UPDATE on the detained squatters in St Petersburg

By: Rosa - February 9th, 2013  Filed under: News

All but one of the activists have been released on condition they appear in court to be charged with an administrative offence. This is a less serious offence and normally results in a formal warning or a fine.

The last squatter, whom the St Petersburg Investigative Committee has reported to be a 20-year old college student from Tajikistan, has been remanded for two months in St Petersburg’s notorious Kresty prison, suspected of  violence against a police officer.

Details about fundraising for his defence will be posted shortly.

[Read More]

Tags: , ,

Violent Squat Eviction in St Petersburg: Three Activists Face 10 Years in Prison

By: Rosa - February 5th, 2013  Filed under: News

On 4th February, at around 10pm local time, riot police brutally evicted a group of anarchists, community activists and local history enthusiasts who had been occupying a disused railway station, Warsaw station, in St Petersburg, Russia.

Hearing that the site would soon be demolished to make way for a multi-storey housing complex, the activists had turned one of the last warehouses attached to the historic train station into a community centre, hosting concerts, poetry readings and a photo-exhibition of the history of the station.

[Read More]

Tags: , ,

St. Petersburg (Russia): Black Hole squat evicted

By: liberation - December 26th, 2009  Filed under: News

“Black hole” was a living squat, five rooms in a big 4 store building. It was squatted in April and evicted in end of November [2009]. 6-7 anarchists were living in the squat together with Kostya, a migrant worker from Belarus who originally lived there on his own but then together with anarchists.

There were constant problems with electricity, which was taken from neighbours but constantly cut off. Eventually most of the people had to leave squat in November because of this. Eventually police came with city workers in end of November, they broked door to the street and blocked it with bricks. There was only one person in the squat, who had to escape in order not to get arrested. Cops and workers stole some of the property.

[Read More]

Tags: ,

Eviction of a squat in St. Petersburg

By: liberation - May 29th, 2009  Filed under: News

25th of May in the morning, police evicted squat “Pila” in Ligovsky prospect in St. Petersburg, which had existed for half a year. While police was breaking in, people managed to escape from windows with some valuables, and no-one was arrested. However many valuables were also stolen or destroyed by the cops, for example musical instruments of the squatters. 8 people were living in “Pila” and many activities were organised there. As most Russian squats, “Pila” was clandestine and its existence was not openly announced. Another such squat where concerts were organised was also recently uncovered in Vasilevsky island, and it had to be abandonded due to security threats.

[Read More]

Tags: ,

Dead end of the Klizma squat

By: liberation - December 7th, 2004  Filed under: News

The last plans for the squat Klizma was to accommodate all guests at the anarchist festival “Black Petrograd-04”. This turned out to be too complicated. During the week before the festival the house was daily raided by local cops. Some people staid there, but only at night time, and it was not possible to leave anything at the squat.

Beside the local cops, the squat was already widely known amongst petersburg nazis. While the squat existed nazis often got beaten by antifascists, specially near Narvskaja metro station (the nearest metro to the squat). A few days before the anarchist festival the squatters were treatened by an attack from nazis, but most of them believed that it was just the usual rumors.

7th November 2004 10 drunk nazis attaced the squat, but couldn’t enter. The squatters fought them at the entrance. The nazis where burned by Molotov coctails and boiling water. One squatter got injured to his face by a broken bottle.

[Read More]

Tags: , ,

Squat Klizma at St Petersburg (Russia) in troubles!

By: liberation - August 3rd, 2004  Filed under: News

The squat Klizma is at the same house, where at Autumn 2003 was located the squat Pekarnia. From December 2003 the squatters has continuously renovated the building and hold there the weekly meetings of Punk Revival. Through the winter almost each Saturday there took place a concert with local and foreign bands. Also sometimes there was organized a little non-profit-bar. Last 3 months there are permanently living about 5 persons and all the time some quests.

The squat Klizma is famous as the place for activities and hanging around for the anarchist antifascist punk movement “Punk Revival”, who have been actively fighting against fascism at St Petersburg the last 1,5 years and made a huge effect to the rise of the anarchist antifascist community (to speak about movement is yet too loud) in St Petersburg.

[Read More]

Tags: ,

St-Petersburg: Eviction of the Pekarnja squat

By: liberation - November 11th, 2003  Filed under: News

Eviction of the squat in St. Petersburg

On Friday, the 7th, November 2003, the squatted house in Petersburg was evicted. Early in the evening two policemen – a man and a woman came up to the house. As we didn’t open the door on repeatedly request, one of the policemen began smashing the windows with stones. Then we opened the door. Although we were prepared to the eviction (we carried all worthy and not immediately necessary things away already two days ago), the time of the eviction was very bad for us. Out of twelve people who were in the house to the time of the eviction, seven were foreigners. There was a finnish women’s band, which arrived one day ago and two of the squatters who lived in the house since the very beginning of the squat. Because of this, we decided not to take up a confrontation with the policemen, but to leave the house voluntarily.

[Read More]

Tags: , ,

squat pekarnia update 301003

By: liberation - October 30th, 2003  Filed under: News

Squat Pekarnia – alert of eviction!

28. of October 2003 police officers of Kirovskiy district raided the squat Pekarnia. The reason for cops to check the house was, that a day before one of the homeless people, who live at 2nd floor (the squat Pekarnia is located at the 3rd floor), fall out from the window and was taken to hospital because of severe head injury.

One day after the accident, when the cops came to the house, there where 2 people inside in Pekarnia. One of them was taken to police station as a captive, the other one was asked to find the people, who live permanently at the squat. Cops take sound system from Pekarnia to secure that the squatters show up at the police station until the evening.

In the evening some squatters went to the police station to free the squatter, who was catched, and also to get back the sound system. The squatters where first accused in “creating criminal surroundings”, and soon demanded to leave the house, because “the house is empty, and nobody should live there”. Cops gave the squatters one week (until 4th of November) to move away from the house or to show official documents from KUGI (City Comittee for Dealing with the State Property). About the right to use the house.

[Read More]

Tags: ,

House occupied in St. Petersburg, Russia!

By: liberation - October 20th, 2003  Filed under: News

Squat Pekarnja – House occupied in St. Petersburg, Russia! One floor of a three floors house at industrial region of St. Petersburg is occupied by anarchist and punk/HC scene activists. This floor was occupied already in the beginning of June by Petersburg anarcho-punk group Punk Revival and PLA, and from the beginning of October other anarchist and anti-authoritian activists join them and the squat project. Last week at the squat there were maid electricity and DIY heating systems, which is very important, as far as central heating and gas systems doesn’t work in that house.

The occipied house is called Pekarnja (Bakery), because there used to be bakery in that house. Now there is 4 people more or less permanently living at Pekarnja. Also it’s a free space for other anti-authoritarian people and groups to meet and hang around.

[Read More]

Tags: ,