It’s increasingly difficult to even describe the level of repression in Russia today.
Since Vladimir Putin launched his full-scale, atrocity-ridden invasion of Ukraine, the Kremlin’s assault on fundamental rights inside Russia has been brutal, vicious, inhumane, absurd, authoritarian, paranoia-driven, extremist…
I’m running out of adjectives, frankly.
The latest outrage is a new law criminalizing cooperation with international bodies “to which Russia is not a party,” such as the International Criminal Court (ICC), foreign courts, or other tribunals that may be established to prosecute Russian officials.
In other words, the very idea of seeking justice for war crimes is now illegal in Russia and punishable by up to five years in prison.
It’s not hard to connect the dots here on why the Kremlin pushed for this one. Putin is wanted by the ICC for war crimes in Ukraine. As a fugitive from justice, he’s afraid of anyone doing anything that might somehow help send him to The Hague.
And it fits perfectly in the general context of the regime’s increasing paranoia over – and thus repression of – any and all opposing voices since the start of Putin’s latest imperialist disaster, which has accelerated the process of Russia’s long-term authoritarian slide.
In their all-out drive to eradicate public dissent in Russia, authorities attack political opposition, civic activism, and independent journalism. They’ve introduced broad censorship with long prison sentences just for criticizing the invasion. New legislation further restricts freedom of expression, and they’ve even added mass DNA collection to mass surveillance.
Authorities target rights organizations, for example tagging the Andrei Sakharov Foundation with the debilitating “undesirable” label, shuttering the Moscow Helsinki Group, and earlier “liquidating” Memorial, a co-winner of last year’s Nobel Peace Prize.
They brutally persecute prominent individuals, like Oleg Orlov of Memorial and opposition figure Vladimir Kara-Murza, who courageously still dare to exercise their right to free speech and speak out against Putin’s slaughter in Ukraine.
Public protest is squashed to a ridiculous degree. The police swarm on individuals just standing around with a blank piece of paper.
It seems only a matter of time before “breathing suspiciously” will be a crime punishable by a long prison stint.
That maybe sounds like dark humor. But it’s not funny.