The fate of Russian sociologist and activist Boris Kagarlitsky typifies that of brave Russian citizens who have dared to speak out against Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. When the war began in February 2022, many Russian dissidents packed their bags and headed for Helsinki, Istanbul, Yerevan or Tbilisi. Nearly a million fled, but not Kagarlitsky. He and a few thousand activists dug in to oppose the nationalist militarism that is Putin’s meat and potatoes. They didn’t, however, stand much of a chance.
Almost overnight, the already narrow political space in Russia completely disappeared. In the month following the invasion, nearly 15,000 anti-war activists were arrested. And more than 100,000 fines have been dished out for real or imagined opposition to the war since 2022. A plethora of new laws on defaming the Russian military, aiding ‘terrorism’ and repressive foreign agent designations alongside a crackdown on independent media smothered the last vestiges of free speech.
