Podcasts about aleksei navalny

Two men close to the late Russian opposition leader Aleksei Navalny on the danger of exposing the lies of the Putin regime. To find out more about Tortoise:Download the Tortoise app - for a listening experience curated by our journalistsSubscribe to Tortoise+ on Apple Podcasts for early access and ad-free contentBecome a member and get access to all of Tortoise's premium audio offerings and moreIf you want to get in touch with us directly about a story, or tell us more about the stories you want to hear about contact hello@tortoisemedia.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Our guest today is Zoia Svetova, renowned journalist and human rights activist. She continues to live and work in Moscow. She is the author of several books, including Priznat' nevinovnogo vinovnym [To Find the Innocent Guilty]. Her voice is perhaps one of the few authoritative oppositionist voices still heard in Russia today. This podcast was recorded on 26 March 2024.My questions include:When it became known that Russian troops had invaded Ukraine in 2022, could you ever have imagined such a thing happening?You decided to stay in Russia. Did you discuss with your family, your four adult children, whether to leave or stay in Russia?Can I ask you to tell us a little about your family? After all, you are part of Russia's hereditary dissident aristocracy, if I may put it like that. Tell us about your parents, what you most remember about them, about their lives? Your husband was also involved in the dissident movement. How did you meet? And how did you bring up your children, what were the main moral values you tried to pass on to them?When Putin became president in 2000, did you have any hopes?Was there a key episode when it became clear for you which direction his regime was heading?The title of this podcast, “Then and Now,” is associated with the fateful date of 24 February 2022. But there has since been another terrible date that will be a significant event in the perception of the world and of Russian public opinion – 16 February this year. What was your first reaction when you learned of Aleksei Navalny's death in the Polar Wolf penal colony.What did Navalny mean for Russia, what did he symbolise? And what did his death in prison mean for the future of Russia?You were at Aleksei's funeral in Moscow. Could you share the mood that prevailed there, what you observed – tell us about your impressions.Should other political prisoners in Russia now fear for their lives?Just recently, a presidential election was conducted in Russia. If I'm not mistaken, you were abroad at that time. Did you take part in the “Noon against Putin” protest? Did the protests bring any benefits? And is there any difference between such protests in Russia and abroad?Your sons Tikhon and Filip are engaged in interesting work abroad. Does the fact that Tikhon is on the register of foreign agents and is editor-in-chief of the Dozhd TV company, which has been declared an undesirable organization in Russia, affect your life in Moscow in any way?After the attack on Leonid Volkov, a leading member of Navalny's team, in Vilnius, do you fear for your own children and other Russian oppositionists living outside Russia? What would have to happen in Russia for you to change your mind and leave the country?What needs to happen in Russia for your children and grandchildren to return home? What are your thoughts about the recent terrorist attack at Crocus City Hall in Moscow? Do you think 22 March 2024 will be another milestone in the history of the Putin regime?

Facts & Spins for March 14, 2024 Top Stories: Trump and Biden both clinch party nominations for a November showdown, the former chief of staff to Aleksei Navalny is assaulted in Lithuania, Vladimir Putin says Russia is ‘ready' for nuclear war, Several are dead after violence flares in the West Bank, Kenya pauses its UN policing mission to Haiti, the House passes a bill to ban TikTok unless the platform is sold, six counts are dismissed against Trump and his allies in the Georgia election case, an appeals court says the FTC can reopen a Meta privacy case, an open letter from 55 academics criticizes the UK COVID inquiry and RFK Jr. is reportedly considering Aaron Rodgers and Jesse Ventura as his running mate. Sources: https://www.verity.news/

