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Updated Resources - November 8, 2023
Banner reads: "One for all, and all for one!" at a rally in support of Alexei Navalny and political prisoners 23.01.2021 Krasnodar, Russia. (Victor733, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons)
KEY DEVELOPMENTS
Kyiv Independent: Newsfeed
Novaya Gazeta Europe: Newsfeed
The Insider: Newsfeed
Gostiny Dvor Hall in Moscow during Russian President Vladimir Putin's address to the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation on February 21, 2023. (Kremlin.ru, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons)
WHAT'S ON OUR MIND
The escalation of state reprisal against Russian defense attorneys sparks our inquiry into repression’s permeation throughout society. In today’s collection, we offer perspectives on the intersection of Russian state oppression and the key pillars of society, including religion, journalism, technology, anti-war opposition, as well as occupied Ukraine.
We open with the topical. The Insider chronicles wartime fissures within Russia's legal community and the recent high profile arrests of lawyers - including members of Navalny’s defense team and a Crimean attorney representing Ukrainian POWs and Russian opposition. Novaya Gazeta Europe publishes one lawyer’s call for a general strike throughout Russia’s legal establishment in support of persecuted colleagues. The publication goes on to report judicial statistics from the first half of 2023, highlighting crime rates amongst soldiers, prosecutions of anti-war statements, treason, ‘gay propaganda,’ and more. The Moscow Times offers perspectives from Leonid Solovyov, Navalny’s new lawyer, on the current level of vulnerability within the field, the challenges within the Russian judicial system, and the growing sense of fear.
At the juncture of church and state, The Moscow Times enunciates the plight of anti-war clergymen, detailing their ostracism from the Russian Orthodox Church, the ‘alternative orthodoxy’ they now offer, and the recent traction gained by anti-war religious organizations. Meduza publishes an article written by political prisoner and Orthodox Christian Vladimir Kara-Murza discussing his own sentiments on the Church’s support for the Ukraine War.
Continuing in this vein, The Moscow Times reports on a recent day-long hunger strike staged by high profile Russian political prisoners (including Kara-Murza) in a show of solidarity with contemporaries abroad. In another piece, the publication examines the challenge of sowing unity within Russia’s opposition forces and analyzes prominent oppositionist Maxim Katz’s notions about uniting his cohort. Meduza introduces a new tool from human rights watchdog OVD-Info that enables foreigners to write letters to political prisoners, making the case for these lifelines to the outside world. The Insider delves into the value of political emigration as a formidable tool for influencing public opinion within Russia and for presenting an alternative vision of the country’s future. We also share a vital comprehensive survey of Russian grassroots anti-war resistance from The Wilson Center.
Finally we turn to journalism, censorship, and propaganda. Meduza reports on the Kremlin’s suppression of crimes committed by soldiers returning from the war within pro-government media. A piece from Russia.Post examines how Yandex (the Russian Google) fell under state-appointed management and the role it’s taking on in Putin’s regime. The Moscow Times reports on the TASS director’s dismissal following the Wagner mutiny. In a different piece, the publication examines the effects of Kremlin narratives in occupied Ukraine.
Beyond Russia’s borders, our resource page explores issues that skirt war’s edge - including the nuclear threat - that remind us of the global opportunity costs that arise when war prevails.
On our blog, find new resources on the Israel-Hamas War.
In the overview, a historical perspective on empires that sought to restore their ‘former possessions' and another on the moral obligation to recognize genocide. Find also Salman Rushdie on the value of art in pursuit of peace and historian Timothy Snyder on the case for continued western support of Ukraine. In the arts, Pussy Riot debuts a new anti-war music video and Ukrainian comedians get creative to raise funds in support of the war effort.
Find these stories and more on today's resource page.
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