Russia

English map

At Least 17 Imprisoned, Dozens Face Spurious Criminal, Administrative Charges

Military court in Moscow has handed down harsh sentences to 19‑year‑old Yury Mikheev, 20‑year‑old Timofey Melnikov and his twin-brother Matvey—with terms ranging from seven to 20 years in high‑security prison—over charges of attempted sabotage at a military unit and treason.

Judge Igor Nikitchuk of the 2nd Western Military Court sentenced Yury Mikheev to seven years, while Timofey Melnikov and his brother Matvey received sentences of 20 and 19 years, respectively. The verdict was reported by a Mediazona correspondent from inside the courtroom. In addition, the Melnikov brothers were each fined 300,000 rubles—over $3,200.

All three were found guilty of attempting to orchestrate a group sabotage operation. In addition, the Melnikov brothers were convicted on charges of treason and of participating in the Freedom of Russia Legion, a Russian volunteer militia unit fighting on the Ukrainian side. When asked by the judge whether they understood the verdict, the defendants merely shrugged, offering no reply.

cross-posted from: https://beehaw.org/post/17948115

Since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, cultural life in Russia has endured a new wave of censorship. The government bans not only works of art — films, plays, songs — but also the artists themselves. Literature, of course, is no exception. The Russian authorities have designated writers as “foreign agents” and “terrorists,” charging them with felonies and ordering their books pulled from the shelves in stores and libraries. Many have been forced to leave the country or cease public activities.

Abroad, this has led to the revival of tamizdat: several new publishing houses [...] are releasing books that cannot be printed in Russia. Despite these challenges, work that tackles today’s reality is still being written and sold in Russia. This includes books about what has upended Russian society in recent years: the war in Ukraine. Meduza special correspondent Kristina Safonova explores how this remains possible.

[...]

Officially, there’s no censorship in Russia. However, there are prohibited subjects designated in a growing body of laws adopted by the federal government.

• “You can’t talk about war — no matter which war it is,” says Z., the editor-in-chief of a publishing house. “Even with the Great Patriotic War [the Soviet fronts of the Second World War], you can’t say anything unless it’s praising the heroic deeds of Russian and Soviet soldiers.”
• “Anything at all can be labeled as [LGBTQ+] propaganda,” says E., an editor at a publishing house, explaining that an entire print run can be pulled because of a secondary character who “acts flamboyantly” or says something like, “My parents will never accept my choice.”
• “If characters smoke weed and don’t shout about how disgusting it is and all die before the page ends, you risk getting flagged for [drug] propaganda,” adds editor I.

[...]

Interesting study that touches on the emerging concept of electoral autocracy with the case of Russia