Zero visibility. Interview with a blind student (9 photos)

Illustration copyright Gor Melkonyan Image caption Valery Remizov (left) was invited to appear on local radio after the performance

Blind Samara student Valery Remizov told the BBC Russian Service why he interrupted the speech of the regional governor Nikolai Merkushkin.

On March 30, a blind 4th year student at the Faculty of Law of Samara University, Valery Remizov, interrupted the speech of the regional governor Nikolai Merkushkin at the forum “No to Extremism” with the ditty “Kolenka, Kolenka, what a wretched you are.”

He appealed to the head of the region with a demand to repair the roads, accused him of unfairly criticizing young people and demanded that he resign. Remizov was taken out of the audience by the police, and the governor, known for his eccentricity, suggested that Remizov had been specially “sent” to the lecture.

The student told the BBC Russian Service why he decided to enter into controversy with the official, and how it turned out.

BBC: What prompted you to perform?

Valery Remizov: I've had enough of everything! Roads, restrictions on the number of trips on a social card, and general attitude from the state.

BBC: Why did you choose this format?

IN. R. : You know, this is just a cry from the heart. I just stepped into a big puddle the day before yesterday and got my shoes wet. And since I am a creative person, I came up with this format for the presentation. I decided to write ditties. In the evening I sat down and wrote until late at night.

BBC: Were you counting on some kind of substantive answer from Merkushkin or, roughly speaking, did you decide to simply troll him?

IN. R. : I expected that there would be a reaction from competent officials who, for example, deal with the issue of social cards and benefits related to travel.

Illustration copyright Sasha Mordovets/Getty Images Image caption Governor of the Samara region Nikolai Merkushkin suggested that a blind student was “sent” to a forum against extremism

BBC: On at the moment Did this reaction come in some form?

IN. R. : Followed. I spoke yesterday with the Minister of Social Policy and agreed to meet with her on a certain day.

BBC: Do you think that this speech of yours will really lead to the return of benefits and the repair of roads?

IN. R. : I do not know whether this speech will lead to positive results, but I will continue to engage in constructive dialogue with those officials and government officials who want to communicate with me.

BBC: You are not afraid, on the contrary, of some negative consequences your performance, problems with your studies, for example? After all, the police took you out of this event...

IN. R. : No, I'm not afraid of negative consequences. In principle, I was ready for criticism from the public and government officials.

BBC: On the question of criticism. When you were already taken out of the hall, Merkushkin said that someone had sent you to this meeting. How can you answer him?

IN. R. : I can only answer him that I am an independent person both physically and mentally. And I come to any events of my own free will. Nobody sends me.

BBC: What is your general impression of the “No to Extremism” forum?

IN. R. : I believe that this forum will not give any positive results for the authorities, because it is fake. I think that many people who were sitting in the hall, although they did not openly express their feelings, understood perfectly well that this would not lead to anything good. And the people who spoke at the forum will at some point turn in the opposite direction.

BBC:Do you think that those who, relatively speaking, today accuse America of attempting to collapse Russia, may change their minds over time?

IN. R. : When there is a change of power, yes. Our country already had experience when the Soviet regime collapsed, democracy arrived, and many Soviet officials and politicians reformatted and immediately became democrats.

BBC:So, in general, you believe in a change of power in Russia in the foreseeable future?

IN. R. : Yes.

“It’s boiling, I’m tired of falling into a cold puddle and catching a cold.”

Bookmarks

Student Valery Remizov. Photo of “Another City”

On March 30, at the Samara sports complex, a public forum “No to Extremism” with the support of local authorities. Students, schoolchildren, teachers and activists of various organizations gathered in the hall.

Shortly before the start, the local branch of VGTRK spoke about the evening broadcast of the forum on the Rossiya 24 TV channel. However, later the editors removed the announcement and released it, indicating that “a number of media outlets” reported about the upcoming broadcast. saved in Google cache.

“Echo of Moscow” that students will be removed from classes in order to participate in the forum. Students who posted on Periscope confirmed this information, noting that they were brought in in an organized manner on buses.

