From the editor
This week Russia’s State Duma gave preliminary approval to a bill that would provide immunity for life to ex-presidents, but there is other worrying legislation in the works too. Another bill adds to the already extremely onerous restrictions on protests, which currently allow only one-person pickets without prior permission from authorities. The new rules would consider queues for one-person pickets to be prohibited mass gatherings, and protests would not be allowed outside some government buildings, “where there are agencies that respond to emergencies”.
Russian authorities have also used the excuse of coronavirus measures to detain solo picketers, and those aren’t going away any time soon based on the constantly increasing number of cases being reported daily. Vladimir Putin was seen coughing several times in a meeting recently, raising the possibility that the virus can even infect someone who has given himself immunity from prosecution.
The protests in Belarus have seen an upsurge in the past couple of weeks after 31-year-old art teacher Roman Bondarenko was killed trying to stop Alexander Lukashenko’s henchmen from removing red and white ribbons in the renamed “Changes Square” in Minsk. Putin will not be happy about this either because it had looked like the repressions had almost done the job and intimidated enough people into staying home. Russians have been able to see exactly what awaits them if they unite against Putin, but they have also seen the power of determined crowds. If they are to make a difference they will have to forget about abiding by every new law that is imposed to crush their spirits.
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Coronavirus surge continues
Russia reported a record 24,318 new coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours today, with 461 deaths. The governor of Vladimir Oblast, Vladimir Sipyagin, became the latest regional head to test positive for the virus and shortly afterwards was hospitalised in a private clinic in Moscow. He claimed that he did not want to take up a bed in a state hospital in his region. Meanwhile it isn’t only Russia’s healthcare system, but all public services that are in a dire state of neglect. The Siberian Times tweeted a video of power lines down in Vladivostok, writing, “Several people froze to death, over 150000 are still without electricity, water & heating in the Far East of Russia. Local businessmen open restaurants & are out on streets offering free food. Many people get water by melting ice in cooking pans.”
Power lines in Vladivostok are down all over the city
Another video from Vladivostok showed a giant concrete slab from a building crashing down on a car as a man was wiping snow off it. The man moved just in time to avoid being killed.
Reporters and protesters jailed in Khabarovsk
In Khabarovsk YouTube blogger Dmitri Khetagurov was jailed for five days and Activatica correspondent Yekaterina Biyak for two days as part of authorities’ continuing crackdown on people who cover the protests in the city. Protester Sergei Petrov was also jailed for five days and protester Yevgeny Kozlov for two days.
“Soviet citizens” jailed
A court in Volgograd has jailed three men ahead of trial for extremism, for claiming that they are Soviet citizens and calling on people to ignore the laws of the Russian Federation. 41-year-old Sergei M., 47-year-old Alexei G. and 51-year-old Alexander M. deny that the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991.
Former US military officer pleads guilty to espionage
Former US Army Green Beret Peter Debbins, 45, has pled guilty to espionage in federal court in Virginia and could face life in prison. Debbins spied for Russia during his seven years of active duty and afterwards. His mother was born in the Soviet Union and he developed an interest in Russia due to his heritage, according to court documents. He was contacted by an agent of Russian intelligence services while studying in Russia in 1996 at age 19. Debbins abused his access to secret documents by sharing information about his chemical and special forces units with the Russians. Sentencing is scheduled for Feb. 26.