In the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia, a single day of state legal information (EDGPI) is held once a week for employees of internal affairs departments. Earlier these days, changes in laws, work statistics and internal orders were discussed with the police. But since December 2021, the content of the meetings has changed. Employees now receive mandatory weekly lectures on the political situation in the country — and check how the police take notes.
«Initially it was legal information. Discussion of Code of Criminal Procedure, Criminal Code, new laws. They discussed & # 171; zalety & # 187;: if an employee was drunk somewhere, he lost his cartridge, he went to the application without a bulletproof vest. We talked about those who did not get the necessary indicators or if the disclosure went on for a long time. Rallies were also discussed these days. Could have mentioned some important historical date — when Alexander Nevsky conquered something, but usually briefly, — explained to the BBC a source close to the structures of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. — And now it all comes down to writing down in a notebook the meeting between Putin and Luka [Alexander Lukashenko] on 14 sheets».
According to documents obtained by the BBC, since December 2021, during the EDGPI, police in several regions of Russia have been listening to transcripts of Vladimir Putin’s speeches, transcripts of his meetings with partners, for example, Alexander Lukashenko, as well as interviews with pro-Kremlin political scientists and experts — they are read according to the publications of the «Rossiyskaya Gazeta».
The material is usually read by one of the deputy heads of the department.
For example, the outline plan of February 2022 on the topic «Putin discussed security issues with the leaders of the United States, France and Belarus» approved by one of the heads of the department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs for the Rostov region. In particular, it says that «American officials and the Western press raised the degree of hysteria around Ukraine, intimidating partners with an alleged «Russian invasion».
The outline of April 21 cites Putin's words that hundreds of corpses appeared in Bucha because the West needed to introduce another package of sanctions. The entire lecture occupies 15 sheets and includes a verbatim transcript of the press conference between Putin and Lukashenko.
Such lectures, according to the documents of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, are needed to «form the state-patriotic worldview among employees, high civil quality and psychologically prepare them for the performance of official tasks».
The policeman is required not only to attend an hour and a half lecture, but also after handing over a summary of what he heard, written down by hand in a special workbook, BBC interlocutors say.
«In the USSR, this was called «political information». Those who have a good disclosure rate, who work a lot in the field, do not give a damn about these lectures. But now there are many who are patriotic. They listen», — says one of the employees of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.
For not handed in the abstract threatens to be punished, he continues: if employees have good relations with the personnel department, the texts of lectures are given to the house — and there often a mother or wife writes notes for a police officer & # 8212; «beautiful handwriting».
The secretary often makes notes for the boss, the BBC source clarifies: «Because these notebooks, and the journal of individual educational work should « ;burn». This is the first thing an inspector can get to the bottom of, especially if Moscow is checking. On paper, everything should be beautiful, and no one cares how it's done».
It is much more annoying for police officers that since March 2022 in a number of regions they are forced to buy items for a personal duffel bag.
A duffel bag with equipment is necessary for police officers when switching to work in wartime conditions and when working in emergencies in peacetime time. Now there is no decree according to which the Ministry of Internal Affairs must provide every employee with a duffel bag.
But, for example, at the beginning of April, in the department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs for Chuvashia, they began to demand from the police to complete & # 171; disturbing suitcases & # 187; at his own expense, a source told the BBC. Almost on the same days, he says, the heads of departments of one of the Moscow departments were required to check that every employee, including civilians, had a duffel bag. In Belgorod, Kursk and other southern cities of Russia, the situation is the same.
«At one of the meetings, employees were told, under dictation, what contents these duffel bags should have, — discussing in the telegram channel about working in the Ministry of Internal Affairs, whose administrator — himself a former police officer. — And to requests to take a photo or a copy of such an order, there was a strict negative answer in a rude form. Everyone was ordered to purchase everything they needed with their own money, and in case of further indignation, these employees were told in plain text that they would be sent to serve in Ukraine».
On average, a set with household items, compasses, linen , camping cutlery, food in dry rations and a first-aid kit costs an employee 5-7 thousand rubles, for many it is 10% of the salary.
«There is no desire to substitute the head of the department, because they will ask him. We collect the bag, the problem arises: where to get an individual dressing bag and a flask, — complain to the channel administrator «Operobzor» employees of the regional departments of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. — There is a rush in the city for these things, and also dry land. It is simply unrealistic to buy a flask, prices are above 1000 rubles. Considering that the salary [salary] has long ended and the paper has become quite expensive, and the printer asks for paint. There is nowhere to take it all».