From the stage of the forum about “countering political radicalism and extremism,” they talked about the consequences of the change of power in Ukraine and Libya, IS recruiters and the dangers of unauthorized rallies. The audience also demonstrated that public events are carefully prepared by political strategists and break the national identity.

The forum was opened by the Governor of the Samara Region, Nikolai Merkushkin. The speech of the head of the region was interrupted by a student with a guitar in the hall, who began to sing a song with the words “Kolenka, Kolenka.”

Less than a minute later, an unknown woman approached the student and began to take the guitar away. Soon the police were next to the young man. The audience greeted his action with applause.

Merkushkin invited the student to voice his complaints. The young man introduced himself: his name is Valery Remizov, he is blind and studies at the Faculty of Law of Samara State University.

The student told the governor about the introduction of travel on a social card on February 1 and the poor quality of the roads, where there are often potholes. As Merkushkin assured, “our opponents from some university” are responsible for Remizov’s speech.

Remizov later told the publication “” that the police escorted him to the exit of the sports complex and checked his documents. After talking with the minister social policy the student was released.

I was boiling, tired of falling into a cold puddle in a pit and catching a cold. So I came and sang about it. I composed ditties overnight.

Valery Remizov, SamSU student

According to Remizov, several months ago he was denied an appointment with the governor, where he intended to report on city problems. As in the local media, the student is interested in music, speaks at rallies and has been involved in social activities for a long time.

In September 2016, the Anti-Corruption Foundation about Merkushkin’s elite real estate, registered in the name of his loved ones, also shot a video above the dachas using a drone. Samara governor, the activities of the head of the organization, Alexei Navalny, with the mythical plan of Dulles: “This chaos is needed, when the time comes to throw a match, this chaos will immediately start a fire.”

Merkushkin is known for controversial statements on various topics. In August 2016, an employee of the AvtoVAZ supplier complained to the governor about non-payment of salaries, to which he said that the debts would never be paid off. At a meeting with residents, the head of the region said that if he does not receive 97% of support in the elections, then the people themselves will be to blame for the fact that nothing is being done for them.

Valera Remizov has not seen anything since childhood. He doesn't know what mom and dad look like. The beauty of people is determined by their voice and actions. Cannot read without special programs and buy groceries without outside help. Loves green, but doesn't know what it is.

But I don’t feel sorry for Valera. He plays by ear computer games and will easily take you to some races. It consists of political party and speaks at rallies - he speaks eloquently and sings well. Plays the guitar, studies at law school, is confident

We spent several days with him and talked about life by ear, citizenship, the kindly world and human beauty.

Valera and I are sitting in a pancake shop not far from his dorm. He comes here often - the girls behind the cash register smile welcomingly and put the cutlery in front of him (the rest of the visitors take them themselves). At first, Valera didn’t know that there was a toilet in the establishment and that you could wash your hands - he carried it with him wet wipes. Today, he easily finds the most comfortable table in the corner.

Valera was born at six months old - hence the health problems and blindness. The parents visited all the doctors they could find, but this did not help their son. The guy feels when it is light and when night falls, but the colors and outlines of the world are unknown to him.

Racing and sounds

It may seem to you that I’m being disingenuous, but I’ve never been too worried about what I can’t see. I didn’t consider myself defective. There were a lot of interesting things in my childhood, and I had absolutely no time to think that something was wrong with me.

We lived with our parents and brother in a dorm in Tolyatti, in the same room. My parents played different games with me, I assembled construction sets, rode a bike along the corridors, and climbed a rope. At the age of five, I assembled slippers from a construction set for my mother, and I could even walk in them.

My parents worried about me, but never looked after me much - I grew up like all children. In the village I rode my bicycle along a straight road and once flew into a ravine. In winter I went sledding down the mountain. One day I climbed tall tree to determine whether radio reception will be better at altitude. Dad looked for me for a long time and was very surprised when he found me on the highest branch.

My dad bought me a Panasonic 3DO console, which was very cool at that time. And I was the only child who didn’t need a TV screen to play: I just plugged my headphones into the joystick and played. I beat my friends in “Need for speed” and “Road rush”, and all sorts of samurai. I played by ear: I understood by the sounds when to turn and when a car was overtaking you... In general, until the age of six I had the most ordinary childhood. And then my parents sent me to Samara to study at boarding school No. 17 for the blind.

