TALLINN, Estonia — Russian authorities have put more Kremlin critics on a wanted list as its crackdown against dissent reaches unprecedented levels since Moscow sent troops into Ukraine more than two years ago. Independent Russian news outlet Mediazona reported Tuesday that it found women’s rights activist Darya Serenko and prominent journalist and author Mikhail Zygar … Read more
Russian President Vladimir Putin basked in a victory early Monday that was never in doubt, as partial election results showed him easily securing a fifth term after facing only token challengers and harshly suppressing opposition voices. With little margin for protest, Russians crowded outside polling stations at noon Sunday, on the last day of the … Read more
TALLINN, Estonia — A Catholic activist in Belarus was handed a three-year prison sentence Friday on charges that Western diplomats have denounced as politically driven, the latest move in the authorities’ sweeping crackdown on the country’s civil society. Uladzislau Beladzed, 33, who taught the catechism at the city’s Cathedral of the Holy Name of the … Read more
Russia began three days of voting Friday in a presidential election that is all but certain to extend President Vladimir Putin’s rule by six more years after he stifled dissent. The election takes place against the backdrop of a ruthless crackdown that has crippled independent media and prominent rights groups and given Putin full control … Read more
TALLINN, Estonia — When charismatic opposition leader Boris Nemtsov was gunned down on a bridge near the Kremlin in February 2015, more than 50,000 Muscovites expressed their shock and outrage the next day at the brazen assassination. Police stood aside as they rallied and chanted anti-government slogans. Nine years later, stunned and angry Russians streamed … Read more
TALLINN, Estonia — Two journalists were detained in Belarus on Friday, a Belarusian journalist association reported, the latest step in a crackdown against dissent in recent years. Chief editor of the Ranak television channel, Yulia Dauletava, and correspondent Lyudmila Andenka were detained in the city of Svetlahorsk in southeastern Belarus and accused of contributing to … Read more
Add to your saved storiesSave Merle Goldman, a prominent scholar of Chinese affairs who specialized in the work of writers and dissidents confronting the powerful central state, positing that China’s rise as a global economic force could eventually pry open Beijing’s tight lid on opposition, died Nov. 16 at her home in Cambridge, Mass. She … Read more
TALLINN, Estonia — A court in the Siberian city of Tomsk on Monday jailed an associate of imprisoned opposition leader Alexei Navalny pending trial on extremism charges, according to an ally, part of an unrelenting crackdown on Russian political activists, independent journalists and rights workers. Ksenia Fadeyeva, who used to run Navalny’s office in Tomsk … Read more
LONDON — Russians commemorated the victims of Soviet state terror on Sunday, while the Russian government continues its crackdown on dissent in the country. The “Returning of the Names” event was organized by the Nobel Peace Prize-winning human rights group Memorial. The commemoration has traditionally been held in Moscow on Oct. 29 — the eve … Read more
Touch upon this storyComment In wartime Russia, residents are risking many years in jail for beforehand permissible acts: denouncing the federal government and the military on social media, making political speeches — even criticizing the invasion of Ukraine in non-public with pals. The Kremlin is jailing its critics at a turbocharged charge. After invading Ukraine, … Read more