The civil case was returned to the Pervomaisky District Court of Krasnodar, which granted the request more than a year ago to declare the official audit illegal and cancel the conclusion.
The newspaper has been following the difficult fate of Vladimir Barakovsky for several years (see “RG” “I have the honor!” dated May 27, 2021, “Defense of Barakovsky” dated May 31, 2021, “Colonel, get into formation!” dated May 10, 2023). The publications clearly and reliably tell everything about the causes of the conflict, the falsification of data and the difficulty of restoring a good name. No one has denied the reported facts.
I don’t change an oath
Let me briefly remind you. When Barakovsky headed the Novorossiysk Internal Affairs Directorate, the deputy head of the internal security department of the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs for the region, Colonel Dmitry Frolov, suggested that he turn a blind eye to the gambling business and fulfill his other requests “necessary for business.” And having received, so to speak, a blow, he organized an inspection. His subordinates persistently searched for incriminating evidence, even revealing that Barakovsky’s long-deceased father used a company car. The materials of this inspection became the basis for the colonel’s dismissal “in connection with the commission of a crime discrediting the honor of an employee of the internal affairs bodies” and were transferred to the investigating authorities, where they opened first one and then a second criminal case, both on the same facts.
The investigation lasted a long time, but in the end investigators from the Investigative Committee of Russia solved the problem, dismissing both cases due to lack of evidence of a crime and granting the right to rehabilitation.
By that time, Frolov himself had been criminally charged with participating in a large-scale criminal community and bribery organized on the Caucasian federal highway, and it was not his Kuban, but his federal colleagues who exposed him. Among Dmitry Frolov’s accomplices are several senior officials of the regional headquarters, regional departments of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and ordinary police officers. In May last year, the high-profile case was transferred for consideration to the Leninsky District Court of Rostov-on-Don, but, as we found out, a verdict has not yet been issued. And Colonel Barakovsky, after the termination of the criminal cases initiated against him for libel, managed to get the dismissal order canceled.
For six years, no one at the regional headquarters has bothered to question the objectivity of the inspection carried out at the request of employees who really dishonoured the honour of their uniform.
However, at the second attempt the court concluded that “artificial grounds had been created to terminate V.M. Barakovsky’s official activities.” And his dismissal from his post as head of the Russian Interior Ministry for the city of Novorossiysk was declared illegal. On May 3 last year, the Pervomaisky District Court reinstated the colonel in his post with instructions to “reverse the decision for immediate execution.”
Having refused all material and moral compensation for forced absence due to illegal dismissal, he immediately returned to his duties. True, he did not start working in the structures of the Kuban Ministry of Internal Affairs, where he had previously served faithfully for 30 years, but in the neighboring region, where he now acts as head of the accounting and security systems department at the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs for the North Caucasus Federal District. He is entrusted with the task of identifying and suppressing illegal trafficking in counterfeit goods, weapons, ammunition, narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances, identifying and detaining wanted persons and vehicles. According to reviews from his superiors, there are no complaints against him. As before, he serves honestly and conscientiously.
But someone at the regional headquarters of the Ministry of Internal Affairs has an itch. Perhaps Frolov’s colleagues, perhaps those who care more about their careers, or… I won’t guess. In any case, literally at the end of the deadline provided by law for appeal, the regional Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs appeals to the Fourth Court of Cassation with a complaint against the decision of the Pervomaisky District Court of May 3, 2023, which reinstated Barakovsky in his job, and the appeal ruling of the panel of judges for civil cases of the Krasnodar Regional Court of January 30, 2024, which upheld this decision.
Reason? Alleged incorrect application and violation of substantive and procedural law. Nothing more, nothing less.
And what is even more interesting is how the headquarters is trying this time to get rid of a professional officer who has served with honours in the Ministry of the Interior for more than 30 years, whose merits in the fight against crime have been recognised with departmental medals and badges and numerous incentives.
Esprit de corps?
I have carefully read the appeal. And I am beginning to understand that there are people in the legal service who are, to put it mildly, well versed and who know how, under the pretext of observing the rule of law and objectivity, not to restore justice, but to prove that Colonel Barakovsky was dismissed correctly and justifiably.
There is no point in retelling the voluminous appeal, although it is interesting from the point of view of defending the honour of uniformity and double standards. Its essence, in my opinion, boils down to two important provisions. Interlacing his request with references to the laws, the representative of the regional headquarters claims that the norms of the Labour Code of the Russian Federation are not applicable to the controversial legal relations of employees of internal affairs bodies. According to him, they are regulated by the provisions of special legislation, including the law on service in internal affairs bodies.
And the second, no less significant message: the closure of the criminal case against Barakovsky “does not exempt him from disciplinary responsibility for committing a disciplinary offence.” That is, his dismissal in connection with the commission of a crime discrediting the honour of an employee of the internal affairs bodies is legal and “does not depend on the presence or absence of a criminal offence in his actions”…
Apparently, the friendly and fluffy employees of the regional headquarters forgot how the colonel was dismissed. Recall that on June 9, 2018, the conclusion of the internal audit was approved, and on July 19, an order was issued to dismiss Barakovsky from the authorities. And in order to prevent him from being challenged, the CSS sends a report to the investigating authorities. And already on July 25, based on the conclusion of the same official audit, a criminal case was initiated. On October 10, 2019, it was terminated due to lack of evidence of a crime. But then, already on October 11, on the basis of the same (?!) conclusion, another criminal case was initiated… Gentlemen, do you call this a “legal and justified” dismissal of a person? Have a conscience! You, better than anyone, know that as long as a person is suspected or accused in a criminal case, he cannot be hired…
And here, perhaps, one might ask: what was so terrible, unusual and unforgivable that the inspection by the security service uncovered? How did the colonel compromise the pure and unblemished image of the employees of the regional administration? I will not list all the lies of which he is accused. Because they are insignificant. Firstly, Barakovsky’s deputy, Nikolai Shestopalov, who was dismissed as a result of the same inspection from the post of deputy head of the Novorossiysk Internal Affairs Directorate, was reinstated in the Ministry of Internal Affairs. The legal service of the Kuban headquarters went all the way to the Supreme Court, trying to overturn the decisions taken on Shestopalov’s claim, but to no avail. And why?