Study and resistance

Studying at a boarding school is approximately the same as at a regular school. The only difference is that everyone around is blind or visually impaired. Well, you also live there, visiting your parents on rare weekends.

I don’t regret that I broke away from my mom and dad early. I grew up in a group, socialized, this is very important for the blind. The older guys taught me, for example, how to move around the city. We did all sorts of cool experiments, for example, we left each other at a bus stop, and we had to figure out how to get to school.

While I was little, I somehow didn’t pay much attention to what was happening within the walls of the boarding school. And only in high school did I begin to understand that when you are put out in the hallway for misbehavior, it’s strange. When the sofas are removed and there is nothing left to do but sit on the floor, this is not normal. When there are no sockets in your bedroom for purposes fire safety, but you need to charge your phone or shave, or want to drink tea - this is stupid, and so on. Then the guys and I decided to fight these orders - I unknowingly began my path of resistance.

We were in 10th grade, we wanted to do something. We even came up with the name of our “party” - “Lamps of Freedom”.

It started with the fact that one day, when the teacher found us sitting on the floor in the corridor, we told her that we were on strike against the lack of sofas. Everyone immediately came running, started to scare us with bad grades, and eventually dispersed us. Then we came up with the idea of writing a letter to the school administration with complaints and suggestions. There was actually nonsense: we asked for more freedom, sockets, good food. Later we collected signatures from the students behind the sofas... We were in 10th grade, we wanted to do something. We even came up with the name of our “party” - “Lamps of Freedom”.

Our protests did not end in anything good or productive: the uprising was quelled, the “people” were told that we were bad people and there was no need to follow us. In general, they crushed the opposition. Everything is as in great life like in the country. The sofas never appeared, and we made the sockets ourselves. And then I entered law school.

University and "talk"

I chose law because it interests me. Like many people, I was never drawn to massage, music is a hobby, I just like to play the guitar and record something sometimes. And the law faculty will give me the opportunity in the future to engage in private consulting of people, I will help them defend their rights. And I will be able to protect myself if something happens. To be honest, at first I wanted to be a teacher of Russian and literature, but I realized that teaching would still be difficult for me.

I study like an ordinary student - I go to classes, take exams using tickets. True, I record lectures not in Braille (this method is very cumbersome and inconvenient, I don’t use it), but on a dictaphone. And I’m not copying it (smiles). I never ask the teacher for concessions: I passed and passed. There are C's, B's, and A's rarely in the record book.

The NVDA program helps me work on the computer. This is a kind of reader that names all the icons as soon as you hover your mouse over them. With her help I read texts. Hotkeys and order on the desktop also help (though I rarely have it). I have mastered the computer very well, I even fix it for my father when it breaks down. I can install Windows, various programs and much more...

Our conversation is interrupted by a phone call - Valerie’s father wants to know how his son is doing. Remizov Jr. promises to call back later and, having finished the conversation, runs his finger over the phone icons. The phone begins to “talk” - very quickly and incomprehensibly - with this sound the cassettes in the tape recorder are rewound. Valera sorts everything out, I don’t say a word.

I deliberately sped up the pronunciation, I don’t like it when everything is slow,” explains Remizov. - You point at the icon - the “talker” calls it. Double-click and the icon opens. The same program pronounces letters out loud - this is how I write text messages.

Valerina’s phone also has a program installed that recognizes banknotes. You raise your phone over a thousand, the gadget takes aim and says: “A thousand rubles.” This is how Valera pays in stores and everywhere else.

Kindly world and navigation

When Valera, my friend and I leave the cafe and walk around the city, we feel his detachment, even though we are close. He seems to be with us, but at the same time he is alone with himself: throwing his cane forward, he intently absorbs the sounds of the surrounding world.

In order to walk, I have to make my own routes. If I could show you a map of Samara from my head, you would not recognize the city. I have to remember the road in detail - bumps, turns. I focus on sound: if cars are noisy, it means there is a road nearby. And there are always some objects and stops along the road.

It happens that I lose my way and get lost. This happens more often in winter, when snow covers familiar paths. And sometimes you just get off on the wrong foot, walk along a familiar road, but become dull and turn the wrong way. But usually I get together and find the right path.