This week we talk about foreign aid, brain drain, and long-term economic consequences.We also discuss the Rasputitsa, counteroffensives, and strategic rethinks.Recommended Book: The Kaiju Preservation Society by John ScalziTranscriptWe've done this a few times before, but it's been a while since I've done a real update on Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine—September of last year, I think, was the last one, a bonus episode on the topic—and a fair bit has happened since then, even if a lot of these happenings have been overshadowed by other conflicts, most especially the invasion of Gaza by Israel following the attacks on Israel by Gaza-based Hamas.But before diving into what's been happening, recently, in Ukraine, let's walk through a quick summary of events up till this point.In early 2014, Ukraine's people rose up against their Russia-aligned government in what became known as the Maidan Revolution or Revolution of Dignity.This was a long time coming, by many estimates, because of changes that had been made to the country's constitution and government since a decade previous, most of those changes orienting Ukraine more toward Russia's sphere of influence, authoritarian policies, and various sorts of corruption at the top, and the protests that led to this revolution began in November of 2013 before culminating in February the following year, which led to the toppling of the government, the creation of a new, interim government, the president fleeing to Russia, and new elections that kicked off a period of decoupling from Russian influence.This was not well received in Russia, which has long seen Ukraine as being under its sway, if not belonging to Russia, outright, Ukraine serving as a large, friendly buffer between it and Europe, so Russian forces were send in, the flags and other identifiers on their fatigues removed, to support separatists in the eastern portion of Ukraine.This sparked what became known as the Donbas War, which periodically flared up and sometimes merely simmered, but continued from when it began in February of 2014 all the way up to Russia's more formal invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, following several months of buildup along the countries' shared border.Against the odds and most analysts' assumptions, Ukraine managed to fend off Russia's initial assault, Russia managing to capture some territory, but not the capital city, Kyiv, and thus it wasn't able to decapitate the Ukrainian government and replace it with folks who would be loyal to Russia, as was apparently planned.Russia's stated plans changed several times over the next few years, as their assaults continued to falter in the face of stiffer than expected resistance, and eventually the so-called "special military operation" in Ukraine became a more overt, full-on war, complete with forced conscriptions, massive loss of life, the demolition of infrastructure and entire towns, and a recalibration of the global order, new alliances popping up, others being challenged, and everyone, to some degree at least, being sorted into categories based on who they support, who they don't, and who they are willing to tolerate despite not supporting—that latter category consisting mostly of less-aligned nations like Brazil and India, which have done pretty well for themselves, economically, staying somewhat neutral and aloof from this conflict, and thus continuing to deal with both the Western alliance supporting Ukraine, and the comparably small team of opposing nations, including China, North Korea, and Iran, all of which back Russia to varying degrees.In September of 2023, when I did the last update episode on this conflict, the state of play was largely defined by drone-based harassment of soldiers and infrastructure, like energy sources and bridges, by both sides against the other, Ukraine's flagging counteroffensive against Russia, which started out pretty good, but then ran intro trouble, seemingly due to sturdy Russian defenses that had been built around the portion of Ukraine they'd captured, the arrival of the "Rasputitsa" muddy season, which makes movement difficult in the region, and discussions about whether the US would provide longer-range artillery to Ukrainian forces, as Russia was comfortably settled-in, lobbing endless missiles and drones at Ukrainian forces and civilians, so longer-range munitions would help Ukraine counter that advantage, but there were concerns that this could lead to more attacks by Ukraine against Russian targets within Russia, which—because they would be using US weaponry—could help Russia justify expanding the war, which could, in turn, lead to WWIII, nuclear deployments, and the end of the world.There was also discussion about whether the US should keep sending tens of billions of dollars to Ukraine, with Republicans mostly saying it wasn't okay, and some European leaders, especially those in Hungary, saying the same, while essentially everyone else said we need to keep Ukraine stocked with weapons and ammo, as the money is well-invested.What I'd like to talk about today is what's happened in the months since, and what folks in the know are expecting to happen, next.—Since last September, the debate over sending money to Ukraine has increased in volume, with countries like the UK scrambling to increase their funding to help fill the gap left by the US, where Congress is still deadlocked over a $60 billion aid package, the lack of which has left the Ukrainian government in the lurch, debating tax increases and spending cuts, while also rationing ammo, because they've hit their ceiling in terms of spending.Most of those gap-filling aid packages from elsewhere, though, weigh in at tens or hundreds of millions, not billions, so one of the main challenges Ukraine faces right now is figuring out how to adapt their strategy for a wartime reality in which they're not well-funded from outside sources, as there's a chance more funding could eventually arrive from the US and other sources, but it's looking like the appetite for uncapped aid checks is drying up, even though Ukrainian President Zelensky continues to make the case that funding his country's defense is an investment, not a hand-out, because it ties up, and potentially even halts Russia's military ambitions in the area, which might otherwise be aimed at other nations Russia considers to be part of its orbit, and in some cases even thinks of as stolen territory, like Estonia—an attack on which would bring the whole of NATO into a conflict like the one Ukraine alone is facing, currently.Ukraine has also been escalating its attacks, mostly surreptitious, but sometimes a bit more flagrant, into Russian territory near their shared border, using on the ground special forces teams on occasion, but mostly leveraging their remote-controlled and autonomous drone fleet to strike primarily military and energy targets, like fuel depots and fighter jets parked at airports.Over this same period, Russia has hammered Ukrainian cities and towns with heavier-than-usual waves of rockets and explosive drones, targeting some military infrastructure, but more often hitting civilian centers, apartment buildings, and shopping malls.A much-vaunted counterattack by Ukraine against Russian forces occupying their territory in November of 2023 achieved a few small, mostly symbolic goals, but failed to tally the large number of strategic successes accomplished during another counterattack earlier in the year.This failure to replicate that previous success led to a wave of pessimism in Ukraine and allied nations, and new calls for some kind of peace talks—though then, as now, the Ukrainian government maintains that it won't hold serious talks until Russian forces have left the Ukrainian territory they've occupied, and they also say—with merit, according to most analysts—that any ceasefire before a Ukrainian victory would mostly benefit Russia, which would likely spend the time shoring-up its military and then invade again within the next few years, no matter what the terms of the ceasefire said.So a ceasefire, at this point, would seemingly favor Russia, and most experts think the current situation on the ground in Ukraine favors Russia, as well, though Russia is suffering some serious consequences from their invasion, both of the short- and long-term variety.In the short-term, Russia's economy—though not collapsing as many of the nations applying sanctions, like the US and EU countries, had hoped—is not doing anywhere near as well as it would have been doing, had this invasion not happened, or had it gone better for them, ending quickly, within a few days or a week, as they had initially expected.It's become a lot more difficult for them to do business with much of the world, too, and their influence over global energy markets in particular have been severely hamstrung, which in turn has lessened the geopolitical heft of the OPEC + Russia oil cartel.Russia has also nearly emptied its prisons, giving even incredibly violent and unstable prisoners the option of joining the military and being sent to the frontlines, those who survive granted their freedom; and this has reportedly led to a lot of horribleness back home, as these prisoners have been causing the sorts of trouble you might expect violent and unstable people to cause after being freed from prison, with the addition of also potentially suffering from the effects of PTSD and other sorts of trauma from having survived on the frontline of what has often been described as a meatgrinder sort of conflict, and in some headline-grabbing cases, they've brought military weapons back home with them, allowing them to cause enough more damage than would have otherwise been possible.Russian citizens also have to worry about being conscripted, in some cases grabbed from the street and taken, with little preparation, to the front line somewhere in Ukraine, and about the sporadic drone attacks from Ukrainian special forces and Russian groups that support Ukraine in this conflict.More abstractly, the Russian economy is not doing great, they've been largely unable to produce much in the way of high-end or high-tech goods for several years, now, and they're also running short of workers, more than 43% of industrial enterprises in the country reporting worker shortages as of July, 2023.In parallel, more than 1000 companies have withdrawn from Russia, including their own google-equivalent, Yandex, which took a 50% hit on its already substantially depleted value just to be able to leave the country and operate elsewhere; this has given the Russian government more direct control over their regional slice of the internet, but it's also a tradeoff many companies, international and local, have decided to make, as being cut off from the rest of the world and having significant sanctions applied to their behaviors if they stick around generally isn't considered to be worth the upsides.Also leaving Russia are its people. And while there will almost certainly be long-term consequences of those contemporary economic issues for Russia and Russians, this so-called "brain drain" could prove to be even more significant, especially when paired with the large number of deaths amongst Russia's troops, estimated to tally somewhere between 70 and 120 thousand since the full-scale, 2022-era invasion began.Also since late-February 2022, at least 2,500 scientists have left Russia, and that's on top of the around 50,000 Russia's own Academy of Sciences estimates it has lost over the past five years—all those researchers moving to greener pastures in other countries.An estimated 11-28% of the country's software developers have fled, and as of early 2023, it was estimated that hundreds of thousands of young people have left Russia since the invasion.Research from within Russia that same year indicated that about 1.5 million people under the age of 35 left the Russian workforce in the year between December of 2021 and December of 2022, alone, for brain drain and other reasons, and this—combined with all the young people who have been conscripted, adding up to around 521,000 soldiers by the end of 2023, the goal being around 745,000 by the end of 2024—that's a lot of people, all from a relatively narrow age demographic, roughly 18 to 30, who are not working, are not getting a formal education, who are not dating, not home with kids or their older family members, to take care of them.From a demographer's perspective, this is the seed-corn of a country, the next generation that will step into roles that are currently held by the adults in the room. And Russia is a country of around 144 million people, so it's not small, and these figures won't wipe them out or anything, but their population has been on the decline since the mid-1990s, and the median age in the country is already just over 39 years old.So losing, to other countries, to the black market, maybe, or to death, disability, or the other consequences of a military conflict, a significant chunk of the younger portion of your population is not ideal, as that leaves a country with fewer people who are capable of stepping into the roles that their elders will be leaving over the next few decades, and that means fewer younger people to keep the economy ticking along, to make discoveries, to earn money and pay taxes, which over time perpetuates all kinds of negative cascades and spirals, economically, demographically, and in terms of a country's capacity to compete, globally.One of the most long-lasting consequences of this invasion, then, could be a demographic collapse in Russia that leads to untold consequences, up to and including the eventual overthrow of a government that, no matter how cleverly it navigates this war and whatever happens next, won't be able to bring renewed equilibrium, safety, success, and flourishing back to the country, because of issues like demography that are not really salvageable once the dice are cast.Of course, Ukraine is in an even worse state, and would be even if all the money than had been promised and implied by its wealthy western allies had arrived on time: the country is devastated, its people are almost uniformly traumatized, it's governance and infrastructure is operating only at subsistence level, and some of its towns and cities have been almost entirely leveled, no buildings left standing, completely unlivable, and not just because there's no running water or electricity or shelter—the very soil in many of these areas, some of which are vital breadbasket regions for the world, have been polluted with toxins and chemicals from the conflict, and that's when they haven't been freckled with mines.Over the past few months, the story on the ground has remained largely the same, with Russia managing to take a few symbolic and moderately strategic cities and towns, and the front line barely moving at all in either direction.Ukraine has been hobbled by a lack of resources and those aforementioned defense lines Russia set up, after it committed to hold still, shooting long distance stuff, and periodically flooding the zone with meat-shield, waves of soldiers, which seems to be working decently well, though with a significant loss of life as a tradeoff.The Ukrainian leadership replaced the country's commander-in-chief in early February 2024, amidst rumors of disagreements between him in the president about how to proceed, and there's been word that the US is encouraging Ukrainian's government to settle in for the long-haul, rather than aiming for shorter-term victories and press release-worthy counterattacks, building up their in-country manufacturing capacity so they can produce their own weapons and ammo, and making it more likely that Russia will likewise be tied up indefinitely, having to invest more and more resources for every square foot it takes and occupies.The degree to which this will work has been questioned, and Russia has shown itself to be more than capable of striking targets well beyond the front lines, so anything Ukraine builds, especially in terms of military manufacturing capacity, would likely be targeted before it could come online.In Russia, anti-government sentiment was recently inflamed by the seeming killing of anti-Putin crusader Aleksei Navalny, who was previously reportedly poisoned by the Russian government, before returning to the country, being put in a prison camp, and then apparently killed—though the nature of his death and treatment of his body, family, and supporters after the event has left this sequence of events as much of a puzzle as the deaths of the other people who have run afoul of the Kremlin and then mysteriously died of poisons, by falling out of windows, and so on—the specifics are in question, but most experts assume these deaths were ordered by Putin or one of his people.The degree to which this will matter, how much this renewed support of anti-Putin people and causes will impact anything in a country that's pretty well locked down in Putin's favor at this point, is a big question mark right now.But it is a wildcard that could go on to influence this larger conflict, and the eventual state of this part of the world when it finally ends, whenever that happens to be.Though at this point, knowing what we know now, publicly, it seems likely to persist for at least another year, and maybe a lot longer than that.Show Noteshttps://www.semafor.com/article/02/06/2024/sale-of-russias-google-yandex-tightens-moscows-grip-on-the-internethttps://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/02/13/russia-diaspora-war-ukraine/https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2023/04/11/russia-lost-13m-young-workers-in-2022-research-a80784https://archive.ph/oEs0lhttps://thebarentsobserver.com/en/2024/01/brain-drain-hammering-russia-more-2500-scientists-have-already-left-disaster-experts-sayhttps://archive.ph/n1D8Rhttps://archive.ph/XXKPwhttps://archive.ph/YKfDRhttps://www.npr.org/2023/05/31/1176769042/russia-economy-brain-drain-oil-prices-flee-ukraine-invasionhttps://www.themoscowtimes.com/2023/04/11/russia-lost-13m-young-workers-in-2022-research-a80784https://www.worldometers.info/world-population/russia-population/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Economic_impact_of_the_Russian_invasion_of_Ukrainehttps://www.reuters.com/world/india-says-it-busts-trafficking-racket-duping-people-into-fighting-russia-2024-03-08/?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=emailhttps://www.reuters.com/world/us-embassy-warns-imminent-extremist-attack-moscow-2024-03-08/?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=emailhttps://www.france24.com/en/europe/20240308-turkey-ready-host-ukraine-russia-peace-summit-erdogan-zelensky?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=emailhttps://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/09/world/europe/russia-ukraine-avdiivka-villages.htmlhttps://www.nytimes.com/2024/03/10/world/europe/ukraine-women-soldiers-army.htmlhttps://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/russia-ukraine-war-putin-nato-troops-latest-b2510252.htmlhttps://reuters.com/world/europe/pope-says-ukraine-should-have-courage-white-flag-negotiations-2024-03-09/https://www.reuters.com/pictures/ukraines-winter-war-scenes-frozen-frontlines-2024-03-08/https://www.wsj.com/world/russia-is-pumping-out-weaponsbut-can-it-keep-it-up-ba30bb04https://archive.ph/T6lK8https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Revolution_of_Dignityhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russo-Ukrainian_Warhttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_the_Russian_invasion_of_Ukraine This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit letsknowthings.substack.com/subscribe

