The Ukrainian teens who took on Putinโs gulag archipelago โ and won
When Vlad and his friends realized the Kremlin would not return them home, they staged an open revolt.
dissidents
Moscow and Beijing rejoice at looming death of Radio Free Europe, VOA
โWe couldnโt shut them down, unfortunately, but America did so itself,” editor-in-chief of Russia’s state broadcaster said.
Antidote review โ gripping study of dissidents and whistleblowers in Putinโs crosshairs
Christo Grozev, forced to flee Austria for his journalistic investigation of secret Russian operations, is the central focus of a dynamic and powerful story Finally getting a release after the verdict in the Bulgarian spy-ring trial, James Jonesโs grip…
Revealed: second Kremlin spy ring targeting Russian dissidents discovered in UK
After the spying convictions of six Bulgarians, police have warned of further Russian operations against opponentsA second Kremlin spy operation has been discovered targeting Russian dissidents in Britain, it can be revealed.Roman Dobrokhotov, a journa…
China tops list of countries trying to silence exiled dissidents over past decade, study shows
Russia, Turkey and Egypt also among worst perpetrators of transnational repression around the globeA quarter of the worldโs countries have engaged in transnational repression โ targeting political exiles abroad to silence dissent โ in the past decade, …
Stop working for Russia, Britain tells its private spies
Security industry guns-for-hire are warned they could face jail time if they work for hostile states โ even accidentally.
Putinโs grip on Belarus sickens opponents of Lukashenko regime
Dissidents despair at the Russian presidentโs influence ahead of this monthโs rigged election.ย
German national arrested for sabotage in Russia
The arrest follows that of another German national last month in Russia on similar charges.
Giorgia Meloniโs vendetta against Italyโs judges
The right-wing prime minister has a โstrategyโ to discredit, frighten and silence critics, from the media to the judiciary, says a famous Italian journalist.
Ikea, which employed Stasi prisoners before the fall of the Berlin Wall, to compensate GDR victims
In 2012, an investigation revealed that imprisoned political dissidents were exploited in the factories of several East German suppliers of the famous furniture manufacturer. The company has now agreed to pay โฌ6ย million in compensation.
โHope went out like a candleโ โ EU official Johan Floderus survived years in an Iranian jail
Reunited with his partner and ready to return to work, the 34-year-old Swede speaks to POLITICO.
In Saint Petersburg, dissidents resist on tiptoe
Despite the political repression that has intensified since the war in Ukraine, Russian citizens opposed to Vladimir Putin’s regime are not giving up. But to avoid arrest, they have no choice but to act quietly.
The EUโs most pointless job
Josep Borrell loves to condemn things โ sometimes in the “strongest possible terms.” Does it ever have any impact?
Germanyโs far right loves one migrant group: Russian Germans
Germany’s AfD is targeting Russian-speakers who migrated to Germany after the fall of the Berlin Wall.
Poland arrests Kremlin critic accused of directing attack on Navalny aide
Four suspects held in โmulti-threadedโ probe into assaults against Russian dissidents as rift opens in opposition ranks
After prisoner exchange with the West, Russians keep writing to dissidents still in prison
Sending letters to imprisoned dissidents is one of the last legal ways for Russians to show their opposition to the Kremlin and its ‘special military operation’ in Ukraine.
Guns, migrants, oil: Is it possible to oust Venezuelaโs regime?
Nicolรกs Maduro doesnโt care about your evidence or your condemnations.
3 unsolved mysteries in the case of Telegram CEO Pavel Durov
Why does the Russian-born tech tycoon have so many nationalties? And where do his loyalties lie?
Telegram CEOโs brother also wanted by French authorities
Arrest warrants for Pavel and Nikolai Durov were issued months earlier than previously known.
Russia says France better come up with strong evidence against Telegram CEO
Kremlin needles Emmanuel Macron over Pavel Durov arrest.
The bewildering politics of Telegram
Here are two big reasons the controversial app just became a global flashpoint.
UAE demands โurgentโ access to Telegram CEO locked up in France
Pavel Durov’s arrest in Paris triggered an international outcry.
How even in death, Navalny helped Biden and Scholz get to a โyesโ on the prisoner swap
The leaders of the U.S. and Germany navigated competing goals and dicey politics as they discussed an exchange for the Russian opposition leader.