I am used to moving around the city in my own way, so it is difficult for me to say how well Samara is adapted for the blind. Let's take transport. Many people complain that not all buses announce stops. For some, this is a fundamental tragedy - a person will pass by and get lost. For me, this is also partly a problem, but, on the other hand, it encourages me to communicate with others and develops sociability. I always turn to people for help - I ask what bus number has arrived, what stop is next. In 99% of cases they help me.

In general, each disabled person has his own. Some people want the bus number to be written in Braille. I personally don’t imagine this very well. A dirty bus pulls up, you push forward, pushing people aside, feeling it, getting dirty... I think it would be nice if the bus, when approaching a stop, announced its number. But while this is not the case, I try to rely on people and myself. I overcome some familiar routes easily - I count turns, navigate by rails and holes - I feel when we pass them, and so on.

When you walk on broken tiles, it doesn’t matter whether you are sighted or not - everyone breaks their legs.

It seems to me that if we are to develop a city, then it should be made normal for everyone at once. We are all people, we all want to walk on normal sidewalks, drive on good roads. And when you walk on broken tiles, it doesn’t matter whether you are sighted or not – everyone breaks their legs.

The more provincial the city, the worse the situation with tolerance towards people like me. IN small town there are no blind people visible, people don’t know how to react to us. In this sense, everything in Samara is more or less tolerable. But I prefer to talk about tolerance in general. People generally love to be rude. And the same disabled people are no exception. Here comes a blind man, and in front of him a box of tomatoes has crawled out a little onto the road. And he grumbles: “Look, disabled people walk here, but they gave instructions!” Well, you can calmly say: “Could you move the box a little so that I can pass?” In most cases, an adequate request will have a positive reaction.

Valera admits that he is not very good at navigation: he can get lost in a familiar place.

They always help me in stores. I just find someone and ask them to help me choose products. They rarely refuse. IN lately I got used to going to Carousel - it’s not far from my dorm. I just went up to the seller one day and said that I come here often and could I come up with something to make it convenient for me to buy groceries. I was sent to the information desk, where I agreed that every time I would go there first, they would give me a consultant who would make purchases with me. This is what happens. I don’t know if this process can be optimized somehow, but I’m happy with everything.

I understand that I can be deceived both in a store and in a taxi. But nothing like this has ever happened before. The world is generally not as evil as it seems.

I usually pay by bank card. If it's money, a money recognition program helps. And I also try to put bills in different pockets and remember which ones are where. I understand that I can be deceived both in a store and in a taxi. But nothing like this has ever happened before. The world is generally not as evil as it seems.

Politics and party

I became interested in politics back in school—my friend and I listened to “Echo of Moscow” in high school and got into it. It’s just that the age has come when you start thinking about some global things. Well, I just wanted to be literate. I remember they asked me who our source of power was. Without hesitation, I said: president. “Eh, Valera,” they told me. I felt ashamed.

In 2012, I attended my first rally for fair elections. In my first year, I saw information about the “Progress Party” on the Internet. I read it, looked at what they were doing, and realized that I was tired of just sitting and watching what was happening in the country - I want to influence!

I asked to meet them. I thought there was such a big office there, a lot of serious people. I arrive and three people are sitting, like we did at “Mafia” in the library, where my friends and I sometimes gather to play. They asked me about this and that and accepted me. We started doing various projects, hold pickets, for example, against the enrichment of officials, against violations of citizens' rights. Were you at the rally at the Sports Palace on March 1? I performed there - I said a few words and sang Makarevich’s song.

I, like all blind people, have good hearing. And even if people whisper very quietly, I hear. So I overheard what they were saying about my candidate.

I recently got a new one interesting experience– I worked for a week as an observer at early voting in the elections of deputies to district councils. My task was simple - to sign envelopes. I just checked to see if they were sealed and signed. He made sure that they were not taken to some secret room. In general, I sat quietly and watched. Sometimes he leaned his head on the table and pretended to be asleep - he listened to conversations. I, like all blind people, have good hearing. And even if people whisper very quietly, I hear. So I overheard what they were saying about my candidate.

