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https://theconversation.com/putins-russia-how-the-ex-kgb-strongman-has-gradually-turned-the-clock-back-to-soviet-repression-179127>
"Russian journalist Marina Ovsyannikova risked a harsh prison sentence after
she interrupted a broadcast on popular state-owned Russian TV network Channel
One with a sign reading: “NO WAR. Stop the war. Don’t believe propaganda. They
are lying to you here.” State news agency Tass reported that she had been
arrested for “public actions aimed at discrediting the use of the Armed Forces
of the Russian Federation in order to protect the interests of the Russian
Federation and its citizens, maintain international peace and security”.
In the event she has been found guilty of the lesser charge of “organising an
unauthorised public event” and fined 30,000 rubles (£214).
Similar scenes have been playing out all over Russia during the war in Ukraine.
A woman was detained for displaying a blank poster in protest at the invasion.
Another woman was pulled into a police van when she wanted to speak on camera
actually supporting Russia’s “military operation”. Children have been arrested
for laying flowers at the Ukrainian embassy. The number of people detained in
Russia under new laws banning criticism of the Ukrainian invasion now stands at
more than 14,000 according to recent reports.
It feels as if Russia has come full circle since the late 1980s, when the then
Soviet leader, Mikhail Gorbachev proclaimed
glasnost (openness) and
perestroika (restructuring) as part of his mission to modernise Russia and
open it up to the world. Vladimir Putin’s era has, instead, been one of steady,
if gradual, repression and the complete erosion of those freedoms."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
