The Brave Man Whom Putin Wants to Kill

As the dissident Aleksei Navalny is tormented in a Russian prison cell, his daughter studies at Stanford and tries to keep her dad alive.

#assassinations-and-attempted-assassinations, #documentary-films-and-programs, #navalny-aleksei-a, #poisoning-and-poisons, #political-prisoners, #politics-and-government, #prisons-and-prisoners, #russia, #russian-invasion-of-ukraine-2022

Navalny Says He Is Being Further Isolated in Russian Prison

“Even maniacs and serial killers serving life sentences have the right to receive a visit, but I don’t,” the Russian opposition leader wrote on Twitter.

#navalny-aleksei-a, #political-prisoners, #putin-vladimir-v, #russian-invasion-of-ukraine-2022

Jailed Putin Critics in Russia Offer New Year Messages

Seasonal greetings from imprisoned opponents offered counterprogramming of a sort to the traditional end-of-year speech from President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia.

#demonstrations-protests-and-riots, #gorinov-aleksei, #international-relations, #kara-murza-vladimir-v, #navalny-aleksei-a, #new-year, #political-prisoners, #politics-and-government, #putin-vladimir-v, #russia, #russian-invasion-of-ukraine-2022, #speeches-and-statements, #yashin-ilya

Russian Anti-War Activists Seek Common Goals (When They’re Not Bickering)

Almost 300 activists, many young and from the diaspora, gathered to try to forge a common path, beyond struggling against Vladimir Putin and the war in Ukraine.

#berlin-germany, #demonstrations-protests-and-riots, #navalny-aleksei-a, #putin-vladimir-v, #russia, #russian-invasion-of-ukraine-2022, #ukraine

Antiwar Activists Who Flee Russia Find Detention, Not Freedom, in the U.S.

Thousands of Russians are crossing the U.S. southern border to claim asylum. Many are ending up in immigration prison. “I left Russia for a place just like Russia,” said one.

#asylum-right-of, #delhi-ny, #immigration-and-customs-enforcement-us, #immigration-and-emigration, #immigration-detention, #louisiana, #navalny-aleksei-a, #russian-invasion-of-ukraine-2022

For Putin’s Opponents, Exile From Russia Proves a Boon

The political network of Aleksei A. Navalny, the imprisoned opposition leader, had seemingly been crushed. But working from abroad, the Navalny team is using YouTube to spearhead antiwar efforts.

#navalny-aleksei-a, #political-prisoners, #putin-vladimir-v, #russia, #russian-invasion-of-ukraine-2022, #vilnius-lithuania, #youtube-com

What Will Russia Without Putin Look Like? Maybe This.

The country isn’t doomed to repeat the past.

#democracy-theory-and-philosophy, #kasparov-garry, #navalny-aleksei-a, #putin-vladimir-v, #russia, #russian-invasion-of-ukraine-2022, #ukraine

Alexei Navalny Says He Has Been Placed in Permanent Solitary Confinement

The Russian opposition leader has been jailed since March 2021 after surviving an assassination attempt that American intelligence agencies blamed on Russian security agents.

#navalny-aleksei-a, #political-prisoners, #prisons-and-prisoners, #putin-vladimir-v, #russia, #russian-invasion-of-ukraine-2022

Russia Holds First Elections Since Ukraine Invasion

Voters are choosing local and regional governments, but the ranks of opposition candidates have been severely depleted by jail and exile.

#elections, #moscow-russia, #navalny-aleksei-a, #politics-and-government, #putin-vladimir-v, #russia, #ukraine, #united-russia, #war-and-armed-conflicts

No One Will Get Rid of Vladimir Putin

Terror is always more persuasive than anything else.

#corruption-institutional, #mishustin-mikhail-v, #navalny-aleksei-a, #putin-vladimir-v, #russia, #russian-invasion-of-ukraine-2022, #ukraine

Looming Question for Putin Opponents: Can You Change Russia From Jail?

For opposition figures choosing to stay in Russia after President Vladimir V. Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, imprisonment looks like a matter of time. It’s also a subject for fierce debate.

#immigration-and-emigration, #moscow-russia, #navalny-aleksei-a, #politics-and-government, #prisons-and-prisoners, #propaganda, #putin-vladimir-v, #russia, #russian-invasion-of-ukraine-2022, #war-and-armed-conflicts, #yashin-ilya

How Russia Uses Show Trials to Punish Putin’s Enemies

Moscow may label the Azov fighters who defended the Mariupol steel plant as terrorists — raising the prospect of a high-profile trial. The Kremlin has a long tradition of using the courts for political goals.

