Nadezhda Tylik

Nadezhda Tylik is a Russian citizen who was filmed publicly accusing President Putin and Deputy Prime Minister Ilya Klebanov of lying to relatives of crew members of the submarine Kursk which had sunk in a disaster only 10 days before. Her son Lt. Sergei Tylik was among those who died. When she would not be quiet, she was forcibly sedated and removed from the meeting. The entire event was televised and seen by an international audience, though it was not broadcast inside Russia.[1]

Putin meets family members

On Tuesday, 22 August, Putin met at 20:00 in the Vidyayevo navy base officers club and cultural centre for three[2] to six[3] hours with about 400-600[4]:154[2]:105 angry and grief-filled family members of the Kursk‍ '​s crew.[4] The meeting was closed and access was tightly controlled.[4] Two Russian journalists from Nezavisimaya Gazeta and Kommersant, who posed as family members, witnessed hysterical widows and mothers howling at Putin, demanding to know why they were receiving so much conflicting information and who was going to be punished for the deaths of their family members.[5]

During the meeting, Tylik was extremely emotional and interrupted the meeting. She harangued Deputy Prime Minister Klebanov and Putin. She accused them of lying to her and other family members about the Kursk disaster.[6]

When she would not be quiet, a woman in civilian clothing behind her forcibly injected her through her clothes with a sedative.[7] She shortly thereafter lost the ability to speak and was carried out.[7] The whole scene was captured by a TV crew, although it was not televised within Russia. The rest of the world was able to see officials remove her from the meeting.[7][6]:36

Family statements

Immediately after his wife was given the injection, Tylik's husband said he had asked the woman to give his wife the drug "because she was prone to excessive emotions."[7][8] Four months later she revealed that her husband had lied about the injection to the public to "save my nerves" and that he, in fact, "did not ask for help." "The injection was done to shut my mouth. Immediately after it I just lost the ability to speak and was carried out."[7]

As of February 23, 2001, at least 15 surviving family members have filed complaints with the Prosecutor General's Office seeking more information about the sinking of the ship.[7] Tylik told the St. Petersburg Times that she will go to any lengths to learn the truth about the submarine disaster "They told us lies the whole time, and even now we are unable to get any information," she said.[7]

The sedation concerned people in Russia as well as the West that the former Soviet Union was returning to its Cold War-era methods of silencing dissent.[9] Tylik said that he had told her six days before the disaster that the submarine had " 'death onboard,' but he didn't explain what he meant." "I am sure that the commanders of the Northern Fleet knew that the torpedoes were not in order. Those who are guilty must be punished.[7]

Government response

Navy officials in Vidyayevo later confirmed to The Times and to The St. Petersburg Times that she was given a sedative. "We've been giving sedatives to relatives since this began, and it is not such a big deal as you make it out to be in the West," said an officer who would not identify himself. "We are simply protecting the relatives from undue pain – it was for her own protection."[10]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Sedated Kursk mother vows to fight on". CNN. August 25, 2000. Retrieved 9 October 2010.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Truscott, Peter (2005). Putin's Progress: A Biography of Russia's Enigmatic President, Vladimir Putin (First ed.). London [u.a.]: Pocket Books. ISBN 0-7434-9607-8.
  3. ↑ Steen, Michael (8 July 2000). "Russia mourns Kursk". News24.com. Retrieved 13 February 2014.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Brannon, Robert (April 13, 2009). Russian Civil-Military Relations. Farnham, England: Ashgate Publishers. p. 140. ISBN 978-0-7546-7591-4.
  5. ↑ Traynor, Ian (24 August 2000). "Putin aims Kursk fury at media". The Guardian. Retrieved 11 February 2014.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Barany, Zoltan (2007). Democratic Breakdown and the Decline of the Russian Military. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press. p. 32. ISBN 978-1-4008-2804-3.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 7.5 7.6 7.7 Borisova, Yevgenia (23 Feb 2001). "Kursk Relatives Make a Plea for Facts and Justice". St. Petersburg Times. Retrieved 18 February 2015.
  8. ↑ "I was not silenced, says Kursk mother". Telegraph. 27 Aug 2000. Retrieved 9 October 2010.
  9. ↑ Moore, Robert (2002). A Time to Die: The Untold Story of the Kursk Tragedy. New York: Three Rivers Press. pp. 176–177. ISBN 978-0-307-41969-9.
  10. ↑ What Will Putin Learn From Media Circus?

External links