(01:19) Vrijdag werd Aleksei Navalny een kerkelijk begraven. Waarom heeft de Russische regering nu toch een officiële begrafenis toegestaan? En wat is de rol van de Russisch-Orthodoxe kerk als het gaat om vijanden van het regime? Ruslandkenner Hubert Smeets is te gast.  (15:03) De column is van Suzanna Jansen.  (20:05) Kan een Zwarte vrouw countrymuziek maken? Het klinkt als een vreemde vraag, maar in Amerika is daar op het moment veel discussie over. En dat terwijl countrymuziek juist een diepe connectie heeft met Afro-Amerikaanse cultuur. Muzikant en gitarist Joep Pelt is te gast.    (33:16) Hekserij, moordpartijen en orgies. Het ging er heftig aan toe aan het 17e eeuwse Engelse hof, als we de nieuwe dramaserie Mary & George mogen geloven. De serie pretendeert op waarheid gebaseerd te zijn, maar ging het er echt zo wild aan toe? Te gast daarover is historica Nadine Akkerman.  (43:15) Bart bespreekt twee boeken:  Ned Blackhawk – De herontdekking van Amerika  Rory Stewart – Op het scherpst van de snede  Meer info: https://www.vpro.nl/programmas/ovt/luister/afleveringen/2024/03-03-2024.html  (https://www.vpro.nl/programmas/ovt/luister/afleveringen/2024/03-03-2024.html)

Vrijdag werd Aleksei Navalny begraven op de begraafplaats van de Kerk van de Moeder Gods ‘Verzacht mijn Lijden' in de buitenwijk van Moskou waar Navalny leefde. Er werd lang gespeculeerd dat het lichaam wellicht zou verdwijnen om te voorkomen dat er een bedevaartsoord zou ontstaan. Waarom heeft de Russische regering nu toch een officiële begrafenis toegestaan? En wat is de rol van de Russisch-Orthodoxe kerk als het gaat om vijanden van het regime? Ruslandkenner Hubert Smeets is te gast.