#khodorkovsky-mikhail-b, #memorial, #navalny-aleksei-a, #political-prisoners, #politics-and-government, #putin-vladimir-v, #russia, #russian-invasion-of-ukraine-2022, #sentsov-oleg, #supreme-court-of-russia, #terrorism, #ukraine, #war-and-armed-conflicts, #war-crimes-genocide-and-crimes-against-humanity, #whelan-paul-n

Ukraine’s Battlefield Is Haunted by Putin’s Chemical Weapons Legacy

While the risk remains ambiguous, the Russian leader’s long infatuation with the toxic arms fuels worries that the deadly poisons could be deployed in Ukraine.

#arms-control-and-limitation-and-disarmament, #assassinations-and-attempted-assassinations, #biological-and-chemical-warfare, #cold-war-era, #mariupol-ukraine, #navalny-aleksei-a, #organization-for-the-prohibition-of-chemical-weapons, #poisoning-and-poisons, #putin-vladimir-v, #russian-invasion-of-ukraine-2022, #syria, #united-states-international-relations, #your-feed-science

How the Ex-Chancellor Gerhard Schröder Became Putin’s Man in Germany

Gerhard Schröder, who is paid almost $1 million a year by Russian-controlled energy companies, has become a pariah. But he is also a symbol of Germany’s Russia policy.

#baltic-sea, #basf-se, #brandt-willy, #christian-democratic-union-germany, #cold-war-era, #content-type-personal-profile, #crimea-ukraine, #economic-conditions-and-trends, #electric-light-and-power, #embargoes-and-sanctions, #europe, #gabriel-sigmar, #gazprom, #germany, #international-trade-and-world-market, #kgb, #merkel-angela, #natural-gas, #navalny-aleksei-a, #nord-stream-ag, #nuclear-energy, #oil-petroleum-and-gasoline, #pipelines, #politics-and-government, #putin-vladimir-v, #rosneft, #rottgen-norbert, #russia, #russian-invasion-of-ukraine-2022, #schmidt-helmut, #scholz-olaf-1958, #schroder-gerhard, #social-democratic-party-germany, #steinmeier-frank-walter, #ukraine, #united-states-international-relations, #war-and-armed-conflicts

Putin’s War in Ukraine Shatters an Illusion in Russia

Russians long lived with an understanding: Stay away from politics, and live your life as you choose. The war in Ukraine wrecked that idea.

#chechnya-russia, #georgia-georgian-republic, #gudkov-lev-d, #levada-center, #moscow-russia, #navalny-aleksei-a, #putin-vladimir-v, #russia, #russian-invasion-of-ukraine-2022, #ukraine

Aleksei Navalny Found Guilty of Fraud by Russian Court

Despite already being behind bars, Mr. Navalny has been urging Russians to protest the war in Ukraine, making him even more of a liability for the country’s president.

#anti-corruption-foundation, #navalny-aleksei-a, #political-prisoners, #putin-vladimir-v, #russia

U.K. vs. Oligarchs: ‘The Gloves Are Now Off’

Russia’s war in Ukraine has finally led the British government to go after ultrawealthy Russians in London. But curbing the flood of corrupt money will require going after more than the big names.

#abramovich-roman-a, #aliyev-ilham-h, #blacklisting, #blavatnik-leonard, #deripaska-oleg-v, #great-britain, #high-net-worth-individuals, #johnson-boris, #kostin-andrey-l, #lebedev-aleksandr-y, #lebedev-evgeny, #navalny-aleksei-a, #politics-and-government, #putin-vladimir-v, #russia, #russian-invasion-of-ukraine-2022, #sechin-igor-i, #ukraine, #vekselberg-viktor-f, #war-and-armed-conflicts

Even Before War, Thousands Were Fleeing Russia for the U.S.

Political activists, L.G.B.T.Q. people and Jehovah’s Witnesses in Russia are crossing the southern border from Mexico in greater numbers. More Ukrainians are also heading to the United States.

#asylum-right-of, #california, #immigration-and-emigration, #mexico, #navalny-aleksei-a, #refugees-and-displaced-persons, #russia, #russian-invasion-of-ukraine-2022, #ukraine, #united-states, #war-and-armed-conflicts

The War in Ukraine Puts America’s Problems in Perspective

Something for histrionic critics here at home to consider.

