As members of the Russian punk-rock band Pussy Riot appealtheir two-year prison sentence for a political protest in Moscow’s Cathedral ofChrist the Saviour, a pale of repression is settling over their country. Thiscrackdown is wrapped in legislative garb, but the iron grip of authoritarianismis unmistakable.
Vladimir Putin’s tightening of the screws is a part of abroader pattern, which includes a return to confrontation with the UnitedStates and NATO. The United States must specifically recognise that its “reset”policy of see no evil, hear no evil has contributed to the trampling of humanrights in Russia.
Moscow is cozying up to China, supporting the Assad regimein Syria and ignoring the Iranian nuclear race. The Kremlin is hard at work tocreate a sphere of influence along its periphery and a “pole” in the multipolarworld that would stand up to Washington.
Recent developments have an unmistakably flavor of the 1920sand 1930s, when the Soviets sent people the Gulag simply for who they were, notfor what they did. For example, the Cheka “ the grandfather of Russia’ssecurity service, the FSB “ preventively arrested those of noble descent orwith relatives abroad.
Vladimir Lenin, founder of the Soviet state and a lawyer bytraining, wrote: “The courts should not do away with terror “ to promiseotherwise would be to deceive ourselves and others “ but should give itfoundation and legality, clearly, honestly and without embellishments.” Onewonders if the sorcerer has become a role model for the apprentice. Putin hascalled Stalin “an effective manager.”
In this spirit, three weeks ago, the Duma unanimously passednew amendments proposed by the FSB that will expand the definition of “hightreason.” The charge now can be applied to almost any Russian citizen who workswith foreign organisations or has ever had contact with a foreigner.
“Treason” no longer refers only to a concrete crime, such asknowingly passing state secrets to a foreign power. It can apply to anybehavior that the state secret services, prosecutors and judges deem asundermining “constitutional order, sovereignty and territorial and stateintegrity.”
Moreover, the courts, which sit in judgment on treasoncases, are not truly independent. The Kremlin has expanded “telephone justice”(a Soviet practice), by which judges receive verbal instructions from the topon how to decide cases. Prominent opponents of the government, such as MikhailKhodorkovsky, former chief executive of the Yukos oil company, are sentenced tolengthy prison terms, which are widely seen as politically motivated.
These changes are in addition to a package of Draconian lawsand practices that curtail citizens’ rights “ introduced this year with nary aprotest from the Obama administration:
In June, the Duma passed a law that criminalisedunauthorised protests, giving the government the ability to fine organisersexorbitant sums. In July, the Duma approved a bill that allows the governmentto block websites it deems harmful to the public.
The law on registration of nongovernment organisations nowrequires that every “politically active” NGO that receives funding from abroadmust register as a “foreign agent.”
The Duma is considering a bill “on the protection ofreligious feelings of the citizens of Russia,” which criminalises blasphemy andincludes the possibility of a prison term. The courts would use “experts” closeto the Orthodox Church to determine what is blasphemous. The regime would thendecide which offensive materials to censor, just as the authorities in Rostovrecently banned the rock opera “Jesus Christ Superstar.”
The blasphemy law is a sop to the Russian Orthodoxpatriarch, Kirill I, who is expanding the church’s function as an ideologicalcrutch for the state. The law is also an important step in distancing Russiafrom Western values, which the liberal intelligentsia has desperately tried toinculcate for the last quarter of a century. Slavophiles and “Eurasianists” areon the ascendancy.
The recent legislative developments have severe geopoliticalimplications. Putin is implementing a “Fortress Russia” policy, which is basedon repression at home and confrontation abroad. It is used to justify a $700billion military buildup. The Obama administration “reset” needs a seriousreassessment, and so does the overall relationship with Russia. America shouldpursue its national interests in relations with Moscow, instead of chasing afeel-good mirage.
Washington should work to advance individual rights,democracy and free media through public diplomacy and pinpointed support ofworthy causes. Washington should cooperate with those along the Russianperiphery and in Europe who are concerned about the growth of Russia’s sphereof influence. Finally, the United States and its allies should engageinternational organisations, expert communities, mass and social media tocounter the crackdown in Russia.
It is preferable to engage now, before the specter of a moreauthoritarian Russia once again haunts Europe “ and the world.
Ariel Cohen is a senior research fellow in Russian andEurasian studies and international energy policy at The Heritage Foundation
