Russians in open revolt as National Guardsman admits QR codes are unenforceable (VIDEOS)
Russians are fighting back and winning. Where is the RT coverage?
It happened gradually, then suddenly: all 85 federal subjects of Russia now have compulsory vaccination policies, as well as rules requiring QR codes for entry to certain businesses and institutions.
Russia is also currently enjoying a “non-working week” (for Moscow and many other cities, this is a soothing euphemism for “lockdown”) which many believe could be extended indefinitely.
It’s a grim situation and it’s far too soon to say how this will all play out. But there are reasons to be optimistic.
In Nizhnekamsk, a city in Tatarstan, a member of the National Guard—a paramilitary force that reports directly to the Russian president—was summoned to “deal with” an unruly, QR codeless citizen. Instead, the guardsman explained to the hamburger lady behind the cash register that requiring digital health IDs was illegal:
The Russian Guard explained to the seller that she has no right not to serve a person without a QR code. He explained this by the fact that, by design, only federal law has the right to restrict human movement. The regulation is not federal law. Those who comply with it violate the law and this is the problem of the violator.
Here’s a very rough transcript that we made of the exchange:
Guardsman: Somebody pressed the emergency button.
Cashier: We asked the customer to show his QR code, and he didn't show. Without a QR code we only serve customers who order takeout.
Guardsman: But you should know that they have a right not to show [a QR code]. According to the constitution, the movement of the person can be restricted only by federal law.
Cashier: The senior managers ordered us to ask for QR cordes.
Guardsman: You should follow the constitution first.
Cashier: You mean, from this moment I sell to everybody without QR codes? Right?
Guardsman: It's up to you, I came here because you pressed the emergency button.
Cashier: I was told to call because you know that we do not serve without QR codes.
Guardsman: You pressed the button but there is no administrative offense here.
Cashier: I will tell our managers about it.
Guardsman: Any other questions?
Cashier: No, thanks.
Guardsman: Demanding QR codes is against the law. You can only suggest to show QR codes as a recommendation. But you have no right to restrict clients. Yes, there is a cabinet of the ministers and their resolutions. But constitutional law is the first to follow, despite the resolutions of the ministers.
Uh-oh.
In the same city, activists took over a QR code inspection post at a shopping center. They waved people through the checkpoint, insisting that nobody had to show documentation to enter:
“We are in power here”… “We are divided into classes,” said one of the activists. The guard of the shopping center did not fight back the noisy group and just watched what was happening from the side.
Elsewhere in Russia, in the Republic of Buryatia, a mob of no-nonsense pensioners stormed the entrance of a shopping center—forcing the security guard tasked with checking QR codes to retreat:
We have heard from contacts around Russia, and it seems this kind of stuff is happening everywhere—people are basically just ignoring the rules.
Meanwhile, in Moscow’s swanky Arbat neighborhood, a bartender threw a chair at a cop who arrived to enforce “curfew”:
There are many other interesting stories of resistance but we will save them for a more in-depth follow-up piece about What The Heck Is Happening in Russia.
Anecdotally, we’ll say this: There is a huge amount of anger and open resistance to what is happening here. We have seen it with our own eyeballs. If the Kremlin was smart, it would pull the plug on this society-destroying, economy-murdering lunacy before things “get out of hand.”
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