1 em cada 8 pessoas no planeta estão obesas, segundo estudo publicado na revista The Lancet. Tem também: - Hamas acusa tropas de Israel de dispararem contra civis que aguardavam para receber ajuda militar - Funeral de Aleksei Navalny vai ser realizado hoje em Moscou - Putin responde presidente francês Emmanuel Macron, que não descartou o envio de tropas da OTAN ao território ucraniano - Ex-presidente da Argentina é acusado de desvio de verbas - Mais de 61 milhões de eleitores vão às urnas no Irã - Emissão de gás carbônico no planeta ligado à produção de energia aumentou 1,1% em 2023 Conheçam Gabriel Gonti https://open.spotify.com/intl-pt/artist/7BPHTWFEfvH7HPfHLU1EOg?si=6GL2_C1xSyqi3eXwNNw25Q Ajude a fazer o 180” através da chave pix 180segundos@hdln.com Siga a gente no Instagram https://www.instagram.com/volta_180_segundos/ e Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/company/volta-ao-mundo-em-180-segundos/?viewAsMember=true Escute Território Livre. https://open.spotify.com/show/1M8rgHOjCrZw4hvWDyoAjs?si=c24baabfb4a64987 Ouça também Mulheres no Mapa. https://open.spotify.com/episode/09v60Ne3c5z6WhXINVkFNw?si=a883eb369a4244bd E conheça o Esquerda Volver. https://open.spotify.com/episode/2j5xLtwMN45zcPPVTT0p2E?si=1ba178ba64d44bb4 Quer ler nosso boletim na íntegra? Acesse https://180-segundos.headline.com.br/ --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/voltaaomundoem180s/message

Congresso francês se reunirá na próxima segunda-feira para fazer a modificação da Constituição. E mais: - Em Gana, ser homossexual é crime com pena de até 5 anos - 130 reféns levados pelo Hamas em 7 de outubro do ano passado ainda estão retidos - Durante evento, Putin pronunciará as prioridades da Rússia para o ano - A região separatista da Transnistria, na Moldávia, adotou uma declaração pedindo a proteção russa diante do governo moldavo - Aleksei Navalny será enterrado amanhã em Moscou - Presidente de Senegal faz o seu governo adotar anistia geral para os manifestantes que se opuseram ao governo - Sonda Odysseus enviou suas primeiras fotos da Lua Ajude a fazer o 180” através da chave pix 180segundos@hdln.com Siga a gente no Instagram https://www.instagram.com/volta_180_segundos/ e Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/company/volta-ao-mundo-em-180-segundos/?viewAsMember=true Escute Território Livre. https://open.spotify.com/show/1M8rgHOjCrZw4hvWDyoAjs?si=c24baabfb4a64987 Ouça também Mulheres no Mapa. https://open.spotify.com/episode/09v60Ne3c5z6WhXINVkFNw?si=a883eb369a4244bd E conheça o Esquerda Volver. https://open.spotify.com/episode/2j5xLtwMN45zcPPVTT0p2E?si=1ba178ba64d44bb4 Quer ler nosso boletim na íntegra? Acesse https://180-segundos.headline.com.br/ --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/voltaaomundoem180s/message

Ved sin mands skrivebord taler Yulia Navalnaya til russerne i velkendte vendinger. Hun forpligter sig til at bære sin mands åg videre - at være oppositionens ansigt efter hans død - og lover ikke at være bange. Selvom ingen endnu har set hans krop, meldes Aleksei Navalny død, 47 år gammel, i de russiske myndigheders varetægt, langt ude i den sibiriske ødemark. Og nu retter alle blikket mod hans hustru, som i årevis har været hans tro støtte. Kan hun løfte Navalnyjs eftermæle - eller døde han forgæves? DR's Rusland- og Ukraine-korrespondent, Matilde Kimer, fortæller om Navalnys rejse tilbage til Rusland - og hans endeligt. Vært: Simon Stefanski. Program publiceret i DR Lyd d. 21/2.

Matteo Salvini ha assolto da ogni responsabilità Vladimir Putin per la morte di Aleksei Navalny. E' stato l'unico membro di un governo dell'Europa Occidentale a farlo. Le sue parole sono diventate un caso politico. Ma la Lega ha ancora rapporti con la Russia di Putin? E quali sono, più in generale, i rapporti tra i partiti dell'estrema destra europea con il Cremlino? Ne abbiamo parlato in questa puntata di Va Pensiero con Andrea Palladino, giornalista, autore del libro Meloni Segreta e con Guido Caldiron, giornalista del Manifesto

My guest today is Anastasia Burakova, a human rights lawyer and democratic activist from Russia. We are still in shock at the news of the murder of Aleksei Navalny in a high-security penal colony in the settlement of Kharp. Aleksei Navalny's political star rose as a leader of the opposition to the Putin regime in 2011. That year, 2011, played a significant part in the political coming of age of today's guest - Anastasia Burakova, a Russian human rights lawyer and activist for democratic change in Russia - and influenced the trajectory of her professional life.However, ten years later, in November 2021, Anastasia was forced to leave Russia. She moved to Georgia after Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, where she founded the Ark Project (‘Kovcheg'). Initially, set up to offer help to exiled Russians because of their opposition to the war, over time, Ark's activities have broadened.This podcast was recorded on 22 February 2024.My questions include:I am haunted by two thoughts that never leave me now – the death in prison of Aleksei Navalny and the second year of war inUkraine. What thoughts have occupied you most this past week?In an interview almost one year ago, you talked about a ‘white rose' of resistance in Russia. Are there grounds for optimism in Russia today?The journalist Elena Kostyuchenko wrote in her book about Russia: “Why did I ever think my life would be different?” Do you have an answer for her?Tell us a little about your childhood. Were there any key moments in your biography that led you to your choice of profession and the path you followed?You have said that the year 2011 played a big role in your own development. What does 2011 in Russia mean to you? What are your most vivid impressions of that year?You left Russia at the end of 2021, just 10 years later. What happened in the intervening years in the field of civic activism?To what extent did human rights and civic activism face new and more difficult challenges in the period leading up to the invasion of Ukraine? What defined the relationship of the authorities to civil society?Soon after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, you founded the Ark Project. What was the idea behind the project and who are the beneficiaries?Is there any real hope for the Russian opposition in exile? What can it really do? What do the countries that have welcomed Russian exiles have to gain from their presence? Aleksei Navalny from prison urged the Russian people to act. He proposed that people should go to the polling stations on the last day of the election, 17 March, at 12.00 noon local time, and stand in line outside the polling station in protest. Do you think there's a chance that many will do this following his assassination in prison by the Russian authorities?What do you think the future holds for you? And what are your thoughts about the future of Russia?

Tucker Carlson's viral interview with Putin was followed by videos glorifying life in Russia. What's the moral significance of Carlson's “reporting” and the positive reactions to it among some Americans? How does that rosy picture integrate with the death of an imprisoned critic of Putin, Aleksei Navalny? How should we evaluate a journalist who interviews a dictatorial leader such as Putin? Would asking tough questions have made a difference? What's the meaning of Carlson's videos about life in Russia? Join Mike Mazza and Ziemowit Gowin as they analyze the moral-political significance of Carlson's commentary on Russia and Putin.

Last week, the Russian authorities announced that Aleksei A. Navalny, Russia's most prominent opposition leader and an unflinching critic of President Vladimir V. Putin, had died in a remote Arctic prison at the age of 47.Yevgenia Albats, his friend, discusses how Mr. Navalny became a political force and what it means for his country that he is gone.Guest: Yevgenia Albats, a Russian investigative journalist and a friend of Mr. Navalny.Background reading: Who was Aleksei Navalny?The sudden death of Mr. Navalny left a vacuum in Russia's opposition. His widow, Yulia Navalnaya, signaled that she would try to fill the void.For more information on today's episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.