#constitution-us, #internal-sub-only-nl, #navalny-aleksei-a, #putin-vladimir-v, #russian-invasion-of-ukraine-2022, #the-view-tv-program, #trump-donald-j

A War the Kremlin Tried to Disguise Becomes a Hard Reality for Russians

Moscow posted a death toll from its attack on Ukraine for the first time, and Russians who long avoided politics are now grappling with the fact that their country is fighting a deadly conflict.

#demonstrations-protests-and-riots, #freedom-of-speech-and-expression, #moscow-russia, #navalny-aleksei-a, #putin-vladimir-v, #russia, #russian-invasion-of-ukraine-2022, #ukraine

Putin Faces Sanctions, but His Assets Remain an Enigma

On paper, the Russian president appears to own very little. Yet estimates put his hidden wealth well over $100 billion.

#assets-frozen, #browder-william-f, #embargoes-and-sanctions, #european-union, #lavrov-sergey-v, #medvedev-dmitri-a, #navalny-aleksei-a, #panama-papers, #politics-and-government, #putin-vladimir-v, #roldugin-sergei-p, #rotenberg-arkady-r-1951, #rotenberg-boris-1986, #russia, #russian-invasion-of-ukraine-2022, #shamalov-kirill-n, #timchenko-gennady-n, #treasury-department, #united-states, #war-and-armed-conflicts, #yellen-janet-l

For Many Russians, a Deep Unease Over Gathering Specter of War

After months of tuning out American warnings that Vladimir Putin was preparing to invade Ukraine, Russians now realize that “this is not a game.”

#crimea-ukraine, #demonstrations-protests-and-riots, #navalny-aleksei-a, #nemtsov-boris-y, #politics-and-government, #putin-vladimir-v, #russia, #ukraine, #war-and-armed-conflicts

Navalny Faces 15 More Years in Prison as New Trial Starts in Russia

Aleksei A. Navalny, the jailed Russian opposition leader, faces charges of embezzlement and contempt of court that could extend his time in jail by 15 years.

#corruption-institutional, #navalny-aleksei-a, #political-prisoners, #prisons-and-prisoners, #putin-vladimir-v, #russia

Sundance Film Festival: Lena Dunham’s New Film and ‘Get Out’-Influenced Horror

From surprising found-footage documentaries to “Get Out”-influenced dramas and that Lena Dunham title, this year’s virtual festival has a lot to like.

#alice-2022-movie, #cha-cha-real-smooth-movie, #documentary-films-and-programs, #dunham-lena, #eisenberg-jesse, #fire-of-love-movie, #master-movie, #movies, #nanny-movie, #navalny-movie, #navalny-aleksei-a, #riotsville-usa-movie, #sharp-stick-movie, #sundance-film-festival-park-city-utah, #three-minutes-a-lengthening-movie

As Muratov Accepts Nobel, Legacy of His Russian Predecessors Recedes

Dmitri A. Muratov is only the third Russian to win the Nobel Peace Prize, after Andrei D. Sakharov and Mikhail S. Gorbachev. The openness they championed is under assault.

#cold-war-era, #duterte-rodrigo, #freedom-of-speech-and-expression, #freedom-of-the-press, #gorbachev-mikhail-s, #human-rights-and-human-rights-violations, #memorial, #muratov-dmitri-a, #navalny-aleksei-a, #nobel-prizes, #novaya-gazeta, #political-prisoners, #politics-and-government, #ressa-maria, #russia, #ussr-former-soviet-union

On Putin’s Strategic Chessboard, a Series of Destabilizing Moves

In the stretch of Europe from the Baltic Sea to the Black Sea, where Moscow and the West have competed for influence for decades, the threat of a new military conflict is growing.

#belarus, #defense-and-military-forces, #eastern-europe, #european-union, #lukashenko-aleksandr-g, #middle-east-and-africa-migrant-crisis, #navalny-aleksei-a, #north-atlantic-treaty-organization, #politics-and-government, #putin-vladimir-v, #russia, #ukraine, #united-states-defense-and-military-forces, #united-states-international-relations, #zelensky-volodymyr

After Time in U.S. Prisons, Maria Butina Now Sits in Russia’s Parliament

Maria Butina, convicted of serving as an unregistered foreign agent before and after the 2016 election, insists she “wasn’t a spy” and that her Duma seat is “not a reward.” Her critics call her a Kremlin “trophy.”

#content-type-personal-profile, #elections, #maria-v-butina, #navalny-aleksei-a, #politics-and-government, #presidential-election-of-2016, #prisons-and-prisoners, #putin-vladimir-v, #russia, #voter-fraud-election-fraud

Long Arm of Russian Law Reaches Obscure Siberian Church

The arrest of the leader of a small religious group reveals that Russian repression reaches even to the depths of the Siberian forest.