In general, the whole week passed without incident. People came, mostly elderly. Many had no idea who to vote for - they did it at random or on instigation. Well, I wasn't surprised by this. But I remember how one policeman complained that everything in the country was so bad that they had to buy a uniform at Ptichka at their own expense. But at the same time, Putin is great because he annexed Crimea - that’s great!

Participating in this campaign was a rewarding experience for me. I wanted to see if I could do something useful in this area, and it turned out that I could. And if you pair me with someone, it will be even more effective.

Work and laziness

With all my activities I show people that blind people are just like everyone else. That we do not live in an incubator, that we also want something. That we, like all people, have weaknesses and strengths. And that not everyone sits at home or stands in the passages with a hat.

Doing nothing and asking for alms, citing lack of vision, is unacceptable to me. You get 15 pensions! People work for days and days for this money! My mother works in Togliatti six days a week, with bonuses she barely gets 20 thousand!

Yes, work is not easy. I don’t officially work anywhere right now. I just don’t really know where I can go yet. I tried to get a job in a call center. But there is a point here that if the company is serious, the schedule will be full, but I’m studying. And the employer is not very interested in blind employees. I must not only accept the call, but also quickly process the application and enter the data into the computer. I will do this more slowly, not as quickly as I should.

The worst thing for me is sitting at home with nothing to do. It is very easy to sit down, but then difficult to get up.
- I remember after the first year I did an internship at arbitration court, processed documents. I had templates and wrote letters using them. But in some places the “talker” will become dull, and in other places I need to work with paper – here I need a secretary. The secretary must be paid separately. The employer will look at this and think that he doesn’t need to bother with me. And he will be right in his own way.

But besides studying, I’m still doing a lot of slacking – someone asks me to play a “talker”, someone asks me to help with the computer. And I will still work. The worst thing for me is sitting at home with nothing to do. It is very easy to sit down as a vegetable, but then it is difficult to get up.

I’m very interested in how Valera imagines people, what his criteria are. human beauty. He says he thinks I'm beautiful because he likes my voice and the way I phrase questions.

You look with your eyes, your visual perception of a person is primarily triggered, but for me it is auditory. However, I have a good idea of those people whom I have known for a long time. When you constantly communicate with a person, you bump into him a couple of times, you can tell a lot about him: whether he is thin or plump, what kind of hair he has, what kind of skin he has...

I partly determine beauty by the voice. There are voices that I like, there are those that repel me. I appreciate how and what words a person pronounces. You can tell by the way he speaks whether he reads books - this is important to me. And, of course, thoughts and actions are important - for me, beauty is made up of all this. In general, you know, everything with me is like with people. I also pay attention to the figure - there are those who, oh!

This may seem strange, but how I look is also important to me, even though I don’t see myself. I understand that they are looking at me, and I want to evoke in people positive emotions. I shave, shine my shoes, cut my hair short like this. I don’t like long bangs: they get in the way and you can’t see anything.

Valera says that, despite all his adaptation to life in zero visibility, he would really like to see his parents, himself, his favorite color green and the whole world. But he won’t go to hospitals in Russia: firstly, he had enough in childhood, and secondly, he’s afraid of doctors in case they hurt something else.

I don't worry much about my blindness. The worst thing is not the loss of vision, but when a person has no brains. And with this I seem to be okay.

Valera Remizov has not seen anything since childhood. He doesn't know what mom and dad look like. The beauty of people is determined by their voice and actions. Cannot read without special programs or buy groceries without assistance. Loves the color green, but doesn't know what it is.

But I don’t feel sorry for Valera. He plays computer games by ear and can easily beat you to some races. He is a member of a political party and speaks at rallies - he speaks eloquently and sings well. He plays the guitar, studies at law school, is confident in himself and is liked by girls.

We spent several days with him and talked about life by ear, citizenship, the kindly world and human beauty.

Valera and I are sitting in a pancake shop not far from his dorm. He comes here often - the girls behind the cash register smile welcomingly and put the cutlery in front of him (the rest of the visitors take them themselves). At first, Valera didn’t know that there was a toilet in the establishment and that he could wash his hands - he carried wet wipes with him. Today, he easily finds the most comfortable table in the corner.