Aleksei Navalny murió el 16 de febrero. No fue la única muerte de un enemigo de Putin esa misma semana. El 13 de febrero apareció en la localidad alicantina de La Vila Joiosa el cadáver de una persona con cinco impactos de bala en el pecho. Al principio, parecía que era un ajuste de cuentas. Pero con el tiempo se ha confirmado que era Maxim Kuznívov, desertor ruso que se escondía, protegido por Ucrania, con una identidad falsa, en España.  Conocemos esta historia con la periodista de internacional de elDiario.es Icíar Gutiérrez y con el periodista de elDiario.es en la Comunitat Valenciana Lucas Marco.  *** Hazte socio de elDiario.es y llévate un año gratis de Podimo, la plataforma de podcast y audiolibros. Todos los detalles en elDiario.es/podimo  *** Envíanos una nota de voz por Whatsapp contándonos alguna historia que conozcas o algún sonido que tengas cerca y que te llame la atención. Lo importante es que sea algo que tenga que ver contigo. Guárdanos en la agenda como “Un tema Al Día”. El número es el 699 518 743. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Om twee redenen kijken we knarsetandend naar de liquidaties van tegenstanders van Poetin: hij laat die openlijk uitvoeren, en wij zijn machteloos. Hij heeft ook wel eens gezegd dat hij met de vijanden van het moederland afrekent, waar die zich ook bevinden. Aleksei Navalny is de zoveelste in een lange rij. Misschien was de arrestatie van vier Russische spionnen in Den Haag, in 2018, het meest illustratief. Het ging om een sullige poging om het gebouw van de OPCW te hacken. Dat mislukte. Ze reisden onder hun eigen namen, hadden paspoorten met opeenvolgende nummers, hadden een taxibonnetje op zak met het adres van de Russische geheime dienst, maakten in Den Haag foto's van elkaar. Het Kremlin leek te schreeuwen: ja, ja, wij zitten hier achter. De moord op de journalist Anna Politkovskaja in 2006 leidde tot een onderzoek door de overgelopen oud-KGB-spion Aleksander Litvinenko, die vervolgens in Londen werd vermoord met een kopje thee waarin radioactief polonium zat. Hetzelfde overkwam Pussy Riot oprichter Pjotr Verzoliv, die op het nippertje overleefde. Net als oud-spion Skripal en zijn dochter. Idem Vladimir Kara-Muzra, een invloedrijke oppositiefiguur, die zelfs twee vergiftigingen overleefde. En natuurlijk Boris Nemtsov, oud-vicepremier en later keiharde Poetin-criticaster, die op een brug, vlak bij het Kremlin, in een zee van kogels om het leven kwam toen hij met zijn vriendin een wandeling maakte. Of Prigozjin, de baas van huurlingenleger Wagner, die voortdurend openlijk tekeerging tegen Poetin, een staatsgreep probeerde, en vervolgens in zijn eigen vliegtuig werd opgeblazen. Het is een incompleet overzicht, maar iedereen kent de voorbeelden en de waarschuwingen. Drink in Rusland geen thee, kom niet in de buurt van een open raam, denk niet dat je in het buitenland veilig bent. En denk vooral aan het woord van Poetin: we vinden je overal.  Wat ons terugbrengt op onze frustratie: Poetin doet dit allemaal openlijk, arrogant, zelfovertuigd, provocerend. De EU komt niet verder dan het Mensenrechtensanctieregime – een soort sanctiereglement – naar Navalny te noemen. Daar slaapt Poetin geen minuut korter door. ‘Wie doet me wat?' straalt hij uit. Het antwoord is: niemand – helemaal niemand.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Om twee redenen kijken we knarsetandend naar de liquidaties van tegenstanders van Poetin: hij laat die openlijk uitvoeren, en wij zijn machteloos. Hij heeft ook wel eens gezegd dat hij met de vijanden van het moederland afrekent, waar die zich ook bevinden. Aleksei Navalny is de zoveelste in een lange rij. Misschien was de arrestatie van vier Russische spionnen in Den Haag, in 2018, het meest illustratief. Het ging om een sullige poging om het gebouw van de OPCW te hacken. Dat mislukte. Ze reisden onder hun eigen namen, hadden paspoorten met opeenvolgende nummers, hadden een taxibonnetje op zak met het adres van de Russische geheime dienst, maakten in Den Haag foto's van elkaar. Het Kremlin leek te schreeuwen: ja, ja, wij zitten hier achter. De moord op de journalist Anna Politkovskaja in 2006 leidde tot een onderzoek door de overgelopen oud-KGB-spion Aleksander Litvinenko, die vervolgens in Londen werd vermoord met een kopje thee waarin radioactief polonium zat. Hetzelfde overkwam Pussy Riot oprichter Pjotr Verzoliv, die op het nippertje overleefde. Net als oud-spion Skripal en zijn dochter. Idem Vladimir Kara-Muzra, een invloedrijke oppositiefiguur, die zelfs twee vergiftigingen overleefde. En natuurlijk Boris Nemtsov, oud-vicepremier en later keiharde Poetin-criticaster, die op een brug, vlak bij het Kremlin, in een zee van kogels om het leven kwam toen hij met zijn vriendin een wandeling maakte. Of Prigozjin, de baas van huurlingenleger Wagner, die voortdurend openlijk tekeerging tegen Poetin, een staatsgreep probeerde, en vervolgens in zijn eigen vliegtuig werd opgeblazen. Het is een incompleet overzicht, maar iedereen kent de voorbeelden en de waarschuwingen. Drink in Rusland geen thee, kom niet in de buurt van een open raam, denk niet dat je in het buitenland veilig bent. En denk vooral aan het woord van Poetin: we vinden je overal.  Wat ons terugbrengt op onze frustratie: Poetin doet dit allemaal openlijk, arrogant, zelfovertuigd, provocerend. De EU komt niet verder dan het Mensenrechtensanctieregime – een soort sanctiereglement – naar Navalny te noemen. Daar slaapt Poetin geen minuut korter door. ‘Wie doet me wat?' straalt hij uit. Het antwoord is: niemand – helemaal niemand.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Tonight on The Last Word: The Houston Chronicle Editorial Board endorses President Biden. Also, Ohio GOP candidates debate in a primary to decide who faces Democrat Sen. Sherrod Brown. Plus, Aleksei Navalny's death ignites fears of an even more dangerous Vladimir Putin. And Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers signs new election maps into law. Andrew Weissmann, Tim O'Brien, Sen. Sherrod Brown, Ben Rhodes, and Ben Wikler join Lawrence O'Donnell.

Jan Matti Dollbaum -- research group leader at LMU Munich and co-author of the book Navalny: Putin's Nemesis, Russia's Future? – joins host Steve Gutterman to discuss the life, death, and legacy of Aleksei Navalny.

Feb. 20, 2024 ~ Former U.S. Congressman Peter Meijer talks with Guy, Lloyd, and Jamie about the bipartisan foreign aid package in the House, the fallout from the death of Aleksei Navalny, and the FBI director warning of Chinese cyberattacks.

Vida y muerte de Aleksei Navalny, líder disidente ruso. Lee el artículo aquí: https://jugo.pe/la-silla-que-quedara-vacia/Suscríbete a Jugo y espía EN VIVO cómo se tramó este artículo!Nuestros suscriptores pueden entrar por Zoom a nuestras nutritivas —y divertidas— reuniones editoriales. Suscríbete aquí.Haz click aquí para seguirnos en TwitterHaz click aquí para seguirnos en Facebook Haz click aquí para seguirnos Instagram

Nước Nga của Vladimir Putin vừa trở nên ảm đạm và vô hồn hơn kể từ khi xuất hiện tin tức về cái chết ở nhà tù Bắc Cực của Aleksei Navalny. Xem thêm.

