PART 4 A YEAR AFTER: MAIN VIOLATIONS OF HUMAN RIGHTS IN CRIMEA In addition, the local authorities introduce their own rules. On August 8, 2014, the State Council of the Republic of Crimea adopted the law ‘On Ensuring the Condi- tions for Exercise of the Right of Citizens of the Russian Federation to Hold Meet- ings, Rallies, Demonstrations, and Pickets in the Republic of Crimea’, considerably restricting the freedom of peaceful meetings. In particular, the law requires submitting a written notice directly to the local mu- nicipal authorities no earlier than 15 days and no later than 10 days before the pub- lic event. Peaceful meetings can be held only at specially designated areas deter- mined by the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Crimea taking into account the requirements of the Federal Law ‘On Meetings, Rallies, Demonstrations, Marches, and Pickets’. For example, in Simferopol (the city with population of 400,000 people) there are only four such places: 1) the area in front of the Crimean Republican Palace of Cul- ture of Trade Unions; 2) the area in front of the Culture and Business Center ‘Con- sol’; 3) Yu.A. Gagarin Park (starting from ‘The Three Graces’ sculpture through the pedestrian zone along the ponds); 4) starting from the territory of the Crimean Republican Palace of Culture of Trade Unions through the pedestrian zone along the Kievskaya street to Salgir river. The Russian legislation norms in Crimea are applied selectively. Moreover, the Russian law allows the o7 cials to construe these norms at their own discretion, to use them selectively, to unreasonably deny or grant approvals, etc. For example, in May 2014, the authorities forbade memorial meeting and confer- ence ‘The World of Bekir Choban-Zade’, while the festival ‘Crimean Tulumbases’ and the colors festival Holi was granted approval. Another striking example was the ‘Anti-Maidan’ demonstration held in Simferopol (February 21, 2015) in the support of state sovereignty of Russia and the policy of Vladimir Putin. The event was organized by Crimean branch of political par- ty ‘Great Homeland’, ‘Anti-Maidan’ movement, and the Russian biker club ‘Night Wolves’” (who earlier were involved in the dispersal of pro-Ukrainian demonstra- tions on the southern coast of Crimea). The rally participants held the U ags of Russia, Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics, as well as banners with slogans ‘No Maidan in Russia’, ‘Stop R fth column in the Central Bank’, ‘Our land, our rules’, and chanted ‘Russia’. The event was held in the center of Simferopol at the corner of Karl Marx and Pushkin streets. Moreover, the Crimean authorities allowed the organizers to drive cars and motorcycles on the territory of the pedestrian area. 110