Volgograd court jails bloggers over Mamayev Kurgan prank

Today the Central District Court of Volgograd ruled on a preventive measure for the bloggers who filmed a prank at Mamayev Kurgan with a 5,000-ruble note (about $60 at current rates). New details have emerged in the high-profile case: one of the «random passersby» turned out to be a friend of the blogger, who had persuaded him to jump into the pool of the «Stand to the Death!» memorial. How the bloggers justified themselves and how the hearing ended — in a V1.RU report.

What happened

We reported earlier on the ill-fated prank at Mamayev Kurgan. A blogger named Svyatoslav Kovalenko threw a 5,000-ruble note into the pool by the «Stand to the Death!» statue and then filmed passersby trying to retrieve it. At some point a barefoot man jumped into the pool and pulled it out — and that was the end of the «experiment».

After a public outcry, the blogger deleted the video from social media and apologized, and in an interview with a V1.RU journalist insisted there had been no intent to stage the stunt — supposedly it all happened spontaneously.

— I walked up and looked for some change in my bag. Didn«t find any. I put down a 5,000-ruble note, stood there with a friend for about three minutes and went for a walk <…>. Then I said: »Let«s go back and see whether the note is still there.» At that moment it had already drawn attention. So I thought: we«ll step away, film it and see what happens, — Svyatoslav explained.

That did not spare the blogger from the reaction of law enforcement, however. The Investigative Committee began examining the prank for violations under a serious article on the rehabilitation of Nazism (Part 4 of Article 354.1 of the Russian Criminal Code). And that check did not end in the video blogger«s favor.

Playing the part of a tourist

News of Stanislav Kovalenko«s detention emerged today. Vladimir Surov, head of the Investigative Department of the Investigative Committee for the Central District, said the suspect was apprehended while on holiday at a sanatorium in Kislovodsk. A month earlier the blogger had been invited to the Investigative Committee for a quiet talk; now the security services had a serious charge in hand.

He was charged with desecrating graves and a monument to heroes of the Great Patriotic War (Article 243.4 of the Russian Criminal Code). Moreover, the investigation uncovered a new detail: the young man in the white T-shirt who climbed into the water for the note was a friend of the blogger — the two had agreed that, for the prank, he would play the part of a random passerby who spotted the note and then brazenly retrieved it from the bottom of the pool.

The friend«s name is Andrei Yaroshenko. As became known in court, he was detained in Moscow, right at his workplace. There he was charged under the same article, and then both were brought under escort to Volgograd.

«I think they»ll send me to the slammer«

The hearing in the pranksters« case took place today at the Central District Court. It was to decide on a preventive measure: the investigation demanded that both be sent to pretrial detention, while the defense, naturally, wanted house arrest or a written undertaking not to leave.

The author of the video, Svyatoslav Kovalenko, was the first brought into court. Escorted by guards, he entered the hall with his head held proudly high. When the lock on the cage clicked shut, the blogger settled back comfortably on the defendants« bench, answering a V1.RU journalist»s questions with a smirking smile.

— Who was the initiator of this stunt: you or your acquaintance who retrieved the money?
— I threw it in, it was my initiative.
— The initiative to throw it in. And to get the money out? Did he go himself?
— Well, we decided together to stop the hype around this whole thing, but we made it worse. If I«d known where I»d fall, I«d have spread straw, as the saying goes. I wanted it for the best, but it turned out for the worst <…>. The goal was to stop the hype. But, as you see, it all turned out much worse than it could have.
— So why stop it so conspicuously? Climbing into the fountain on camera and pulling it out.
— A mistake. We all make mistakes. And in this case I made one too. Let him who has never made a mistake cast the first stone at me. In any case, the consequences have caught up with me, and I»m ready to accept them with dignity.

In an interview with a V1.RU journalist, the blogger had earlier claimed that the procedural check launched over the rehabilitation of Nazism had ended favorably for him and that the expert examination had supposedly found no violations. But when asked directly in the courtroom why he had misrepresented the information, Stanislav said he had done it to spite journalists.

— Why did it happen that you earlier told us the Investigative Committee had dropped all charges against you, and today we meet under these circumstances?