A morte de Aleksei Navalny e a retirada de Avdiivka parecem ser sinais de que o poder de Putin e da autocracia russa é cada vez mais difícil de conter, ainda mais de enfrentar. E tudo piora com Trump.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

A cura di Daniele Biacchessi Non si conosce l'orario preciso del decesso di Aleksei Navalny, venerdì 16 febbraio. l'annuncio del Servizio penitenziario federale del distretto autonomo di Jamalo-Nenets avviene alle 16.19 locali (le 14.19 moscovite e le 12.19 italiane), ma il certificato di morte, consegnato sabato alla madre Ljudmila, anticipa la morte di due ore circa, alle 14.17 ora locale. Le spoglie sono state prima portate a Labytnangi, poi in serata a Salekhard, capoluogo della regione di Jamalo-Nenets sul Circolo Polare Artico, infine nell'ospedale distrettuale di via della Pace. Non è la prassi, perché i corpi di coloro che muoiono nelle colonie penali vengono consegnati direttamente all'ufficio di medicina legale. Fino a sabato non era stata effettuata alcuna autopsia. L'unico indizio è che il corpo presenterebbe diversi lividi compatibili con “convulsioni” e tentativi di rianimazione. Fonti non ufficiali, ma verificate, parlano di strani movimenti la sera precedente la morte di Navalny: funzionari dei servizi segreti visti da alcuni abitanti entrare e uscire più volte nel carcere, telecamere di sorveglianza disabilitate, reclusi blindati nelle proprie celle senza motivo. Un detenuto nella stessa colonia di Navalny ha parlato a Novaja Gazeta Europe di un incomprensibile agitazione nella notte di giovedì 15, tanto che l'appello della sera, che di solito avviene tra le 20 e le 20.30, sarebbe stato notevolmente accelerato. La strana morte di Aleksei Navalny, uno dei maggiori oppositori politici a Vladimir Putin, detenuto a "Lupo polare", la prigione di massima sicurezza di Kharp, in Siberia, potrebbe essere la trama di un giallo internazionale, una matassa aggrovigliata che nemmeno il grande scrittore John Le Carré sarebbe riuscito a sciogliere. ___________________________________________________ Ascolta altre produzioni di Giornale Radio sul sito: https://www.giornaleradio.fm oppure scarica la nostra App gratuita: iOS - App Store - https://apple.co/2uW01yA Android - Google Play - http://bit.ly/2vCjiW3 Resta connesso e segui i canali social di Giornale Radio: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/giornaleradio.fm/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/giornale_radio_fm/?hl=it

A cura di Daniele Biacchessi Non si conosce l'orario preciso del decesso di Aleksei Navalny, venerdì 16 febbraio. l'annuncio del Servizio penitenziario federale del distretto autonomo di Jamalo-Nenets avviene alle 16.19 locali (le 14.19 moscovite e le 12.19 italiane), ma il certificato di morte, consegnato sabato alla madre Ljudmila, anticipa la morte di due ore circa, alle 14.17 ora locale. Le spoglie sono state prima portate a Labytnangi, poi in serata a Salekhard, capoluogo della regione di Jamalo-Nenets sul Circolo Polare Artico, infine nell'ospedale distrettuale di via della Pace. Non è la prassi, perché i corpi di coloro che muoiono nelle colonie penali vengono consegnati direttamente all'ufficio di medicina legale. Fino a sabato non era stata effettuata alcuna autopsia. L'unico indizio è che il corpo presenterebbe diversi lividi compatibili con “convulsioni” e tentativi di rianimazione. Fonti non ufficiali, ma verificate, parlano di strani movimenti la sera precedente la morte di Navalny: funzionari dei servizi segreti visti da alcuni abitanti entrare e uscire più volte nel carcere, telecamere di sorveglianza disabilitate, reclusi blindati nelle proprie celle senza motivo. Un detenuto nella stessa colonia di Navalny ha parlato a Novaja Gazeta Europe di un incomprensibile agitazione nella notte di giovedì 15, tanto che l'appello della sera, che di solito avviene tra le 20 e le 20.30, sarebbe stato notevolmente accelerato. La strana morte di Aleksei Navalny, uno dei maggiori oppositori politici a Vladimir Putin, detenuto a "Lupo polare", la prigione di massima sicurezza di Kharp, in Siberia, potrebbe essere la trama di un giallo internazionale, una matassa aggrovigliata che nemmeno il grande scrittore John Le Carré sarebbe riuscito a sciogliere. ___________________________________________________ Ascolta altre produzioni di Giornale Radio sul sito: https://www.giornaleradio.fm oppure scarica la nostra App gratuita: iOS - App Store - https://apple.co/2uW01yA Android - Google Play - http://bit.ly/2vCjiW3 Resta connesso e segui i canali social di Giornale Radio: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/giornaleradio.fm/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/giornale_radio_fm/?hl=it

