The State of Affairs in Russia

[Syt]

Pussy Riot Trial - showing the power of the church and state

(Reuters) - Three women who protested against Vladimir Putin in a "punk prayer" on the altar of Russia's main cathedral went on trial on Monday in a case seen as a test of the longtime leader's treatment of dissent during a new presidential term.

The women from the band "Pussy Riot" face up to seven years in prison for an unsanctioned performance in February in which they entered Moscow's Christ the Saviour Cathedral, ascended the altar and called on the Virgin Mary to "throw Putin out!"

[...]

The stunt was designed to highlight the close relationship between the dominant Russian Orthodox Church and former KGB officer Putin, then prime minister, whose campaign to return to the presidency in a March election was backed clearly, if informally, by the leader of the church, Patriarch Kirill.

The protest offended many believers and left the church leadership incensed. The church, which has enjoyed a big revival since the demise of the Communist Soviet Union in 1991 and is seeking more influence on secular life, cast the performance as part of a sinister campaign by "anti-Russian forces".

[...]

NGOs receiving foreign funding have to register as "foreign agents" and lay open their books in detail

(Huffington Post) MOSCOW — Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday signed into law a new measure that requires non-governmental groups receiving funding from abroad and engaging in political activity to register as foreign agents.

Some NGOs have vowed to ignore or circumvent the law, while its critics note that the vague definition of political activity could be applied against a wide range of initiatives. Putin, meanwhile, has alleged that recent protests against him were instigated and funded by the United States.

The law also requires NGOs identified as foreign agents to submit detailed annual financial reports, which critics say would be a time-consuming and costly burden on organizations with small staffs and meager funding.

The law comes as authorities show increasing unease with a newly emboldened political opposition, which conducted the unprecedented wave of massive public protests in the winter and spring.

[...]

Blacklists for Offensive Internet Contents (The Atlantic)

A day after massive online protests, including a temporary shut-down of the Russian-language Wikipedia, the State Duma has today gone ahead and passed the Information Act by a wide margin, with 441 of 450 members of the legislative body voting in support of it, according to the Washington Post. Though the law was amended at the last minute to be more explicit as to the reasons sites could be banned -- and reasons such as child pornography, the promotion of substance abuse and suicide -- critics say that expansive interpretation by the courts could leave many legitimate websites in peril.

According to the Post, activists see the law as one in a set designed to repress political activity and dissent against the Putin regime. Kathy Lally writes:

Last month, the Duma passed a law drastically raising fines for protesters who violate the rules for holding a demonstration. On Wednesday, it advanced a bill that would make slander a criminal offense, with a penalty of as much as the annual income of the offender. And it is expected to pass a law this week requiring nongovernmental organizations that do political work and get money from abroad to register as foreign agents.

"Many of us are now in danger," said Oleg Kozyrev, an influential blogger. "I see this Internet law as part of a package of repressive laws directed at the opposition and human rights and civil rights activists."

Under the new law, he said, a commenter could post a link to child pornography on a blogger's page, for example, and the government would have the authority to close down the entire page. The page would remain closed while its owner attempted to prove he was not responsible for the illegal reference. "There is little hope that the courts or investigators will be objective," Kozyrev said.

In other countries where websites like Wikipedia and major search engines threw their arms up against a proposed Internet-regulation law (as in Italy last fall and here in the U.S. in January), the proposed bills stalled in response. The Russia example is a demonstration of the futility of such tactics when the legislative organs of a country support a de facto autocracy.

Another opposition leader arrested

(Reuters) - Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny was charged with theft on Tuesday and could face up to 10 years in jail in what Kremlin critics say is a growing crackdown on dissent by President Vladimir Putin.

Navalny, an anti-corruption blogger who organized street protests that have dented Putin's authority, dismissed the charge as absurd and other opposition leaders accused Putin of using KGB-style tactics to try to silence his critics.

The most charismatic of the protest leaders and potentially the biggest threat to Putin, Navalny also was barred from leaving the country in the latest of a series of moves against Putin's opponents since he began his six-year term as president in May.

Russia's federal Investigative Committee said Navalny, 36, had been accused of helping organize a plan to steal timber from a state firm called KirovLes, causing the government of the Kirov region to lose more than 16 million roubles ($497,000). The charges relate to 2009, when Navalny was advising the region's governor.

"This is really quite absurd and very strange," Navalny said as he left the Investigative Committee headquarters, where he was summoned to hear what he had expected to be a less severe charge over a case that was opened in 2010 but had been dormant.

[...]

Of course I'm sure this all amounts to nothing. After all, Gerhard Schröder famously considered Putin "a flawless democrat" in 2004.

[Neil]

If Russia's new internet rules are used to crack down on Russians on the internet, thus reducing spam and hacking, I'm all for it.

At any rate, Putin won the election.  The Russian people stood up and said 'We would rather be slaves than weak, and the appearance of strength is more important than the rule of law'.

[Martinus]

Those who do not oppose the government have nothing to fear. 

[viper37]

2 years in jail

[Tamas]

I am interested in these Russian happenings nowadays, since Hungary is on the same path now.

[Grey Fox]

2 years in jail

Just to make sure you know. Russia isn't a lefty state anymore. It's a rightwing state.

[Neil]

2 years in jail

Just to make sure you know. Russia isn't a lefty state anymore. It's a rightwing state.

No it isn't.  It's Russia, same as it's always been.  Your attempt to put Russia onto a left-right axis is doomed to fail.

[Razgovory]

2 years in jail

Now why can't the Ecuadorian embassy make itself useful in this situation?

[Syt]

2 years in jail

It's kind of scary if you look at this closer. First, it took a week for the band to get arrested and charges be raised - after the Patriarch Kyrill talked to Putin. Then Putin lets them stew a bit, and finally asks the prosecutor to be lenient, to which the prosecutor basically replied, "Your wish is my command".

Though if 2 years in a Russian prison for staging a political protest during mass  is "lenient" . . .

Die Zeit had a good article about the connections between Patriarch and Putin, apparently they go back till before the Patriarch assumed his office.

[Phillip V]

2 years in jail

Hopefully she's still cute after 2 years.

[Habbaku]

Prediction : two of them will die in prison.

[viper37]

2 years in jail

Just to make sure you know. Russia isn't a lefty state anymore. It's a rightwing state.

No, really not.  A rightwing state doesn't jail entrepreneurs to take their business.

[Grey Fox]

2 years in jail

Just to make sure you know. Russia isn't a lefty state anymore. It's a rightwing state.

No, really not.  A rightwing state doesn't jail entrepreneurs to take their business.

It does when the bigger business owner is the president/prime minister.

[DGuller]

Die Zeit had a good article about the connections between Patriarch and Putin, apparently they go back till before the Patriarch assumed his office.

I wouldn't be surprised if they were work buddies, with Soviet church effectively being one of KGB's departments and all.

[dps]

2 years in jail

Just to make sure you know. Russia isn't a lefty state anymore. It's a rightwing state.

No, really not.  A rightwing state doesn't jail entrepreneurs to take their business.

It does when the bigger business owner is the president/prime minister.

That's just good old-fashioned corruption.  Nothing particularly either lefty or righty about it.