Thousands of people took to the streets in Russia last weekend to protest against the war in Ukraine. The state power reacted with a large contingent of security forces and thousands of arrests. According to civil rights activists, more than 4,400 people were arrested. 2,035 of them were arrested in the capital, Moscow, and 1,150 more in the Baltic Sea metropolis of Saint Petersburg, the Owd-Info organization announced late Sunday evening. Overall, there were protests in more than 60 Russian cities. The Interior Ministry had previously spoken of around 5,200 participants nationwide and more than 3,500 arrests at the unauthorized rallies.
According to Owd-Info, since the Russian invasion of Ukraine began a week and a half ago, around 13,000 people have been arrested during protests critical of the Kremlin in Russia.
Putin is effectively introducing military censorship in Russia
There has long been talk of a “second front” that Putin has opened domestically: against his own citizens and independent media. Even before the war in Ukraine, Russia was certainly not considered a paradise for press freedom. The largest country in the world was ranked 150th out of 180 in the index of the organization Reporters Without Borders. But now the government is clearly tightening the thumbscrews. According to a new law, those who spread alleged “false information” about Russia’s army face up to 15 years in prison. The Kremlin decides what counts as fake. Against this background, several media stopped working, including Russia’s last free TV station, Dozhd.
The well-known critical radio station Echo Moskvy also had to stop its program. The website of the Meduza portal is no longer accessible in Russia. Even the lifestyle magazine The Village, which many big-city hipsters turn to for coffee and travel tips, is closing its Moscow office. Several foreign media, including ARD, ZDF and the British BBC, are also temporarily suspending their reporting from Russia. Facebook and Twitter are blocked.
“Novaya Gazeta”, which is experienced in war reporting, wrote last Friday: “Today the Russian parliament introduced military censorship without actually announcing it.
Source: Stern
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