It has become a common tradition to swear various “responsible organizations” for their lack of competence and being absolutely irresponsible. But this common tradition means that there were dozens of crimes, which were not investigated, there was injustice which remained unpunished and thus made the villains believe in their impunity and commit more and more crimes. After all, it made honest citizens mistrust the law enforcement and feel like obeying the powerless law is useless. All of the mentioned above means, that we have to come back to this burning problem again and again.

Prehistory
In 2007, after K. Maksimov, the leader of a non-conventional religious organization, called the “Fire of revival”, had become the object of an independent journalist investigation, he tried to make the journalists shut up and brought a case about protection of honor and business reputation against “Gorozhanin” and “Dnepr Vecherniy” newspapers. The trial dragged out. It has been already three years that the plaintiff’s lawyers have been trying to find any evidence of journalists’ telling lies. All their attempts proved to be unsuccessful; moreover, some new interesting facts concerning “the fiery pastor” were discovered.  
We will keep strictly to the documents so that no one could accuse us of being biased and doing someone’s orders.
Maximov’s representative gave the regional court representatives some copies of a so called “work-book” (this is a document, which is used on the territory of former countries of the Soviet Union in order to fix the person’s work experience. This document is used to calculate the person’s pension after he/she is retired) BT-II №2207041, which was given by Dnepropetrovsk department of postal transportation on the 25th .12.1989.
But it is noteworthy that despite the fact, that the work-book was given on the 25th 12.1989, which is the period when Ukraine used to be a part of the USSR, it was sealed with the stamp, showing a trident – the state emblem of independent Ukraine, which appeared only in 1991...
Here we give a quotation from the letter, written on the 09th 04.2008 by the managers of Dnepropetrovsk branch department of “Post of Ukraine”:
“The inquiry showed that the department for postal transportation never gave a work-book to Maximov K., and the numbers of orders of hiring and dismissal, which are given in the copies of the work-book, aren’t real ones”.
In fact, this work-book had a number of other peculiarities. For instance, it was told there that Maximov was hired as a head of religious organization on the 09th 06.1992 – and this was a month before the organization was established. Moreover, registration documents of “the Fire of Revival” religious organization, which were provided by the regional administration showed that it was someone called Kazminov, who was elected as a head, not Maximov. After this slip had been found, the pastor’s representative showed the copy of this very document, where the date of hiring Mr. Maximov for this holy position was corrected to the 9th. 11.1992. He told it was just a mistake.
Meanwhile, Mr. Maximov’s representative brought some copies of work-book BT-II №3114206, which was allegedly given by the personnel department of Petrovsky Metallurgic factory on the 1st of September, 1987, to the court of Lenin residential district (there was a civil process with Maximov as a defendant). There was a note that Mr. Maximov was accepted as a pastor of “the Fire of Revival” on the 9th of June, 1992, besides, there were some visible signs of corrections in the date. So, Mr. Maximov proved to be really willing to work, as, according to his documents, he was accepted for the same position for three times.
It is evident that forgery is a crime, and article 358 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine proves it. 
The State prosecutor’s office of Lenin district of Dnepropetrovsk had withdrawn the original work-book BТ-ІІ №2207041 and sent it for checking if there were any signs of forgery before the investigation in Lenin Regional Department of the Police in Dnepropetrovsk region. Since that time things would become more and more odd

Is Forgery a crime?
The prosecutor’s office of Lenin district had abolished four police resolutions about their rejection of initiating a criminal procession, and the fifth rejection was abolished by the court of Lenin district. Nevertheless, the police still sees “no visible signs of forgery and using fake documents”, thus, thinks this is not a crime.
After a number of complaints to the Police department of Dnepropetrovsk region and A.V. Naumenko, MG, the police department of Zhovtnevy district was obliged to find out if there were any signs of forgery before the investigation. But the things were just the same there.
The prosecutor’s office of Zhovtnevy district had abolished two police regulations about their rejection of initiating a criminal procession, and the third rejection was abolished by the court of Zhovtnevy district. 
In august 2008 the local newspapers told about this problem considering investigation on this crime.
At the current moment materials are still being checked up for the signs of forgery in the police department of Zhovtnevy district of Dnepropetrovsk.