— Because you hacks twist information around and write it. When you interviewed me, I said one thing — and you wrote down another. So direct your questions at your editorial office, which simply tears words out of context and twists them however it likes.

This is not the first trial in which Stanislav Kovalenko has participated as a defendant. The blogger has publicly admitted that he previously served a sentence for drugs, presenting it as an example that one can get out of any situation. Over his media career he has also managed to stand out for his provocative antics — for instance, in 2020 he clashed with a group of Chechens, publicly declaring that they were no authority for him.

— You wanted all this so badly, didn«t you? Because you whipped things up differently than it [actually was]. You whipped it up very bloodthirstily. So much so that you wanted to »stick« me. Well, you got what you wanted. I»m here, behind bars. Let everyone who wanted this celebrate.

— What court decision are you hoping for, anyway?
— I think they«ll send me to the slammer. It»s a big public outcry. People wanted me punished. It doesn«t happen that after an outcry like this they just take me and let me go. Everyone wants a public flogging, for me to sit in prison. The only question is: for how long? I don»t know. But in any case I«m ready to accept the consequences, whatever they are.

«Both are to blame. You have to use your head»

At the same time as Stanislav Kovalenko, a preventive measure was being chosen for his friend Andrei Yaroshenko — the one who at the end of the video climbed into the pool and pulled out the 5,000-ruble note. He behaved far more restrained than Svyatoslav, visibly nervous in front of the cameras and the V1.RU journalist.

— We came to relax. It just happened, we didn«t think with our heads for a moment. We did something stupid. I repent.
— Who do you think is more to blame?
— There is no greater or lesser guilt. Both are to blame. You have to use your head <…>. It was just a moment of stupidity. There was no aim to offend or hurt anyone.
— And why did you go for that note at the very end?
— Well, because we had to stop all that negativity. I went and got it.

The pranksters assessed their actions quite differently before the investigators. As a V1.RU source said, during the investigation the friends stated that they «had fun and found it amusing to watch other people try to get the money».

— The man who retrieved the note explained that the suspect blogger has a lot of money and that the 5,000-ruble note held no particular value for him. So he sacrificed it for this kind of amusement. The blogger himself says he supposedly gave the money to his grandmother, but his friend says he didn«t see where the blogger put the note.

«Don»t wake trouble while it«s sleeping»

As mentioned above, the investigation asked that both bloggers be sent to pretrial detention. The prosecution«s demand was explained simply: for almost a month the suspects had failed to appear for a conversation at the investigator»s request, even though they publicly claimed otherwise.

— We contacted three people involved, one of whom was a witness, but they all refused to appear at the investigative department and give their explanations. Kovalenko himself, although he did not answer my calls, did exchange messages with me in which he stated that he undertook to come to the investigative department, — Vladimir Surov said. — After that he gave comments, including to your news agency, that investigative actions had been carried out against him and that no guilt was seen in his actions, while continuing to ignore our requirements to appear at the investigative department.

Andrei Yaroshenko was the first to be led out of the courtroom. He was sent to pretrial detention for 1 month and 15 days. He left the hearing without saying a word.

The selection of a preventive measure in Svyatoslav«s case took noticeably longer. While the panel was in the deliberation room, the blogger tried to banter with the investigators and the prosecution, predicting the worst outcome for himself.

— What, straight to pretrial detention?
— Wait and see what the court decides.
— Oh, we know how it will decide.

He also tried to draw the head of the Investigative Department of the Investigative Committee for the Central District, Vladimir Surov, into conversation.

— Why didn«t you show up [at the Investigative Committee]?
— You know, »don«t wake trouble while it»s sleeping.« That»s why I didn«t go [to the investigator] right away <…>. Your heart is kind, even though you want to lock me up.

And the outcome for Stanislav was the same — confinement in pretrial detention for 1 month and 15 days. As he left, he was holding the same book he had brought into the courtroom: «The Art of Communication».

— I was going to the sanatorium to read books, but never got around to them. Apparently God heard me and sent me to a different sanatorium. Now there will be time to read, — he said before leaving.