Racing and sounds

“It may seem to you that I’m being disingenuous, but I’ve never been too worried about what I can’t see.” I didn’t consider myself defective. There were a lot of interesting things in my childhood, and I had absolutely no time to think that something was wrong with me.

My parents worried about me, but never looked after me much - I grew up like all children. In the village I rode my bicycle along a straight road and once flew into a ravine. In winter I went sledding down the mountain. I once climbed a tall tree to determine whether it would be better to pick up a radio at a higher altitude. Dad looked for me for a long time and was very surprised when he found me on the highest branch.

My dad bought me a Panasonic 3DO console, which was very cool at that time. And I was the only child who didn’t need a TV screen to play: I just plugged my headphones into the joystick and played. I beat my friends in “Need for speed” and “Road rush”, and all sorts of samurai. I played by ear: I understood by the sounds when to turn and when a car was overtaking you... In general, until I was six years old, I had a very ordinary childhood. And then my parents sent me to Samara to study at boarding school No. 17 for the blind.

Valera's dorm room is always a creative mess. Sound equipment, various musical gadgets (Valera plays the guitar and sometimes records songs), gadgets are everywhere.

Study and resistance

— Studying at a boarding school is approximately the same as at a regular school. The only difference is that everyone around is blind or visually impaired. Well, you also live there, visiting your parents on rare weekends.

While I was little, I somehow didn’t pay much attention to what was happening within the walls of the boarding school. And only in high school did I begin to understand that when you are put out in the hallway for misbehavior, it’s strange. When the sofas are removed and there is nothing left to do but sit on the floor, this is not normal. When there are no sockets in your bedroom for fire safety reasons, and you need to charge your phone or shave, or want to drink tea, this is stupid, and so on. Then the guys and I decided to fight these orders - I unknowingly began my path of resistance.

We were in 10th grade, we wanted to do something. We even came up with the name of our “party” - “Lamps of Freedom”.

Our protests did not end in anything good or productive: the uprising was quelled, the “people” were told that we were bad people and there was no need to follow us. In general, they crushed the opposition. Everything is like in big life, like in the country. The sofas never appeared, and we made the sockets ourselves. And then I entered law school.

University and "talk"

— I chose law because it interests me. Like many people, I was never drawn to massage, music is a hobby, I just like to play the guitar and record something sometimes. And the law faculty will give me the opportunity in the future to engage in private consulting of people, I will help them defend their rights. And I will be able to protect myself if something happens. To be honest, at first I wanted to be a teacher of Russian and literature, but I realized that teaching would still be difficult for me.

I deliberately sped up the pronunciation, I don’t like it when everything is slow,” explains Remizov. — You point at the icon and the “talker” calls it. Double-click and the icon opens. The same program pronounces letters out loud - this is how I write text messages.

Kindly world and navigation

When Valera, my friend and I leave the cafe and walk around the city, we feel his detachment, even though we are close. He seems to be with me, but at the same time he is alone with himself: throwing his cane forward, he concentrates on absorbing the sounds of the surrounding world.

— In order to walk, I have to make my own routes. If I could show you a map of Samara from my head, you would not recognize the city. I have to remember the road in detail - bumps, turns. I focus on sound: if cars are noisy, it means there is a road nearby. And there are always some objects and stops along the road.

When you walk on broken tiles, it doesn’t matter whether you are sighted or not - everyone breaks their legs.

The more provincial the city, the worse the situation with tolerance towards people like me. In a small town there are no blind people, people don’t know how to react to us. In this sense, everything in Samara is more or less tolerable. But I prefer to talk about tolerance in general. People generally love to be rude. And the same disabled people are no exception. Here comes a blind man, and in front of him a box of tomatoes has crawled out a little onto the road. And he grumbles: “Look, disabled people walk here, but they gave instructions!” Well, you can calmly say: “Could you move the box a little so that I can pass?” In most cases, an adequate request will have a positive reaction.

Valera admits that he is not very good at navigation: he can get lost in a familiar place.

