“Everyone was asked to show their passports because they wanted to find people that were under 18,” he said. Nikolai said he watched firefighters saw through locks on the doors of Dumskaya’s Ice Bar with angle-grinders.Īccording to Voronin, few people in Blue Oyster expressed much surprise when the police stormed in because such checks had become routine in recent months. The police and officers from the Investigative Committee - the Russian equivalent of the FBI - apparently searched all the drinkers and partiers at establishments on Lomonosova and Dumskaya on the night of the raid, in addition to breaking down at least one door into a bar that refused them entry. “I think it happened at this moment because of increased attention on the morality and moral appearance of Russian citizens,” said Nikolai, a Blue Oyster regular who witnessed the police raids and requested anonymity to speak freely. While officials said the closures were due to an investigation into underage drinking, staff and regulars at the bars and clubs on Lomonosova and Dumskaya told The Moscow Times that they believed the venues fell victim to Russia’s encroaching conservatism and the state’s eagerness to take a greater role in day-to-day life. Venues are sealed off with police crime tape and walls and doors are plastered with notifications about an ongoing criminal investigation. Since the raids on April 7, all 13 bars and clubs on Dumskaya and Lomonosova streets have been closed and the area - once a bustling destination for those seeking a cheap and wild night out - has been eerily quiet. The Investigative Committee is a very serious organization.” As soon as that lady walked through the door, we understood that this was something very bad. “The Investigative Committee turned up as well, which was a shock. “It wasn’t just the police,” Voronin, 26, told The Moscow Times. Petersburg’s Lomonosova Street one Friday night last month when security officers arrived to shut down all the bars and clubs in this nightlife hotspot. Vasily Voronin was working as a bartender at the Blue Oyster bar on St.
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