In July, “Un Monde d’avance” focuses on the new diplomatic situation born of the war in Ukraine. This Wednesday, head to Russia, which has taken advantage of the conflict to further repress opponents of power.
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On February 28, 2022, four days after the start of the war, the Russian Supreme Court upheld the dissolution of Memorial, the major Russian human rights NGO. At the end of the hearing, Memorial’s lawyer, Henri Renzik, an emblematic defender of freedoms in Russia, explains that another era is beginning: “My friends, I can tell you that today we received a legal invitation. An invitation to live in another country. Specifically in another state, which will be called authoritarian dictatorship.”
The war in Ukraine was accompanied by a wave of censorship and repression not seen since the end of the USSR. In a few weeks all major Russian free media have closed down. Dojd television, the Novaya Gazetta newspaper or the Echo of Moscow radio where the journalist Maxim Kournikov worked today in exile in Germany. “Obviously the media in Russia before the war, before February, was under enormous pressureexplains the journalist. They were constantly persecuted but they existed. There were rules of the game.”
“Since February 24, there is no rule: any media can be closed and any journalist can be imprisoned for five to ten years.”
Maxim Kournikov, journalist
Since February 24, several laws have been passed which henceforth repress any criticism of power. Most opponents have gone into exile and those who remain are harassed and regularly arrested. Paladia Bachourova, a feminist activist, experienced this on May 8, on the eve of the great patriotic celebrations of May 9: “The power was afraid that the beautiful image would be tarnished so they started harassing the activists. When I started to read that the detentions were starting again, I packed my bags and left my apartment. They caught up with me then I was in a bar. I went to the detention center for two days for a fabricated case.”
For many opponents, the repression of the opposition today in Russia is comparable to that of the time of the Soviet Union with a difference. Dissidents were not allowed to leave the territory, whereas today’s opponents are almost encouraged to do so.