There was neither pathos nor pride in his voice. And, by the standards of Anna Politkovskaya, a Russian investigative journalist whose murder trial is now under way in Moscow, he did nothing extraordinary. But in today's Russia, the courage of Evgeny Kolesov, a middle-aged roofer who was picked as a juror in the trial, has become the best tribute to her life.rnMr Kolesov was at home when he heard on the radio that he and 19 other jurors had asked the judge to conduct the trial behind closed doors. Yet a few hours earlier, he had refused to sign a request to exclude the media that a court secretary gave to the jurors. Shocked by the lie, he contacted Ekho Moskvy, a liberal radio station, and went on air to expose it. What upset him was that he had been made to look a fool and a coward. Mr Kolesov said he could not take part in such a trial, because a small lie leads to a bigger one.rnAfter a few days of tense silence, the court reopened the case to the public. Mr Kolesov was dismissed as a juror. The judge remained in charge, despite a motion from prosecutors to dismiss him. But it was neither the court's attempt to ban the media nor the lie about the jurors' wishes that really stunned ordinary Russians. It was that a Moscow roofer had bothered to stand up and object. Novaya Gazeta, the newspaper for which Ms Politkovskaya worked, said that Mr Kolesov had revealed a different society from "shapeless, inert, embittered and voluntarily obedient people", which until recently was hidden from sight. That a simple act of decency has become so heroic speaks volumes about the present state of Russia.
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