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Women Political Prisoners In Russia

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August 5, 2024

Women Political Prisoners In Russia

Source: MEMRI

A long time ago, there were almost no female political prisoners in Russia.

At that time, there were not many male political prisoners either, but gradually they started to appear. And when the number of men increased, the authorities began to target women as well.

Everything followed the classic rules of repression. First, they came for some people, then for the others. It was gradual, creeping – and then it turned out that everyone was imprisoned, and there were no more rules or safeguards.

In the early Putin years, particularly troublesome women, such as journalists, were dealt with without the help of judges and investigators. For example, the world-famous Anna Politkovskaya was shot – and, like in a classic Soviet film, it was done by "people not from our district." Everything was blamed on the Chechens. Who ordered it is another question, which the Russian Federation wisely did not pursue to avoid implicating itself.

Then the regime began to indulge in classic repressions and started imprisoning women who could be labeled as marginal activists in the public opinion. For example, Darya Polyudova went through all the circles of the Dantean criminal correctional system of the Russian Federation. She was accused of separatism, extremism, and anything else, all just for her words. The local justice in Kuban broke her life, like an arm, in several places.

But society swallowed it because who knew where Kuban was or who these activists with a march for its federalization were? Society was unclear.

Read here the full article published by MEMRI on 5 August 2024.

Image by MEMRI

 

Author
Elvira Vikhareva
Focus areas

A long time ago, there were almost no female political prisoners in Russia.

At that time, there were not many male political prisoners either, but gradually they started to appear. And when the number of men increased, the authorities began to target women as well.

Everything followed the classic rules of repression. First, they came for some people, then for the others. It was gradual, creeping – and then it turned out that everyone was imprisoned, and there were no more rules or safeguards.

In the early Putin years, particularly troublesome women, such as journalists, were dealt with without the help of judges and investigators. For example, the world-famous Anna Politkovskaya was shot – and, like in a classic Soviet film, it was done by "people not from our district." Everything was blamed on the Chechens. Who ordered it is another question, which the Russian Federation wisely did not pursue to avoid implicating itself.

Then the regime began to indulge in classic repressions and started imprisoning women who could be labeled as marginal activists in the public opinion. For example, Darya Polyudova went through all the circles of the Dantean criminal correctional system of the Russian Federation. She was accused of separatism, extremism, and anything else, all just for her words. The local justice in Kuban broke her life, like an arm, in several places.

But society swallowed it because who knew where Kuban was or who these activists with a march for its federalization were? Society was unclear.

Read here the full article published by MEMRI on 5 August 2024.

Image by MEMRI

 

Author
Elvira Vikhareva
Focus areas

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