The Rich Zeoli Show- Full Episode (02/16/2024): 3:05pm- Breaking News: New York Judge Arthur F. Engoron found that the former president Donald Trump inflated the value of assets controlled by the Trump Organization in past financial statements. With no jury, Judge Engoron unilaterally chose to fine Trump $354 million and barred him from conducting business in New York for three years. Notably, in 2018, while campaigning to become New York Attorney General, Letitia James vowed to “sue” Trump and routinely spoke of how she would like to see him imprisoned—providing evidence to the defense's legal argument that this civil suit is entirely political. Trump's legal team is expected to appeal the decision. 3:30pm- In an editorial written for National Review last November, former Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Andrew C. McCarthy wrote of Donald Trump's civil fraud case: “Banks are in the loan business to make money. They are heavily regulated and have shareholders to answer to. If a bunch of them had been collectively bilked out of $168 million, don't you imagine there would have been a lawsuit or ten? It's an amazing thing to watch: Donald Trump, front-runner in the Republican presidential nomination race, is on trial for supposedly inventing wealth that he didn't have; and in order to nail him, elected Democrats [Letitia] James and Arthur Engoron are inventing losses that no one ever suffered.” You can read the full article here: https://www.nationalreview.com/2023/11/elected-dem-ag-and-judge-cook-up-a-fraud-theory-in-trumps-new-york-trial/ 4:05pm- In his 92-page decision against former President Donald Trump, New York Judge Arthur F. Engoron writes: “The English poet Alexander Pope (1688-1744) first declared, ‘To err is human, to forgive is divine.' Defendants apparently are of a different mind. After some four years of investigation and litigation, the only error (‘inadvertent,' of course) that they acknowledge is the tripling of the size of the Trump Tower Penthouse, which cannot be gainsaid. Their complete lack of contrition and remorse borders on pathological. They are accused only of inflating asset values to make more money. The documents prove this over and over again. This is a venial sin, not a mortal sin. Defendants did not commit murder or arson. They did not rob a bank at gunpoint. Donald Trump is not Bernard Madoff. Yet, defendants are incapable of admitting the error of their ways. Instead, they adopt a ‘See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil' posture that the evidence belies.” 4:30pm- Dr. Victoria Coates— Former Deputy National Security Advisor & the Vice President of the Davis Institute for National Security and Foreign Policy at The Heritage Foundation—joins The Rich Zeoli Show to weigh-in on government, including intelligence agencies, being weaponized to target Donald Trump. Dr. Coates notes that for the left: “everything is acceptable if it means you can somehow thwart Trump.” According to Russia's Federal Penitentiary Service, Russian opposition leader Aleksei Navalny died on Friday in an arctic penal colony. He was serving a 19-year prison sentence for “extremism.” Dr. Coates is the author of “David's Sling: A History of Democracy in Ten Works of Art.” You can find her book here: https://www.amazon.com/Davids-Sling-History-Democracy-Works/dp/1594037213 5:05pm- Responding to New York Judge Arthur F. Engoron's civil fraud trial decision, former President Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social: “A Crooked New York State Judge, working with a totally Corrupt Attorney General who ran on the basis of “I will get Trump,” before knowing anything about me or my company, has just fined me $355 Million based on nothing other than having built a GREAT COMPANY. ELECTION INTERFERENCE. WITCH HUNT.” 5:10pm- In an editorial written for National Review last November, former Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Andrew C. McCarthy wrote of Donald Trump's civil fraud case: “Banks are in the loan business to make money. They are heavily regulated and have shareholders to answer to. If a bunch of them had been collectively bilked out of $168 million, don't you imagine there would have been a lawsuit or ten? It's an amazing thing to watch: Donald Trump, front-runner in the Republican presidential nomination race, is on trial for supposedly inventing wealth that he didn't have; and in order to nail him, elected Democrats [Letitia] James and Arthur Engoron are inventing losses that no one ever suffered.” You can read the full article here: https://www.nationalreview.com/2023/11/elected-dem-ag-and-judge-cook-up-a-fraud-theory-in-trumps-new-york-trial/ 5:25pm- While appearing on Fox News with Sean Hannity, Harvard Law Professor Alan Dershowitz reacted to testimony in Thursday's hearing to determine whether Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis should be disqualified from the Georgia election interference case she brought against former President Donald Trump. Dershowitz explained that it is possible that Willis committed perjury. Meanwhile, during a CNN panel, lawyer Jeffrey Toobin said “so what” if Willis and lead prosecutor of the case Nathan Wade had a relationship. 5:40pm- Zack Smith—Legal Fellow and Manager of the Supreme Court and Appellate Advocacy Program in the Edwin Meese III Center for Legal and Judicial Studies at The Heritage Foundation—joins The Rich Zeoli Show to discuss New York Judge Arthur F. Engoron's decision to fine former President Donald Trump $354 million and barring him from conducting business in New York for three years for inflating the value of assets controlled by the Trump Organization in past financial statements. 6:05pm- New York Judge Arthur F. Engoron found that the former president Donald Trump inflated the value of assets controlled by the Trump Organization in past financial statements. With no jury, Judge Engoron unilaterally chose to fine Trump $354 million and barred him from conducting business in New York for three years. Notably, in 2018, while campaigning to become New York Attorney General, Letitia James vowed to “sue” Trump and routinely spoke of how she would like to see him imprisoned—providing evidence to the defense's legal argument that this civil suit is entirely political. Trump's legal team is expected to appeal the decision. Speaking from Palm Beach, Florida, Trump told the press that “the judge is just a corrupt person.” 6:30pm- Thomas Grove and Matthew Luxmoore of The Wall Street Journal write: “Alexei Navalny, a fierce anticorruption campaigner who galvanized Russia's political opposition, died in prison, according to Russian authorities, bringing to an end a life dedicated to fighting the country's descent into authoritarianism under President Vladimir Putin. The cause of his death was still being established, prison authorities said. He collapsed after a walk at his prison colony on Friday after which, they said, he lost consciousness and couldn't be revived. Navalny, who was 47 and had been in jail since 2021, was serving three prison sentences amounting to more than 30 years on charges he and his supporters said were fabricated. He was detained after returning from Germany, where he was recovering from what German doctors said was poisoning with a Soviet-era nerve agent, Novichok. Navalny blamed his poisoning on the Kremlin, which denied involvement in any attempt to harm him.” You can read the full article here: https://www.wsj.com/world/russia/alexei-navalny-dead-prison-putin-critic-d58db496?mod=hp_lead_pos1 6:40pm- The Wall Street Journal Editorial Board writes: “President Biden is trying to strike a contrast with Donald Trump by promising to stick by America's European allies. Perhaps he hasn't heard Vladimir Putin's media organs crowing that his Administration has double-crossed Europe by halting permits for new liquefied natural gas (LNG) export projects. ‘Now it is not Russia, but the United States that wants to bring the Germans to their knees,' gloated the Russian newspaper Pravda after the Energy Department imposed a moratorium on permits for new LNG export projects last month. Pravda argued that Germany will eventually have to return to buying Russian gas because it will have no other choice, and it may be right.” You can read the full editorial here: https://www.wsj.com/articles/biden-lng-exports-ban-russian-media-vladimir-putin-9d31e3a0?mod=opinion_lead_pos4

Dr. Victoria Coates— Former Deputy National Security Advisor & the Vice President of the Davis Institute for National Security and Foreign Policy at The Heritage Foundation—joins The Rich Zeoli Show to weigh-in on government, including intelligence agencies, being weaponized to target Donald Trump. Dr. Coates notes that for the left: “everything is acceptable if it means you can somehow thwart Trump.” According to Russia's Federal Penitentiary Service, Russian opposition leader Aleksei Navalny died on Friday in an arctic penal colony. He was serving a 19-year prison sentence for “extremism.” Dr. Coates is the author of “David's Sling: A History of Democracy in Ten Works of Art.” You can find her book here: https://www.amazon.com/Davids-Sling-History-Democracy-Works/dp/1594037213

The Rich Zeoli Show- Hour 2: In his 92-page decision against former President Donald Trump, New York Judge Arthur F. Engoron writes: “The English poet Alexander Pope (1688-1744) first declared, ‘To err is human, to forgive is divine.' Defendants apparently are of a different mind. After some four years of investigation and litigation, the only error (‘inadvertent,' of course) that they acknowledge is the tripling of the size of the Trump Tower Penthouse, which cannot be gainsaid. Their complete lack of contrition and remorse borders on pathological. They are accused only of inflating asset values to make more money. The documents prove this over and over again. This is a venial sin, not a mortal sin. Defendants did not commit murder or arson. They did not rob a bank at gunpoint. Donald Trump is not Bernard Madoff. Yet, defendants are incapable of admitting the error of their ways. Instead, they adopt a ‘See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil' posture that the evidence belies.” Dr. Victoria Coates— Former Deputy National Security Advisor & the Vice President of the Davis Institute for National Security and Foreign Policy at The Heritage Foundation—joins The Rich Zeoli Show to weigh-in on the power of government being weaponized to target Donald Trump. Dr. Coates notes that for the far-left: “everything is acceptable as long as it's to thwart Trump.” And, according to Russia's Federal Penitentiary Service, Russian opposition leader Aleksei Navalny died on Friday in an arctic penal colony. He was serving a 19-year prison sentence for extremism. Dr. Coates is the author of “David's Sling: A History of Democracy in Ten Works of Art.” You can find her book here: https://www.amazon.com/Davids-Sling-History-Democracy-Works/dp/1594037213