They always help me in stores. I just find someone and ask them to help me choose products. They rarely refuse. Lately I’ve gotten used to going to Carousel, which is not far from my dorm. I just went up to the seller one day and said that I come here often and could I come up with something to make it convenient for me to buy groceries. I was sent to the information desk, where I agreed that every time I would go there first, they would give me a consultant who would make purchases with me. This is what happens. I don’t know if this process can be optimized somehow, but I’m happy with everything.

I understand that I can be deceived both in a store and in a taxi. But nothing like this has ever happened before. The world is generally not as evil as it seems.

I usually pay with a bank card. If it's money, a money recognition program helps. And I also try to put bills in different pockets and remember which ones are where. I understand that I can be deceived both in a store and in a taxi. But nothing like this has ever happened before. The world is generally not as evil as it seems.

Politics and party

— I became interested in politics back in school—my friend and I listened to “Echo of Moscow” in high school and got into it. It’s just that the age has come when you start thinking about some global things. Well, I just wanted to be literate. I remember they asked me who our source of power was. Without hesitation, I said: president. “Eh, Valera,” they told me. I felt ashamed.

I asked to meet them. I thought there was such a big office there, a lot of serious people. I arrive and three people are sitting, like we did at “Mafia” in the library, where my friends and I sometimes gather to play. They asked me about this and that and accepted me. We began to do various projects, hold pickets, for example, against the enrichment of officials, against violations of citizens' rights. Were you at the rally at the Sports Palace on March 1? I performed there - I said a few words and sang Makarevich’s song.

I, like all blind people, have good hearing. And even if people whisper very quietly, I hear. So I overheard what they were saying about my candidate.

I recently had a new interesting experience - I worked for a week as an observer at early voting in the elections of deputies to district councils. My task was simple - to sign envelopes. I just checked to see if they were sealed and signed. He made sure that they were not taken to some secret room. In general, I sat quietly and watched. Sometimes he leaned his head on the table and pretended to be asleep - he listened to conversations. I, like all blind people, have good hearing. And even if people whisper very quietly, I hear. So I overheard what they were saying about my candidate.

Work and laziness

“With all my activities, I show people that blind people are just like everyone else. That we do not live in an incubator, that we also want something. That we, like all people, have strengths and weaknesses. And that not everyone sits at home or stands in the passages with a hat.

The worst thing for me is sitting at home with nothing to do. It is very easy to sit down, but then difficult to get up.

I remember after my first year I did an internship in an arbitration court, processing documents. I had templates and wrote letters using them. But in some places the “talker” will become dull, and in other places I need to work with paper – here I need a secretary. The secretary must be paid separately. The employer will look at this and think that he doesn’t need to bother with me. And he will be right in his own way.

But besides studying, I’m still doing a lot of slacking—someone asks me to play a talker, someone asks me to help with the computer. And I will still work. The worst thing for me is sitting at home with nothing to do. It is very easy to sit down as a vegetable, but then it is difficult to get up.

Words and voices

I am very interested in how Valera imagines people, what are his criteria for human beauty. He says he thinks I'm beautiful because he likes my voice and the way I phrase questions.

— You look with your eyes, your visual perception of a person is triggered first, but for me it’s auditory. However, I have a good idea of those people whom I have known for a long time. When you constantly communicate with a person, you bump into him a couple of times, you can tell a lot about him: whether he is thin or plump, what kind of hair he has, what kind of skin he has...

This may seem strange, but how I look is also important to me, even though I don’t see myself. I understand that they are looking at me, and I want to evoke positive emotions in people. I shave, shine my shoes, cut my hair short like this. I don’t like long bangs: they get in the way and you can’t see anything.

“I’m not very worried about my blindness. The worst thing is not the loss of vision, but when a person has no brains. And with this I seem to be okay.

It is noticeable that authorities at all levels in Russia have tensed up: the protests that took place a week ago, which turned out to be super-youth, raised the degree of nervousness among the “servants of the people.” Suddenly, the authorities realized that they had missed the emergence of a serious protest community in the country. That, despite the patriotic ideology, they raised their children “wrongly”. "Anti-state." As a result of this epiphany, the country watched for a week as official journalism, pro-government publicists and political scientists, deputies, officials and “aligned” of all stripes ranted about how harmful it was for young people to rally, protest and fight corruption.

