Stad Zonder Drugs

Stad Zonder Drugs (Russian: Город без наркотиков, Gorod bez narkotikov; 'City Without Drugs') is a semi-legal anti-drug organization and fund based in Yekaterinburg, Russia. Founded in 1999 by Aleksandr Khabarov, Andrei Kabanov, Yevgeny Roizman, and Igor Varov, it emerged in response to the severe heroin epidemic that plagued the city in the 1990s. The organization operates a controversial rehabilitation clinic on the outskirts of the city, where addicts are subjected to torture and Spartan conditions as part of their treatment. Despite its brutal methods, the organization enjoys the trust of many city residents. The organization was established amid a massive influx of heroin, largely brought by thousands of Tajiks arriving via trains from Central Asia. The drug trade concentrated in the Leninsky district in the southwest of the city and was dominated by Crimean Roma and Tajiks. In some parts of the city, half of the youth were addicted to drugs, and ambulances were daily retrieving corpses from stairwells, courtyards, parks, and streets. The founders were dissatisfied with the police protection that drug dealers allegedly received, which prevented their arrest. Stad Zonder Drugs is characterized by a merciless approach, not shying away from violence. Drug addicts are intimidated, beaten, and their homes sometimes set on fire, with members of the notorious Uralmash mafia group doing the dirty work. The organization maintains a database of drug-related incidents per neighborhood, using anonymous tips from local residents. Another method involves coercing addicts into helping track down major drug lords: after being caught multiple times, an addict can cooperate to avoid prosecution, receiving marked banknotes to pay a dealer for a new dose, leading the dealer into the arms of the organization. Such operations are conducted in cooperation with crime investigators from the MVD and FSB, though superiors sometimes forbid participation, reportedly because high-ranking officials are themselves involved in the drug trade. The organization also opened a rehabilitation clinic on the edge of the city to help addicts through brutal means. According to witness testimony, newcomers are beaten with belts and cigarette butts are stubbed out on their skin, which is acknowledged by the leaders of Stad Zonder Drugs. At least one case of rape is known to the city government. Patients are then tied to beds for several weeks, receiving only water and bread initially, before being put to work. After a year of forced treatment, they are allowed back on the street. According to the group, 80% do not relapse. The clinic is free and serves as an alternative to the expensive and often ineffective regular clinics in the city, where treatment can cost up to $15,000. Upon admission, parents must sign a document waiving the right to file complaints against the treaters if their children suffer physical harm. Addicts can also voluntarily enter the clinic, but this is rarely done. The organization's leading politicians are known for their hard stance against drug use and minority groups from which many dealers originate. Yevgeny Roizman has previously indicated support for expelling the Roma. The organization has also been active in other places in the oblast, such as Reftinsky, where eighteen drug dealers were beaten, and nearby Shirokaya Rechka, where all Tajiks eventually fled in 2004.

Stad Zonder Drugs was founded in 1999 in Yekaterinburg, Russia, by Aleksandr Khabarov (leader of the notorious Uralmash mafia group, who died in suspicious circumstances in a police cell in 2005), politicians Andrei Kabanov (a former drug addict who became a member of the Yekaterinburg City Duma in 2007) and Yevgeny Roizman (a controversial politician with ties to Uralmash and a member of the State Duma in 2007), and Igor Varov (a notorious Uralmash member). The organization was created in response to the enormous drug problem in the city. The influx of thousands of Tajiks, arriving via trains from Central Asia, had caused a large increase in heroin imports into the city. Heroin was often supplied to youth subcultures, whose members sought an escape from the negative spiral the country had fallen into in the 1990s. The import of cheap heroin led to thousands of addicts congregating in stairwells and other public places. In some parts of the city, half of the youth were addicted to drugs, and ambulances were daily retrieving corpses from stairwells, courtyards, parks, and streets. The drug trade concentrated in the Leninsky district in the southwest of the city and was dominated by Crimean Roma and Tajiks (of the estimated 150,000 Tajiks in Sverdlovsk Oblast, only about 500 were registered). Stad Zonder Drugs was founded out of dissatisfaction with the nuisance and the police protection that drug dealers allegedly received, which prevented them from being arrested. The organization is characterized by a merciless approach to the problem, not shying away from violence. Drug addicts are intimidated, beaten, and their homes sometimes set on fire. Members of Uralmash are used to do the dirty work. The organization maintains a database of drug-related incidents per neighborhood, using anonymous phone calls from local residents. Another method is to make drug addicts cooperate in tracking down major drug lords: after being caught multiple times by the organization, an addict can cooperate to avoid prosecution. He or she receives invisibly marked banknotes, with which they pay the drug dealer for a new shot, so that the dealer then walks into the arms of the organization. The dealer is then made the same offer to catch the person above them. Such operations are conducted in cooperation with crime investigators from the MVD and the FSB, though they are sometimes forbidden to cooperate by their superiors. One reason cited is that high-ranking officials are sometimes themselves active in the drug trade. Several times, top officials have been arrested, sometimes through the actions of Stad Zonder Drugs. The organization also fights against the protection of drug lords by high-ranking officials. A local Roma drug baron named Nikolai Reshetnikov from the Roma neighborhood of Yekaterinburg, for example, received protection from vice-premier and chief of staff of Chechnya Yan Sergunin. Both were liquidated by the underworld in 2004, a few months apart. After the death of the drug baron, all his associates left the Roma settlement of Yekaterinburg, leaving only Moldovan Roma, after which the number of Roma arrested for drug-related offenses dropped drastically. The group is also sometimes active in other places in the oblast, such as Reftinsky, where eighteen drug dealers were beaten, and nearby Shirokaya Rechka, where all Tajiks eventually fled in 2004. The group also opened a rehabilitation clinic on the edge of the city to help drug addicts with their problems in a brutal manner. From witness statements, it appears that newcomers are beaten with belts and cigarette butts are stubbed out on their skin, which is acknowledged by the leaders of Stad Zonder Drugs. At least one case of rape is known to the city government. They are then tied to beds for several weeks, where they must stay all day and initially receive only water and bread. They are then put to work. After one year of forced treatment, they are allowed back on the street. According to the group, 80% do not relapse. If they do, or try to break the rules or escape, they are punished with extra beatings if caught again. The clinic is free and forms an alternative for parents of drug-addicted children to the expensive – often inefficient – regular clinics in the city, where up to $15,000 must often be paid for treatment. Upon registration, parents must sign a document stating that they will not file complaints against the treaters if their children suffer physical injury during their stay. Drug addicts can also voluntarily go to the clinic, but this is rarely done. The two leading politicians are known for their hard stance against drug use and minority groups from which many dealers originate. Yevgeny Roizman has in the past indicated support for expelling the Roma.

• 2007

  Andrei Kabanov became a member of the Yekaterinburg City Duma; Yevgeny Roizman became a member of the State Duma.

• 2005

  Co-founder Aleksandr Khabarov died in suspicious circumstances in a police cell.

• 2004

  All Tajiks fled Shirokaya Rechka; Roma drug baron Nikolai Reshetnikov and Chechen official Yan Sergunin liquidated.

• 1999

  Stad Zonder Drugs founded in Yekaterinburg by Aleksandr Khabarov, Andrei Kabanov, Yevgeny Roizman, and Igor Varov.

A hardline, semi-legal anti-drug organization using brutal methods and operating a controversial free rehabilitation clinic.

• Brutal rehabilitation clinic methods

• Violent anti-drug operations

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1. 1Stad Zonder Drugs - Wikipedianl.wikipedia.org
2. 2Wikidata entrywikidata.org