A Statement from the Chancellery of the Head of the Imperial House of Russia, H.I.H. the Grand Duchess Maria of Russia, on the illegal and unjustified actions of the govermental authorities of the Republic of Moldova
On July 27, 2017, a delegation from the Chancellery of the Head of the Imperial House of Russia, H.I.H. the Grand Duchess Maria of Russia (hereafter, the Chancellery), which included the Director of the Chancellery, Alexander Nikolaevich Zakatov, the advisor to the Chancellery for philanthropic affairs and the representative of the President of the Moldovan Republic of Transnistria to the Chancellery, Alexander Borisovich Kravchenko, and the advisor to the Chancellery for philanthropic affairs, Hieromonk Nikon (Levachev-Belavenets), arrived on a flight to Chişenǎu, the capital of the Republic of Moldova. The purpose of the trip, as in prior trips by members of the Chancellery, was to discuss with local partners various historical, educational, cultural, and philanthropic projects being undertaken by the Imperial House of Russia.
After going through passport control at the Chişenǎu airport, the members of the delegation were detained by border guards and security officials of the Republic of Moldova. The passports of these three citizens of the Russian Federation were taken from them and not returned, and the members of the Chancellery were then subjected to an interrogation and physical search.
When asked what was the purpose of the visit, the members of the Chancellery replied that their purpose in visiting Moldova was the same as always: to help organize and maintain various historical, educational, cultural, and philanthropic projects, and to visit a number of holy sites and historically significant locations in the Republic of Moldova and Transnistria, to attend church services, and to participate in a number of commemorative ceremonies scheduled to take place during the next several days. During these interviews, the members of the Chancellery emphasized that neither the Imperial House of Russia nor any of the organizations working under its auspices ever engage in any political activities or ever make official statements of a political nature during these visits or at other times.
To the direct question of whether the members of the Chancellery intended to participate in events marking the 25th anniversary of the Russian peacekeeping mission in Transnistria, they immediately replied that they knew of these ceremonies, that the ceremonies were, so far as they knew, entirely legal, and that they would attend any such ceremonies to which they were invited.
At the same time, it was pointed out very clearly to Moldovan officials that it was NEVER the MAIN purpose of any trips made by members and representatives of the Imperial House, whether it be to Russia or to other independent countries that were once part of Russia or the Soviet Union, merely to attend ceremonies. Even in those cases when the Imperial House is invited specifically to participate in an anniversary or celebration of some historical event, that anniversary or celebration is never, by itself, the primary motive for a visit. For the Imperial House, these visits are always first and foremost aimed at developing and maintaining its wide-ranging humanitarian projects.
In this instance, the delegation from the Chancellery arrived in Moldova with the express purpose of discussing ongoing humanitarian projects with local partners. They arrived in Chişenǎu, having paid for their airfares out of their own pockets. Despite the thorough search of the members of the delegation (including of their luggage and persons), no evidence whatsoever was found to indicate that a principal goal of this visit was to participate in the 25th anniversary celebrations of the Russian peacekeeping mission in Transnistria (although there would be nothing unlawful if that were the main purpose of the visit). Indeed, border guards found among the delegation’s belongings the three-volume work by Alexander N. Zakatov entitled Mount Athos, The Orthodox Church, and the House of Romanoff in Exile, with an inscription by the author to Metropolitan Vladimir of Chişenǎu and all Moldova in honour of his name day (July 15/28), which only served to further substantiate the claims by members of the Chancellery as to the purpose of their visit.
Moreover, the members of the Chancellery confirmed that they regularly meet and work with officials from the Transnistrian Republic of Moldova, and emphasized that these meetings and joint projects never have anything to do with politics, but focus exclusively on humanitarian issues.
Despite all this, after a two-hour interrogation and search, a colonel (who did not show any identification and only later identified himself as “Mikhkail Mikhailovich”) tersely announced to the members of the delegation that they had been refused entry into the country. The passports were not returned, but it was promised that they would be returned in 15 or 20 minutes, along with a document explaining the reasons for denying entry to the group. Officials informed the members of the Chancellery that they would be put on a flight to Moscow departing at 10:00 PM. The group’s luggage was taken away, but members of the Chancellery never received any claim checks or other documentation for their bags.
The members of the Chancellery were then escorted to their departure gate, where they remained from 5:00 PM to 10:00 PM, without their passports (which were not, despite promises, returned to them “in 15 or 20 minutes” nor at any other time during their 5 hours at the airport) and without their boarding passes.
For these 5 hours, no one from the security services of the Republic of Moldova checked in on the members of the Chancellery, expressed any interest in their condition, or offered any help or assistance of any kind. One half hour before departure, the colonel from the Moldovan security services reappeared and introduced himself as Mikhail Mikhailovich. He attempted to explain to the members of the delegation why they had been refused entry, showing them some photocopies of materials he deemed objectionable—materials whose origins were not indicated and which, as even the colonel himself admitted, were not produced by the Chancellery. The members of the Chancellery responded that they did not accept these materials in any way as sufficient reason to deny them entry into the country.