Ukraine war briefing: Backlash at freed Russians calling for eased sanctions and negotiation
Dissidents released by western efforts backtrack โ โUkraine must winโ; Kyiv targeted with missiles and drones. What we know on day 895 Ukrainians have reacted angrily to calls by freed Russian political prisoners to ease sanctions that affect ordinary …
Washington lawmakers hope released opposition leaders revive anti-Putin movement in Russia
The historic prisoner swap freed Vladimir Kara-Murza, Ilya Yashin, Andrei Pivovarov, and several other Putin critics from Russian penal colonies.
Top freed dissident says Putin used prisoner swap to exile him without consent
Ilya Yashin says he wants to go back to Russia, but argues the Kremlin pressured Germany to secure guarantees he would never return.
Two Russian ex-prisoners from East-West swap want to return home
Two of the Russian dissidents who were freed from prison and arrived in Germany as part of last week’s major East-West prisoner swap say they are already thinking about returning to Russia, but vow to continue political activism even from abroad.
Todayโs prisoner exchanges are not like the Cold War
With ordinary citizens being picked up simply to be used as exchange fodder, no Westerner is truly safe in hostile countries anymore.
Trump congratulates Putin on โgreatโ hostage swap
The Republican nominee painted the Russian leader as the clear winner of a historic prisoner swap that led to the release of several Americans.
Everyone wants a piece of the swapped prisonersโ story
There are many perspectives, and even those that seem at odds can be true at the same time.
Jake Sullivan on the Key Ingredient to the Prisoner Swap Deal
The national security adviser details how the U.S. convinced Germany to get on board with a sweeping deal to bring Americans home from Russia.
Jake Sullivan on the Key Ingredient to the Prisoner Swap Deal
The national security adviser details how the U.S. convinced Germany to get on board with a sweeping deal to bring Americans home from Russia.
Ukraine war briefing: Waves of Russian bombings and infantry assaults drive major gains in east
Russian military intensifies pressure on key Ukrainian transport hub of Pokrovsk; Kyiv receives bodies of 250 slain soldiers in exchange with Moscow. What we know on day 892See all our Ukraine war coverageRussian assaults are raising pressure on the st…
โThis is breaking himโ: Putinโs prisoner swap leaves hundreds behind
The deal that freed Evan Gershkovich was bittersweet for those political detainees still trapped in Russia.
Dissidents freed in prisoner swap recount details of release, vow to keep up fight against Putin
The historic trade was in the works for months and unfolded despite relations between Washington and Moscow being at their lowest point since the Cold War.
Freed Russian dissidents refused to sign plea for mercy from Putin
Both also conveyed gratitude to the countries who worked to free them.
Russian dissidents freed in prisoner swap speak of deal โdilemmaโ
Activists say they never agreed to leave their homeland and vow to continue fighting for democracy in RussiaRussian dissidents freed as part of a prisoner swap between Moscow and the west have shared their mixed feelings about the deal and vowed to co…
Freed Russian dissidents refused to sign plea for mercy from Putin
Both also conveyed gratitude to the countries who worked to free them.
Disquiet in Germany, Poland over prisoner swap
The deal could incentivize Russia to imprison more innocent people, critics say.
US, Russia complete largest post-Soviet prisoner swap
The United States and Russia completed their biggest prisoner swap in post-Soviet history on Thursday, with Moscow releasing journalist Evan Gershkovich and fellow American Paul Whelan, along with dissidents including Vladimir Kara-Murza, in a multina…
US-Russia prisoner swap frees Evan Gershkovich, more than a dozen others
Russia released more than a dozen prisoners โ including Americans, Germans, and Russian dissidents โ on Thursday in one of the biggest and most complex prisoner swaps in U.S. history. Three of the those freed were American citizens: journalists Evan Gershkovich and Alsu Kurmasheva, and former Marine Paul Whelan. Journalist Vladimir Kara-Murza, a U.S. resident, [โฆ]
US bets on Gaza cease-fire talks as assassinations tilt Mideast toward bigger war
American officials donโt seem to have a realistic plan B and are not thrilled with Israelโs suspected actions.
Russian dissidents disappear from prison in sign a prisoner swap may be close
A number of Russian dissidents and people convicted for their opposition to Moscow’s war in Ukraine have disappeared from Russian prisons in recent days, in what rights activists say is a possible sign that a prisoner swap with the West may be close.
