They put snipers, sealed the cameras and processed the snowdrifts

On January 27, the 78th anniversary of the lifting of the blockade was celebrated in St. Petersburg. Vladimir Putin arrived in the city and visited the Piskarevskoye Memorial Cemetery. On the same day, a video appeared on the Web, how veterans who came with flowers were not allowed into the cemetery, and a girl in an orange jacket explained to them: “People who just came to lay flowers will not pass until three o’clock.”

«Novaya» found this girl — she turned out to be an employee of the Piskarevsky Memorial Complex (PMC) Margarita Nikolaeva. We asked to explain why veterans weren't allowed in and who is responsible for what during the President's visit? -place-status=»empty» alt=»» />

Vladimir Putin behind the cordon of the Piskarevsky cemetery in St. Petersburg. On the roof of the pavilion — a group of FSO and two snipers. Photo: Alexander Demyanchuk/TASS

— How many days in advance are you usually informed that the President will arrive at the cemetery?

Vladimir Putin hasn't been here for the last couple of years. The fact that the President will arrive this year became known for sure on January 24th. On the same day, we posted an announcement on the official website of the PMK pmemorial.ru: the memorial will be closed from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. This data was given to us by the FSO. Our employees reported the same information to everyone who called to find out about the possibility of visiting the PMC on January 27. Dozens of people called each day.

— Have you reported it on radio and TV, where older people who do not use the Internet are more likely to hear the news?

— As far as I know, no.

— In the comments below the video, you are accused of being the one who ordered not to let anyone in. What really happened?

— I have been working at the PMK for several years and I know that every year there are people who come to lay flowers who have not read the site, and they need to be told that it is useless to wait outside, besides in the cold. So I went up to the police and asked what to say to people who are expecting to be let through any minute?

I was pointed to the FSO officers: they are the main ones here.

The FSO officers clearly answered that no one would be allowed into the territory until 3 pm. I went beyond the cordon and turned to the townspeople with this information.

— Did it happen before that on January 27 people came, but they were not allowed in?

— Yes, it was the same last year. People came and waited for the delegation with Beglov, Zaks and other structures to pass, and then they were allowed in — usually around 12 noon.

I believe that on such an important day for the townspeople, everyone should be allowed into the cemetery without restrictions. But this is my personal point of view. I, unfortunately, do not solve such issues.

And this year, everything was complicated due to the arrival of the president. It was announced that the cemetery would be closed until three. In fact, they began to let people into the territory not at 15, as the FSO said, but at 13.30, when the president left the memorial. But still, many stood for about two hours in the cold. Presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said people had been waiting for 10 minutes. It's not like that.

—People were still standing on the street at the entrance? Were they not invited inside the pavilion to warm up and drink hot tea?

— No.

Photo: Alexander Demyanchuk/TASS

— How are the preparations for the commemorative ceremony going with the participation of high-ranking officials?

— Usually the Smolny Social Policy Committee sends us a list of organizations: the governor, the Legislative Assembly , Federal Assembly, judges of the Constitutional Court

Everyone is arranged in a hierarchical order. We print their names on pieces of paper, put them on music stands, take them out into the street and arrange them in order so that, for example, no one gets ahead of the governor.

I know that in the social policy committee itself (PMC is part of his area of ​​responsibility) the preparation of the lists begins about two weeks before the ceremony. Beglov is included there automatically, I also did not notice any special preparations before visiting (cemetery) Valentina Matvienko, unless her protocol came to the PMK and found out the details of the ceremony.

— How did this visit of the president to the cemetery differ from the previous ones?

— The fact that

he (the president) walked completely alone, that they sealed the cameras, moved the stand for the wreath away from sculptures, processed snowdrifts.

The toughest preparation began at 8.30 on January 27. Frames of metal detectors were installed, this had not happened before; a metal fence on the opposite side of Nepokorennykh Avenue, and since early morning public transport stopped near the cemetery.

Did you tape the cameras? Why?

— Those who were next to the monument to the Motherland, where the wreath was laid, were sealed with ordinary masking tape. Why — we did not ask, probably for security reasons — so that employees could not be seen next to the president.

We have a sound engineer's room, and the cameras that were taped up just lead into this room. It includes music, a metronome and a hymn — unless a military band is playing. To turn everything on correctly, the sound engineer needs to see the territory. As a result, having sealed the cameras, they left him a small window so that he could see only the place where the president would approach.

— A photograph of snipers standing on the roof of the museum pavilion appeared on the Web. Tell me, is this fake? «>