To follow the “logic” of the Moldovan authorities, one could deny someone entry just because he failed specifically to list visiting friends, eating dinner out, taking a dip in rivers, or visiting museums as among the purposes of his trip to Moldova.
The passports of the members of the Chancellery were returned to them only upon arrival in Moscow. No formal, written explanation was ever provided for the denial of entry, despite promises at the Chişenǎu airport that such documentation would be provided.
Other Russian citizens, in no way connected with the delegation from the Chancellery, were similarly denied entry at the Chişenǎu airport, including: the Distinguished Artist of the Russian Federation Dmitrii Dunaev; performers from his backup band Lyaisan Mingazova, Lidiya Muzaleva, and Irina Maslova; the Hero of the Soviet Union Vladimir Gasoyan; and the member of the Presidium of the Council for International Relations of the Office of the President of the Russian Federation, Bogdan Bezpalko—that is, persons with the widest possible social positions and professional backgrounds. Each had his own purpose in coming to Moldova, but all of these Russian citizens were engaged in humanitarian and cultural activities. None was engaging in any sort of politics.
The statement from the Press Service of the Border Security Forces of the Republic of Moldova alleging that the members of the Chancellery were refused entry because they had failed to indicate fully the purpose of their visit is entirely false, something which could be easily demonstrated if one were simply to review the video recording of the questioning and search of Alexander Zakatov, Alexander Kravchenko, and Hieromon Nikon at the Chişenǎu airport. The three men clearly stated their purpose in visiting Moldova and answered all other questions given them openly, fully, and honestly. Their responses to this questioning were fully substantiated by the search of their bags, which contained nothing that would suggest that the group’s purpose was not what it claimed it was.
Authorities from the Republic of Moldova should reaffirm that the free and unfettered right to determine one’s own goals and tasks, priorities, and motivations is one of the most basic human rights recognized in the world today. No one—not government agencies, not private individuals—has the right to impose on anyone else their own understanding of another person’s motives and goals, nor to conclude that one’s true goals and motivations are not those that they themselves claim, but something different, unless there is concrete evidence (and not arbitrary speculation).
The Chancellery of the Head of the Imperial House of Russia asserts for the record that the government of the Republic of Moldova has, in its treatment of the Director of the Chancellery, Alexander N. Zakatov, the advisor to the Chancellery for philanthropic affairs and the representative of the President of the Moldovan Republic of Transnistria to the Chancellery, Alexander Borisovich Kravchenko, the advisor to the Chancellery for philanthropic affairs, Hieromonk Nikon (Levachev-Belavenets), and other citizens of the Russian Federation, committed an unlawful and unjustified act. The above-mentioned citizens of the Russian Federation were not personae non gratae and had not violated any laws of the Republic of Moldova, and therefore there was no foundation for denying them entry. Having rudely, cynically, and brashly violated the rights of these citizens of the Russian Federation, the governmental authorities of the Republic of Moldova have not only trampled upon the rights of these specific persons and harmed thereby the good and fraternal relations that existed between the Moldovan and Russian peoples, they have done damage to the international reputation of their country.
No civilized country governed by the rule of law can regard these actions as legal and permissible from a moral point of view.
The Chancellery expresses its appreciation to President Igor Nikolaevich Dodon of Moldova, who condemned those responsible for this incident, and it also thanks the citizens of the Republic of Moldova, who have expressed and demonstrated their support. The members of the Chancellery of course draw a clear distinction between the fraternal peoples of Moldova and the responsible officials in the Republic of Moldova who have trampled so clearly and egregiously on their own laws and morals.
The Chancellery hopes that these illegal actions by the authorities of the Republic of Moldova in relation to citizens of the Russian Federation will be examined by the appropriate agencies of the European Union and that it will issue its own legal assessment of this incident in terms of the norms of international law and the laws of the Republic of Moldova. The members of the Chancellery are also confident that the Embassy of the Russian Federation in the Republic of Moldova, on examining this incident, will take any and all further appropriate action to defend the rights and legal interests of the citizens of the Russian Federation.
In addition, the members of the Chancellery—who, following the instructions given them by the Head of the Imperial House of Russia, H.I.H. the Grand Duchess Maria of Russia, never engage in the politicization of any of their activities—express the hope that these unfortunate events will not lead to any repurcussions against citizens of Moldova who are employed legally inside the Russian Federation. Both the citizens of Russia and the citizens of Moldova—as well as the citizens of all the countries that arose after the collapse of the USSR—are all sons and daughters of a historic Homeland in the highest and most essential sense of that word: a great world civilization, for whose defense we have together spilt our blood and for which generations of our fathers, grandfathers, and great-grandfathers toiled so selflessly. Recognizing fully the national sovereignty and legal structures of all these fully independent countries, the Imperial House of Russia calls upon all the descendants of the subjects of the former Russian Empire to remember first and foremost our common precious historical heritage, and not to allow aggressive and ambitious politicians to destroy and desecrate the ideals of our spiritual unity, shared cultural values, and common principles of fraternal and neighbourly relations between our countries.
Alexander N. Zakatov
Director of the Chancellery of the
Head of the Imperial House of Russia,
H.I.H. the Grand Duchess Maria of Russia
Moscow
31 July 2017