Russian National Guard buys laser weapons to disperse protests
The Russian National Guard will soon have laser weapons at its disposal. According to a report by Open Media and RBC based on current state procurements, the Russian Guard is purchasing laser emitters which can deafen and blind people. The non-lethal systems will be mounted on GAZelle vehicles and colored “mouse-gray” at the client’s request. The laser emitters can create “acoustic pressure” which exceeds the human pain threshold. At 10 meters, the volume is an ear-splitting 135 dB.
In addition, the systems create a powerful luminous flux which can temporarily blind a human.
The Moscow-based firm ASB Plus has been contracted to supply the National Guard with this special equipment, according to the Kontur. Focus database. The firm belongs Mikhail Antselevich, a doctor of technical sciences and author of the monograph “Methods and means to protect important state facilities from terrorism”.
In 2010, Antselevich and his colleague Grigory Shcherbakov patented a “manner and device of acoustic effect on offenders”. Its description states that the invention was created to fight against rodents, but can also be used in “systems to physically protect facilities from offenders” due to the fact that it “creates painful sensations in the human hearing organs”.
While laser emitters are a new thing for the Russian National Guard, the service has already been using acoustic weapons to disperse crowds for two years.
Between 2016 and 2018, according to the state procurements website, the National Guard bought 128 sets of the “Whisper” system from Antselevich’s company. According to the documentation, these systems “create an arresting effect when used on violators of public order through remote formation of infra-low frequency waves”.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that it is too early to comment on how the acquisition of laser equipment will affect the government’s treatment of unsanctioned protest participants.
“Let us first hear the opinion of the Russian Guard. This is still a question which concerns this department,” he said.