Perhaps because Elena Donskaya, an inspector of the Internal Security Service of the Kuban police headquarters, subordinate to Dmitry Frolov, “went to great lengths not to disappoint” her superior? So much so that the court admitted that “the conclusions of the internal audit created artificial grounds for the termination of official activities in the internal affairs bodies of V.M. Barakovsky.” However, the closure of the criminal case demonstrated “the inconsistency and implausibility of Donskoy’s statements.”
“malicious misconduct”
According to the regional headquarters, Barakovsky’s most serious crime, as established by the audit, is that he had as a driver an inspector from a separate traffic police company who drove the colonel on official business. But Donskaya also concealed the fact that the position of driver of the head of the Novorossiysk Interior Ministry was not provided for in the staffing table at that time. I agree, albeit with difficulty, that this does not honor the colonel. And let us ask ourselves, who is not guilty of this? After all, the personnel service of the headquarters probably knew this situation very well. And Barakovsky wrote reports on this matter.
But let’s look at it from the other side. Barakovsky rose from an ordinary employee to a colonel and had an impeccable reputation. “Maksimych is the honour and conscience of our service,” say the policemen who meet him at work. And at headquarters, since he was assigned to problematic police departments to restore order, they jokingly called him “bankruptcy manager.” And the situation there always changed for the better. Novorossiysk was no exception. So does the colonel’s alleged misconduct merit his dismissal from the authorities? Here the blind man will see which cup he is squeezing too much.
infallible check
The country’s leadership demands that real professionals be appreciated and not thrown away. However, the Kuban headquarters apparently has a different opinion. And it seems to me that the leaders set the tone. Neither the former head of the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in the region, Vladimir Vinevsky, nor the current Lieutenant General Vladimir Andreev, whom Barakovsky repeatedly tried to arrange an appointment with, met with him. Or maybe it was worth finding out personally what happened? At least to understand why the colonel is seeking reinstatement. Did he serve the cause or his own pocket?
I am trying to clarify with the head of the headquarters, Vladimir Andreev, why his subordinates are so persistent in trying to get rid of a professional officer? The appeal addressed to him was quite detailed and well-reasoned. A few days later we received a response. Let us quote verbatim: “Since we consider that the determination and decision of the Pervomaisky District Court of Krasnodar, as well as the appeal rulings of the judicial panel for civil cases of the Krasnodar Regional Court, violate the rights and legitimate interests of the General Staff Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia for the Krasnodar Territory, the regional commander-in-chief has exercised the right to appeal to the cassation court of general jurisdiction in accordance with Chapter 41 of the Civil Procedure Code of the Russian Federation.”
Since the reply was anonymous, I asked if I could refer to the head of the main department when publishing it. “No,” the head of the department’s press service, Alexander Runov, immediately objected, “we, the press service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, are commenting on your request.”
What does this mean? Is the tail wagging the dog? Is it that the press service determines the interests of the headquarters? And in our case, do they consist in the unwillingness to employ a conscientious employee? And that is why, we must understand, the lawyers of the headquarters continue to so stubbornly challenge the court’s decision to reinstate Barakovsky at work, which, by the way, the regional prosecutor’s office agreed to.
And note that for six years now, no one at the regional headquarters has bothered to question the objectivity of the inspection carried out at the request of employees who really disgraced the honour of their uniform. Although the facts presented in it have long been refuted by investigators of the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation and in court. Does the honour of the uniform interfere? Or is it easier to dismiss an employee than to punish employees of his own security service?
Judge in silence
And even with the appeal to the Fourth Court of Cassation, the regional office did not do without, let’s say, tricks and legal tricks. In addition to the cassation appeal against the courts’ decision to reinstate Barakovsky at work, a private appeal was filed against the interim decision of the same Pervomaisky District Court dated April 13, 2023. Logically, both should have been considered in a single composition, as the regional court did. However, it turned out that on June 14 (neither Barakovsky nor his defense were notified), Judge Philip Rudenko, single-handedly, without holding a court hearing, that is, in summary proceedings, considered the private complaint, satisfying it in full and agreeing with the plaintiff that “the newly discovered circumstances were previously known to the persons involved in the case.”
On this basis, the composition of the Fourth Court of Cassation, when considering the appeal of the regional office, had no choice but to annul the court’s decision to reinstate Barakovsky in the service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Because according to the current regulations there should be no contradictions.
The case is being returned to the lower court to eliminate procedural violations. The regional office is celebrating, saying that they are already preparing to cancel the restoration order, as required by law.
I just wanted to remind you that nothing destroys the rule of law more than injustice and attempts to make lies triumph.