#doomsday, #freedom-of-speech-and-expression, #navalny-aleksei-a, #political-prisoners, #politics-and-government, #prayers-and-prayer-books, #putin-vladimir-v, #russia, #siberia, #vissarion

Navalny, Persistent Kremlin Critic, Wins E.U.’s Top Human Rights Award

Aleksei A. Navalny, Russia’s most prominent opposition leader, who is currently in prison, received the Sakharov Prize.

#european-parliament, #european-union, #human-rights-and-human-rights-violations, #navalny-aleksei-a, #political-prisoners, #politics-and-government

How the Nobel Peace Prize Laid Bare the Schism in Russia’s Opposition

Dmitri A. Muratov, a new laureate, engages with the Kremlin, while Aleksei A. Navalny, the most high-profile Putin critic, resists all compromise. The Kremlin capitalizes on the fault line.

#freedom-of-speech-and-expression, #freedom-of-the-press, #muratov-dmitri-a, #navalny-aleksei-a, #novaya-gazeta, #politics-and-government, #politkovskaya-anna, #putin-vladimir-v, #russia

Navalny to the Russian Opposition: ‘Be Discouraged, a Little Bit’

Emblematic of the beleaguered state of the opposition, a forlorn group of volunteers maintains a 24-hour vigil at the spot where a prominent democracy advocate was killed in 2015.

#assassinations-and-attempted-assassinations, #demonstrations-protests-and-riots, #moscow-russia, #navalny-aleksei-a, #nemtsov-boris-y, #putin-vladimir-v, #red-square-moscow, #russia, #united-russia

In Russia Election Results, Online Votes Sweep Putin Opponents Aside

The official tally gave a strong parliamentary majority to President Vladimir V. Putin’s United Russia party. Opposition leaders cried foul, pointing to earlier signs of gains.

#communist-party-of-the-russian-federation, #moscow-russia, #navalny-aleksei-a, #political-prisoners, #politics-and-government, #putin-vladimir-v, #russia, #united-russia, #voter-fraud-election-fraud

Google Blocks More Anti-Kremlin Content as Vote in Russia Winds Down

The search giant agreed to Moscow’s requests to restrict access to online videos and documents being used by allies of the imprisoned opposition leader Aleksei A. Navalny, activists said.

#communist-party-of-the-russian-federation, #elections, #google-inc, #legislatures-and-parliaments, #navalny-aleksei-a, #politics-and-government, #putin-vladimir-v, #russia, #united-russia, #voter-fraud-election-fraud, #zyuganov-gennadi-a

How Putin’s Propaganda System Keeps Him in Power

The Kremlin’s propaganda system, lurid and spurious, is central to the president’s power. 

#elections, #media, #navalny-aleksei-a, #news-and-news-media, #propaganda, #putin-vladimir-v, #russia

Google and Apple Remove App Aimed at Spurring Protest Voting in Russia

The app, from the Russian opposition leader Aleksei Navalny, vanished from online stores as polls opened in the parliamentary election it was designed to sway.

#apple-inc, #computers-and-the-internet, #elections, #google-inc, #mobile-applications, #navalny-aleksei-a, #political-prisoners, #politics-and-government, #putin-vladimir-v, #united-russia

How Russian Officials ‘Manage’ Elections With Deceitful Tactics

The Russian authorities have used a variety of deceitful tactics to try to manufacture a big victory in parliamentary elections this weekend. Here’s how they do it.

#elections, #navalny-aleksei-a, #putin-vladimir-v, #russia, #united-russia

As Russians Vote, Resignation, Anger and Fear of a Post-Putin Unknown

Many in Russia say they are fed up with corruption, stagnant wages and rising prices. But they worry, as one man said, that “if things start to change, there will be blood.”

#elections, #navalny-aleksei-a, #putin-vladimir-v, #russia, #united-russia, #voter-fraud-election-fraud

Could Navalny’s ‘Smart Voting’ Strategy Shake Up Russia’s Election?

Five of the opposition leader’s exiled allies are engineering an election campaign that they hope will put dozens of Kremlin opponents into Parliament.

#elections, #mobile-applications, #navalny-aleksei-a, #political-prisoners, #putin-vladimir-v, #russia, #smart-voting, #united-russia, #voting-and-voters

Exile or Jail: The Grim Choice Facing Russian Opposition Leaders

Experts say the current exodus of journalists and dissidents is the biggest wave of political emigration in the country’s post-Soviet history.