Sweden accuses Iran of using criminal gangs to target Tehranโs enemies
Intelligence service says โproxiesโ attack Israelis and Iranian dissidents on Swedish soil
The EUโs pathetic crocodile tears for Iranian hangman
Europe bends over backwards not to offend murderous mullahs, more interested in potentially reopening trade than in human rights.
Attacks on German politicians stir memories of Nazi past
Recent assaults spark national debate over Germany’s increasingly raw political climate, with some seeing echoes of its dark history.
โWe just want Johan backโ โ an EU diplomat has spent 2 years in Iranโs most notorious prison
Authoritarian governments have learned they can trade Western humanitarian workers and journalists for convicted killers and intelligence agents.
Brawl in Georgia parliament over โforeign influenceโ bill
Scuffles broke out in Georgia’s parliament on Monday (15 April) over the government’s re-introduction of a controversial “foreign influence” bill that critics say mirrors repressive Russian legislation used to silence and intimidate dissidents.
The Guardian view on Portugalโs Carnation Revolution: a legacy to protect | Editorial
As the 50th anniversary of the transition to democracy is celebrated, the rise of the far right is casting a shadow over the presentTwentieth-century military coups tended to be accompanied by murder, torture and brutal repression, rather than flowers …
UK accuses China of cyberattacks on British democracy
Britain rolls out sanctions and summons Chinese ambassador as it points finger at ‘Chinese state-affiliated actors.’
Chinese cyberattacks wonโt silence us, say British lawmakers
Members of parliament hit out at Beijing as British government prepares to link it to string of cyberattacks.
From โI Love Youโ to โAssholeโ: How Joe Gave Up on Bibi
After decades of building a โclose, personalโ friendship with Benjamin Netanyahu, Joe Biden has had it with the Israeli prime minister. Now heโs hitting him hard โ and it may be working.
From Navalny to Gaza: Human rights activists need to connect the dots
Those who truly care about human rights need to change their approach, and call out autocratic regimes โ like Iran and Russia โ and their support for terrorism.
Putinโs going nowhere. The West needs to get a grip.
Donโt think that social media memes and clever stunts will topple Putin. Only a defeat in Ukraine can do that.
[Opinion] The worrying Chinese projects in Orban’s Hungary
Chinese police officers may soon participate in joint patrols on the streets of Hungary, officially for counter-terrorism and capacity-building. However, there are fears the Chinese government’s motivation is more straightforward: keeping tabs on thei…
Some advice for Russiaโs newest opposition leader
Opposition movements, especially those based abroad, rarely succeed.
Infighting is tearing apart DCโs key bulwark against Putin
The Helsinki Commission is hobbled by claims its Republican director has made against his Democratic-appointed predecessor (and vice versa).
US government slaps sanctions on notorious European spyware maker
Targeted Predator software was at heart of Greek political hacking scandal.
Munich 2.0: Israelโs plan to hunt down Hamas killers
The country has a track record of carrying out revenge killings, even in Europe.
โThey donโt care about the opticsโ: in Navalnyโs funeral, echoes of dissidents past
The official response to the deaths of opposition figures is a sure guide to the state of repression and freedom in RussiaThe funeral of a Russian dissident always reflects the political moment. In freer times, the body may lie in state as thousands of…
Belarusian exiles plot coup against Lukashenko
The group’s leader said defeating Russia in Ukraine is essential to weaken Minsk’s regime.
Russiaโs opposition died with Navalny
The sad truth is the absence of any serious mass opposition to Putin inside Russia โ let alone to his war in Ukraine โ speaks volumes.
Russian envoys feel the heat over Navalnyโs death
Multiple European countries summon their Russian ambassadors over the sudden death in prison of opposition leader Alexei Navalny.
Alexey Navalny never wanted to be a dissident
Once upon a time, Alexey Navalny wanted to be a normal politician in a normal country. Now thatโs just a fantasy.
The Guardian view on Alexei Navalnyโs death: another bleak day in Putinโs Russia | Editorial
The opposition leader was jailed after bravely returning to Russia. Now he is the latest name on a long, grim list of dead activists and dissidentsโAs I became more famous, I was sure my life became safer โฆ It would be problematic for them just to kill…
Orbรกn invites Swedish PM for talks on NATO bid
Turkey is also promising to move on Swedenโs alliance application.
EU offers condolences for death of Russian dissident poet Rubinstein
The European Union on Monday (15 January) expressed condolences over the death of dissident Russian poet Lev Rubinstein, who died at the weekend several days after being hit by a car.