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Repression in Russia under Vladimir Putin… Where to even begin?
One thing’s for sure, it didn’t start with Russia’s full-scale, atrocity-ridden invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Respect for fundamental freedoms in Russia had been deteriorating for at least a decade before that. The war certainly accelerated it, however.
A new, 205-page report details wave after wave of repressive legislation and policies the government under Putin has adopted since 2020. The list of measures is long and multi-faceted, but they all essentially have the same purpose: to empower the Kremlin to suppress internal dissent and try to immobilize and eliminate activist groups.
Pick a fundamental freedom, and you can bet the authorities have attacked it, restricted it, or erased it altogether: freedom of expression, freedom of association, the right to peaceful assembly, on and on.
The Kremlin has also imposed on the public a tight set of social, historical, and political ideas. No public variations, no questions allowed. There is one accepted way to think and talk about LGBT people, for example: the Kremlin’s hateful way.
There is one accepted way to discuss World War Two, the Kremlin’s way, a vision that excludes criticism of the conduct of the Soviet Red Army, among other things, in their fight against Nazi Germany.
And there’s only one way to discuss the invasion of Ukraine: the Kremlin’s way. Don’t call it a war, or an invasion. Don’t call occupied areas occupied. And, of course, don’t mention Russian forces’ atrocities in Ukraine.
Independently minded discussion about a vast range of issues simply cannot take place openly. You have the freedom to repeat the propaganda and obey the authorities – which is, of course, no freedom at all.
We’re not talking here about some kind of “political correctness” in which a person might be socially marginalized or “cancelled” if they say the wrong thing. Criminal and administrative penalties have become ever more severe, and hundreds of people have been imprisoned in Russia under these laws. Many dissenters, journalists, and activists have gone into exile.
If there’s a ray of light in this dark story it comes from the human rights defenders, activists, lawyers, independent groups, and media outlets that are persisting, even if in exile. As my colleague and expert Rachel Denber says, “They provide hope for the eventual transformation of Russia into a country committed to protecting fundamental rights.”
