Russia’s prison service says that 600 convicts will begin work on the Baikal-Amur Mainline railway this month. For some human rights activists and government critics, the idea of using prisoners for construction projects looks like a return to the gulag.
“Grandpa, thanks for the victory!”
These are the most ubiquitous windshield stickers in Russia, where Victory Day, or the May 9 celebration of Nazi Germany’s surrender, has become a near-religious public event.
President Vladimir Putin promotes the celebrations of Russia’s “victory over fascism” as a show of Moscow’s military might and moral superiority.
In Russia, May 9 is Victory Day, celebrating Nazi Germany’s surrender in 1945 [File: Eduard Korniyenko/Reuters]He also appears to be seeking to monopolise the victory over Nazi Germany by silencing the role other nations played in defeating Adolf Hitler.
Millions celebrate Victory Day by marching with portraits of their forefathers who fought in the war that cost the USSR 27 million lives.
Apakhonchich is one the five private citizens in Russia designated as a “foreign media agent” by the country’s Justice Ministry at the end of last year.
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VIDEO - When Journalism is Considered a Crime: The Risks of Covering Protest Movements in Eastern Europe and Eurasia
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A Moscow court has agreed to hear a libel lawsuit filed by Aleksei Navalny against Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov over comments he made linking U.S. spies with the jailed opposition politician. Open Media group quoted a representative of the Presnensky district court on May 5 as saying that Navalny, who is serving a prison term in a penal colony, will be able to take part in the hearing if he wishes and if the judge agrees to it. The date of the hearing into the lawsuit filed by Navalny in late March is yet to be determined. It is the second lawsuit Navalny has filed against Peskov in defense of his honor, dignity, and business reputation.
RFE/RL Calls On Russia To Stop Targeting Journalists After Appeal Fails
May 07, 2021 13:33 GMT
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PRAGUE Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty has called on Russia to stop targeting journalists after one of its contributors lost an appeal against her inclusion on Russia’s controversial registry of “foreign agent” media.
The City Court in the western Russian city of Pskov on May 5 said the inclusion of RFE/RL contributor Lyudmila Savitskaya on the Justice Ministry’s list was lawful.
“Lyudmila is not a foreign agent she, and RFE/RL journalists Denis Kamalyagin and Sergei Markelov, are Russian nationals providing objective news and information to their fellow citizens. We call on the Russian government to stop targeting journalists and blocking the Russian people s access to information,” RFE/RL President Jamie Fly said in a statement late on May 6.