A Russian police officer stands outside the Kremlin. (Oleg Nikishin/Getty)
WNU Editor: The AP story is here .... Russians with Western ties increasingly branded 'traitors' (AP). Each and everyone of these cases is probably unique, but there is a tie-in that is disturbing and the AP has picked up on it ....
.... He said "every single treason case" he has seen recently has a connection to the crisis in Ukraine — where the government is fighting a pro-Russia insurgency — either because the person had traveled there or had some personal ties.
This crackdown has not impacted me .... even though I am a critic of the government .... and I have many contacts in Ukraine. And while Russian law still sees me as a Russian citizen, I carry a Canadian passport and I see myself first and foremost as a Canadian citizen whose nationality is Russian. But this crackdown is raising concerns, because Russians know that unless these prosecutors are told to stop, they will just continue their prosecutions until everyone is under a cloud of suspicion. My prediction .... this crackdown is going to cause a backlash if it continues .... which is why I believe that it will stop in the new year.
2 comments:
It's the big question really: will they climb back or will they step it up? Personally I agree with you that they will climb back. Putin is an authoritarian opportunist, not a totalitarian maniac. Neither he nor the post-Yeltsinite establishment behind him want to rock the boat too much; at worst they'd probe for things like this and retreat if it proves too unpopular/too much bother for too little pay-off.
You'd know better than I editor. History tells me though, as a Russian, Canadian or otherwise, it's probably best not to walk too fast or talk too much. The liberal fling is coming to an end.
Good riddance.
No offense. Just an opinion.
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