Against this heated discussion background, everyone is sophisticated to the best of their ability and desire to promote themselves. For example, political scientist Maxim Zharov said at a round table with the REGNUM news agency that protest groups and suicide groups can be led by the same people.

Well, the governor of the Samara region, Nikolai Merkushkin, about whose Rublev mansion, by the way, Alexey Navalny also made an exposing video, decided to “lick” the higher authorities on a real scale.

Drive away the students, we need extras!

Nikolai Merkushkin, to whom the nickname “Wretched Little Boy” now seems to have firmly stuck, decided to outdo Navalny. Like, since he brought out a crowd of young people, I will bring out even more. But the governor held the gathering of “extras” in the traditional way for “ United Russia"Manner: in a voluntary-compulsory manner. Using an administrative resource. Well, as in the classics: “whoever doesn’t take it, we’ll turn off the gas” (c).

“Extras” were required from the city’s universities. They rounded up 2,000 people and made them sit down. Opposition leader Navalny was scolded. Governor Merkushkin was praised. They defended the “slandered” Dmitry Medvedev. They showed a film in which opposition rallies were compared to the Ukrainian Maidan. At the same time we took a look at the communists:

— Red flags are visible in the crowd: the uniqueness of the Samara region is manifested in the fact that representatives parliamentary party took an anti-state position.

They tried to drive into the students’ heads the idea that any protests, any public expression of dissatisfaction with the actions of the authorities is an “anti-state position.” This is extremism.

“Kolenka, Kolenka, you are so wretched”

Apparently, Governor Merkushkin decided that all students, fearing reprisals from the dean's office and rector's office, would remain silent and nod. But suddenly a ditty was heard in the hall:

Kolenka, Kolenka, you are so wretched.

Kolenka, Kolenka, oh, what a wretched thing.

Why did you, Kolya, screw up and limit my unlimited service?

Kolenka, Kolenka, how wretched you are!

Security rushed to take the guitar from Valery Remizov, a blind law student at Samara State University with Group I disability. But he did not “shut up” and brought the governor to a discussion. Merkushkin was forced to answer questions.

But an honest discussion still did not work out: the disabled student was dragged out of the hall by the police. Finally, he sent the governor to a specific address... to resign.

Pensions of 70 - 100 thousand rubles and a tin foil hat

Nikolai Merkushkin tried to take control of the situation by responding to the student’s attacks, but he failed. It turned out, according to the governor, that unlimited travel was limited to pensioners who receive... 70 - 100 thousand rubles in pensions.

This statement by Merkushkin caused a flurry of indignation on social networks: the governor is so disconnected from the people that he simply does not understand what nonsense he is talking about. I added the extra zero to pensions. Apparently, for the owner of a mansion on Rublyovka worth several hundred million rubles (if you believe the investigation of Alexei Navalny), the difference between 7 and 70 thousand pensions is insignificant...

In general, at the forum, judging by the feedback from those present, many statements were made for which psychiatric clinic could easily be diagnosed as “paranoid delusion”. There are also robotic bugs that will stick to American missiles and steal the “stuffing”, and personal participation American Ambassador in organizing the Samara rally, and the CIA’s attention directly to Governor Merkushkin... only a tin foil hat is missing.

It seems that it was not for nothing that Navalny called the video about Merkushkin “Flying over the nest of a crazy governor.”

The State Department is also trying to disrupt the World Cup in Samara in 2018 and is slowing down the construction of the stadium. It’s impossible to even comment on this.

These are the governors in Russia. We hope that Moscow will appreciate the resonant initiative of “Kolenka” and the deep wisdom of his statements.

Information from Russian Press: Nikolai Merkushkin became famous while leading Mordovia by ensuring “United Russia” in the elections in 2012 95% votes. As governor of the Samara region, he took away benefits from pensioners and disabled people, and became a participant in a case initiated by the FAS in connection with lobbying the interests of Gazprom.

Among the set of statements that brought Merkushkin unfading fame, the answer to a former employee of the AvtoVAZagregat enterprise stands out. When asked when the company will pay back wages, the governor replied: if you “talk in such a tone”, then the debts will never be paid.

Photo: meduza.io, htltplus.info, BBC, samara.mk.ru