#freedom-of-speech-and-expression, #human-rights-and-human-rights-violations, #immigration-and-emigration, #navalny-aleksei-a, #political-prisoners, #politics-and-government, #putin-vladimir-v, #russia, #sobol-lyubov, #zhdanov-ivan-y

Aleksei Navalny in His Own Words

Aleksei A. Navalny, the Russian opposition leader, lays out his case — by turns funny, sarcastic and ironic — for the inevitability of democracy in his country.

#embargoes-and-sanctions, #navalny-aleksei-a, #political-prisoners, #politics-and-government, #putin-vladimir-v, #russia

In First Interview From Jail, an Upbeat Navalny Discusses Prison Life

Russian political prisoners today are subjected to “psychological” pressure, said the opposition leader Aleksei A. Navalny, who is forced to watch state TV for more than eight hours a day.

#navalny-aleksei-a, #poisoning-and-poisons, #political-prisoners, #putin-vladimir-v, #russia

U.S. Preparing More Sanctions Against Russia, Sullivan Says

The national security adviser raised the issue of more penalties in the poisoning of Aleksei A. Navalny days after President Biden met with President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia.

#biden-joseph-r-jr, #embargoes-and-sanctions, #navalny-aleksei-a, #political-prisoners, #putin-vladimir-v, #russia, #sullivan-jacob-j-1976, #united-states-international-relations, #united-states-politics-and-government

Russia’s Pro-Putin Commentators Praise Biden After Summit

Cooler heads say President Biden skillfully laid the groundwork for what he can, and cannot, reasonably expect to gain from the Kremlin.

#biden-joseph-r-jr, #cyberwarfare-and-defense, #europe, #geneva-switzerland, #navalny-aleksei-a, #putin-vladimir-v, #trump-donald-j, #united-states-international-relations

We’ve Come a Long Way Since Trump. Putin Is Still Winning.

The overriding U.S. foreign policy aim must be to prevent an existential confrontation with Russia.

#biden-joseph-r-jr, #navalny-aleksei-a, #putin-vladimir-v, #russia, #trump-donald-j, #ukraine, #united-states-politics-and-government

Biden and Putin Are Meeting. Here’s How to Make Progress.

They must manage a relationship that has gone sour so things don’t get worse, and figure out how to cooperate where they need to.

#biden-joseph-r-jr, #bush-george-w, #clinton-bill, #embargoes-and-sanctions, #geneva-switzerland, #gorbachev-mikhail-s, #navalny-aleksei-a, #politics-and-government, #putin-vladimir-v, #reagan-ronald-wilson, #united-states-international-relations

In Shadow of Navalny Case, What’s Left of the Russian Opposition?

Russian domestic politics took a flint-hard turn this year and much of the opposition leadership is now in exile or prison.

#assassinations-and-attempted-assassinations, #biden-joseph-r-jr, #moscow-russia, #navalny-aleksei-a, #political-prisoners, #politics-and-government, #putin-vladimir-v, #russia

With a Ban on Navalny’s Group, Putin Sends Clear Message to Biden

The move, just a week before their summit, will likely push the Russian opposition further underground and was a signal that the country’s domestic affairs are not up for discussion.

#freedom-of-speech-and-expression, #navalny-aleksei-a, #nonprofit-organizations, #political-prisoners, #politics-and-government, #putin-vladimir-v, #russia

Navalny’s Lawyer Finds Himself a Target of Putin’s Crackdown

For years, Ivan Pavlov jousted with Russia’s “leviathan” security state. Now, as the lawyer for the opposition leader Aleksei A. Navalny, he is in danger of being swallowed by it.

#content-type-personal-profile, #human-rights-and-human-rights-violations, #legal-profession, #navalny-aleksei-a, #pavlov-ivan-y, #political-prisoners, #politics-and-government, #putin-vladimir-v, #russia

Every Belarusian Journalist I Know Is in Jail or Exile

What’s happening in Belarus could easily soon happen in Russia.

#belarus, #demonstrations-protests-and-riots, #lukashenko-aleksandr-g, #media, #minsk-belarus, #navalny-aleksei-a, #news-and-news-media, #protasevich-roman, #putin-vladimir-v, #russia

How Online Sleuths Pantsed Putin

Bellingcat’s founder, Eliot Higgins, on the ethics of open source investigations and what separates his organization from online vigilantes.

#bellingcat, #central-intelligence-agency, #crowdsourcing-internet, #espionage-and-intelligence-services, #higgins-eliot, #investigation, #journalism, #navalny-aleksei-a, #open-source, #putin-vladimir-v, #russia, #skripal-sergei-v