From the resolution of Lenin district court, signed on the 29th of December 2008:
“- Police inspectors didn’t follow the prosecutor’s recommendations thoroughly, though he cancelled all the illegal refusals to initiate criminal proceeding.
 - Maximov has never been questioned, though the records in his work-books are definitely fake ones.
- The applicant was never questioned by the police inspectors from the Lenin district department. Yet, these very officers wrote numerous refusals to initiate a criminal proceeding on the base of his claim.
Reading this refusal, it is clearly seen that the investigation was never held thoroughly.
As the result, during the additional check-up it is necessary to: 
- To question K. Maximov considering the records in his work-books. As for his refusal to take part in questioning using article 63 of the Constitution of Ukraine as a ground, we can say that it is not valid, as he is not a defendant and he is not under suspicion either.
- To question all the people, who could take part in making records in work-books and in giving these work-books to the courts of the city.
When coming to some certain conclusion, it is worth mentioning that in accordance with article 358 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine using fake documents means any form of using this document in state or public organizations, enterprises, etc in order to get any kind of profit or release oneself of any kind of obligations.
Due to all, mentioned above, the court provided the following: to cancel the claim of the Police inspector of the police department of Lenin district considering his refusal to initiate the criminal proceeding. Materials should be sent to the prosecutor of Lenin district in order to organize additional check-up before the criminal proceeding”.

As we can see, the judge has to explain the police inspectors how to carry out the check up and to quote the legislation, providing the rules of carrying out this check-up. One can think that the inspector doesn’t know anything about it and that he never got a proper education to meet the professional requirements. We don’t even say of getting specialized higher education. 
Yet, these very police officers, who tend to be helpless when it comes to respond to the crime, are quite imaginative and tricky when they have to release the “holy man” from a possible criminal proceeding and ignore all the instructions, given by the court and the prosecutor. First, the police is “unable” to initiate the criminal proceeding, as it only has some copies of the work-book, while they need the original. After they get it from the prosecutor’s office, they would say that as the work-book was issued in 1989, “the term of appealing is expired”, hence they cannot investigate the case. They don’t mind the fact that the book is still used, so, this is still is a crime and the terms of it don’t seem to have any expiry date. After the prosecutor’s office gave the materials back to the police to make another check-up, the police officers of Lenin district department tried to send the materials on the “inconvenient”case to the police office of Krasnogvardeysky district. They told they did it as “the Fire of Revival” organization was registered in that district. The letter, written by lieutenant colonel Shkoda, a representative of Lenin district police office, crowned it all. He claimed that it is impossible to find Maximov and question him, as he is not in Ukraine. To prove this he uses “a note, given by “the Fire of Revival” Church of Jesus Christ”. Why cannot police officers from the Lenin district understand that this church is not the one who is in charge of controlling people, who leave the country. Moreover, how can we trust the documents, provided by an organization which is accused of forgery?

Where does the problem originate from?
To be honest, we should mention that eight illegal refusals to initiate the criminal proceeding aren’t something exceptional for the police of Dnepropetrovsk. There were cases, when the police started doing at least something after fifteen illegal refusals to start a case.
But it is quite strange that the police officers, which had never been too religious, were using the rules of Christian morals and charity as a ground for their actions, not the law. 

Maybe, accusing the officers of the regional departments, who are constantly refusing to work, isn’t fair either. It is evident that if neither generals, nor prosecutor’s office or courts, which should control the police, are able to make policemen work properly, the case is worse than it seems. Besides, the police isn’t the only organization that becomes very passive when it comes to restricting the pastor’s outrageous deeds. In spring 2009 the court of Lenin district was investigating the case of alimony, the pastor wouldn’t pay his former wife and two children. The court received the information that Maximov was going to escape abroad to “save himself of the enemies of true religion”. Due to the plaintiff’s claim, the court decided to prohibit Maximov leave Ukraine until he pays the alimony and until the court comes makes a final resolution. This decision came to the frontier service. But on the 30th of June Maximov suddenly leaves Ukraine and soon sends greetings to his church from Southern Korea, Seoul! The pastor didn’t explain how he managed to get rid of his ex-wife and two children. He just said humbly it was due to the Lord’s help. Now the internal investigation is carried out in the frontier service to find out who let this “miracle” happen.

It looks like the times, when people had to work for forty years to get a record in their work-book and then to get a pension, are nothing, but a sign of a totalitarian soviet horror. Now, one of benefits of democratic Ukrainian society is that anyone can make fake documents. Anyway, why should some provincial pastor be afraid of punishment, if even Zvarich, the former minister of justice and Kislinsky, the deputy head of Security service of Ukraine are notorious because of their fake university diplomas? Ukrainian “law machinery” is going to have someone, who will be like Dickens with his “Cold House” for them, as what is going on there now looks more like a fantasy of some classical fable-writer, than a governmental organization of a European country. as for the journalists, it looks like we have to save notes about these people’s “heroic deeds” , as making these people ashamed of their deeds is definitely an impossible mission.

Journalistic Investigation Agency

Dnepropetrovsk

Published in newspaper of Committee of Slam-bang Corruption and Violation of Human Rights "For Motherland"

№ 3, February, 2010