Vladimir Putin is making sure there is no space for dissent in Russia, as the war he ordered against Ukraine continues to kill soldiers and civilians.
The Kremlin is resorting to its old trick of using a wide range of laws to crack down on any form of perceived protest, no matter how inoffensive to the outer world they may look.
Among the laws that found broad application in a bid to bring any Russian protester into submission is one punishing people for “discrediting” the Russian Army.
This legislation has allowed police forces across Russia to fine or arrest Russians who performed actions seen as supportive of war-torn Ukraine or critical of the illegal invasion of the country.
Among the victims of this law is a man who in April 2022 was fined by a court in Moscow for wearing blue trainers with yellow soles, as they were seen as a statement in support of Ukraine.
The man was accused of displaying the national colours of Ukraine as an unsanctioned rally protesting the war was taking place nearby – despite him stressing he was simply out shopping, his lawyer said after the ruling.
Praying for peace may also ring alarm bells in the Kremlin, as a village priest in the Kostroma region northeast of Moscow was fined for discrediting his country’s army after he prayed for peace and mentioned the sixth commandment stating: “Thou shalt not kill”.
Another astonishing example of the application of this law is the fining of people holding or displaying placards with messages seen as “anti-war” – ranging from the words “no war” to simply eight asterisks, which amount to the number of Russian letters to spell that message.
Other pervasive laws been widely applied within Russia to crack down dissent range from identifying “foreign agents” to stopping people from spreading “deliberately false information” about the Russian Armed Forces.
A group declared “undesirable” faces an outright ban from any activity, as do organisations deemed “extremists” – the label slapped on the Anti-Corruption Foundation by the late Alexei Navalny.
People who want to hold a demonstration need to ask authorities for permission – who are unlikely to give the green light if the rally is critical of the Kremlin.
