head of the Committee was briefed on topical issues in the work of these investigative units, as well as on the progress and results of the investigation of individual criminal cases. The Head of the Investigative Department II of the Main Investigative Department of the Investigative Committee of Russia, V.V. Loskutov reported on the disclosure of a 2001 murder in Novgorod and spoke about the criminal investigation into the 2007 murder of a Russian citizen in Estonia during the mass unrest caused by protests over the city authorities' removal of a monument to soldiers of the Great Patriotic War. Estonian law enforcers have never been able to identify and prosecute the perpetrators. The Head of the Investigative Committee of Russia instructed to prepare a plan of further investigation, giving several instructions on the course of the investigation.

A.D. Golombievsky, the acting head of the State Investigative Committee of Russia for St. Petersburg reported on the systematic work to investigate the destruction or damage to cultural heritage buildings; on compensation to children injured in incidents involving electric scooters, emphasising the absence of serious incidents of this nature in recent months. Also reports were heard on the investigation of a criminal case involving multiple incidents of telephone fraud and the death of a SOBR officer during the apprehension of a person involved in the case. It was also noted that the organisers of the telephone scam were operating from Ukraine. In addition to the ongoing investigation, the Head of the Committee has ordered additional preventive measures aimed at increasing the vigilance of citizens and cautioning against fraudsters.

The Head of the Western Interregional Transport Investigations Department, P.S. Vymenets, reported on the progress of the investigation, including the expert examinations appointed, in the probe into the death of people during an accident with the Yaroslavets vessel in the Kandalaksha Bay of the White Sea. He applied for awarding a minor who was recognised as a victim and who had been active in rescuing other people in the course of the accident.

S.T. Sazin, Head of the Leningrad Regional Investigative Committee of Russia, reported on the progress of the probe into the torture of three children by a resident of Tosno and the improper performance of duties by officials of the child neglect and juvenile delinquency prevention system in Tosno district. The Chairman of the Investigative Committee has ordered the necessary investigative measures to establish a causal link between the officials' inaction and the violation of children's rights, and to establish the causes and conditions which contributed to the crime.

The Chairman of the Investigative Committee of Russia discussed with Yelena Garanina, Director of the Girls' Boarding School of the Investigative Committee of Russia, issues of providing an apartment building for students.

Elena Emelyanova, Acting Rector of the St. Petersburg Academy of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation, reported on ongoing events, including an upcoming roundtable on the impact of musical culture on the younger generation. A progress report was given on the implementation of the mandate to create a chair for information technology and cybercrime investigation. Alexander Bastrykin outlined the need to combine theory with practice and interaction between the department's staff and the specialised unit of the Main Investigations Department, which investigates information technology crimes.

The Chairman of the Investigative Committee of Russia gave a number of instructions as a result of the meeting.