More reaction on the Fani Willis misconduct trial. Trump ordered to pay $354m in New York fraud case also barred from running businesses in N.Y. for three years.  Aleksei Navalny, Russian Opposition Leader, Dies in Prison. Should America have a National Divorce.  Car Talk with Leland Live.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

More reaction on the Fani Willis misconduct trial. Trump ordered to pay $354m in New York fraud case also barred from running businesses in N.Y. for three years.  Aleksei Navalny, Russian Opposition Leader, Dies in Prison. Should America have a National Divorce.  Car Talk with Leland Live.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

More reaction on the Fani Willis misconduct trial. Trump ordered to pay $354m in New York fraud case also barred from running businesses in N.Y. for three years.  Aleksei Navalny, Russian Opposition Leader, Dies in Prison. Should America have a National Divorce.  Car Talk with Leland Live.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

More reaction on the Fani Willis misconduct trial. Trump ordered to pay $354m in New York fraud case also barred from running businesses in N.Y. for three years.  Aleksei Navalny, Russian Opposition Leader, Dies in Prison. Should America have a National Divorce.  Car Talk with Leland Live.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Breege discovered from Revenue that, to her surprise, Taxrebate.ie were now her tax agent. Callers discuss the death of Aleksei Navalny. Listeners discuss their experiences with Dupuytren's Contracture.

Welcome to the fifteenth edition of our Russian-language podcast Then & Now with me, Teresa Cherfas. My guest today is Anna Karetnikova. Until recently, Anna Karetnikova lived and worked in Moscow. In 2016, she was appointed lead analyst to the Federal Penitentiary Service – FSIN. Prior to that, she served for eight years as a member of the Public Oversight Commission (POC) in Moscow and worked closely with the human rights organisation “Memorial”.Anna Karetnikova exemplified that rare combination in Russia of someone who was both a human rights activist and a government-appointed official working for the FSIN. For several years she pulled this off brilliantly. But just over a year ago, she was forced to leave Russia. The events that led to this decision and how she feels about life in exile are among the topics we will be talking about.This podcast was recorded on 8 February 2024.ou can also listen to the podcast on SoundCloud, Podcasts.com, Spotify, iTunes, Google Podcasts and YouTube. My questions include:Before your appointment to the Federal Penitentiary Service, you worked in the Public Oversight Commission in Moscow. What were the functions of this commission and how did your work there lead to your appointment to the Federal Penitentiary Service?Did you have any interests or occupations from a young age which helped you decide to take up this kind of work?How did it happen that you were invited to join the FSIN? What did your work there involve? Is it true there is no such position as lead analyst in any other regional branch of the FSIN?How does the system of corresponding with political prisoners work? Do they really receive letters of support from people they don't know? Do the authorities still allow this?Unlike many of your colleagues, acquaintances and friends in human rights organizations, you stayed in Russia after the Special Military Operation was launched on February 24th 2022? Was leaving Russia not an issue for you at that time?What changed in the FSIN system that prompted you to decide to leave Russia almost a year later?What was your reaction when you learned about the recruitment of lifers in the penal system to the Wagner private military company? What did it say about the attitude of the authorities both to the war and to society as a whole?What changes did you observe in the FSIN and in the regime to prisons and penal colonies after the start of the war?And in the treatment of prisoners? Were there problems, for example, with supplies? Or other issues? xould they still correspond with relatives and have visits from them?Would you say the numbers of political prisoners has increased since the start of the war?With your experience and knowledge of the penal system in Russia, what can you comment about the treatment of Aleksei Navalny in the penal colony? To what extent does his treatment differ from the treatment of other prisoners? And how?And Vladimir Kara-Murza? Could you comment on his recent transfer to the correctional colony No. 7 Omsk. You currently live in France. Why France?How do you see your future? And the future of Russia?

My guest today is Natalya Zyagina, head of the Moscow branch of Amnesty International shut down by the Russian authorities in 2022. Natalya Zvyagina has a long record as a Russian human rights activist. She is originally from the city of Voronezh, where she worked for many years in the Interregional Human Rights Group. Natalya has also worked at the Institute for Law and Public Policy, a non-profit organization based in Moscow, and at the Russian branch of Transparency International.This recording was made on 30 November 2023.In addition to our website, you can also listen to the podcast on SoundCloud, Podcasts.com, Spotify, iTunes, Google Podcasts, Anchor and YouTube. My questions include:First of all, please tell us about your work in Voronezh. What prompted you to become involved in human rights work?In the 1990s Voronezh became one of the main centres of human rights activity in Russia, and many of Russia's leading human rights defenders come from there. What do you attribute this to?In 2018, you took up the post of head of Amnesty International's Moscow office. What were your expectations at that time? What was Amnesty's role in Russia at that time? How did the Russian human rights community feel about the organisation?Looking back, how do you assess the change in the status of Aleksei Navalny, whose recognition as a prisoner of conscience was removed for a while, although now he is again recognised as such? And how important is Amnesty's classification of people as “prisoners of conscience” for the Russian public and human rights community in general?In March 2022, the Russian media regulator blocked access to Amnesty International's Russian-language website. What impact did this decision have on your work?In April of the same year Russian authorities removed the Amnesty's registration as a representative office in Moscow. In addition to Amnesty's office, the Russian Ministry of Justice closed the offices of 15 representative offices of foreign NGOs and foundations, including Human Rights Watch, the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, Heinrich Böll, Friedrich Naumann, Friedrich Ebert, and other organizations. The Justice Ministry said at the time that this was done “in connection with revealed violations of Russian law.” What was all this in fact about?At the time, Agnès Callamard, secretary general of Amnesty International, said that Amnesty would continue its work to document and expose human rights abuses in Russia despite the office closure. How easy was it for Amnesty to continue its work without a Moscow office? What has been your personal situation and that of other staff members since then?Where were you when Russia invaded Ukraine? Did the invasion of Ukraine come as a shock to you?Are the current extreme measures against human rights in Russia a result of the war? Or have the policies of the Putin regime been moving in this repressive direction anyway?After all these events, a new conflict has erupted in the Middle East. Has this had any impact on your work at Amnesty?How do you assess the events in Dagestan in relation to the war in the Middle East?Many human rights defenders have left Russia. What is life like for those who have remained in the country? Can they do any meaningful work at all?Recently, the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs drafted a bill that would require foreigners visiting Russia to declare their “loyalty” to the Russian authorities. What does this mean?How do you see the future of human rights work in Russia?

I venezuelani sostengono la candidata che sfiderà Maduro, ancora violenze nello Stato messicano di Guerrero e Aleksei Navalny allontanato con la forza dalla sua cella

President Vladimir Putin's most prominent foe, the imprisoned opposition leader Aleksei Navalny, has been convicted of extremism and sentenced to 19 years in the harshest kind of penitentiary Russia has. Jan Matti Dollbaum -- co-author of the book Navalny: Putin's Nemesis, Russia's Future? -- joins host Steve Gutterman to talk about what the verdict means for Navalny and for Russia.

Today on News Du Jour, we cover more classified documents found in Biden's possession (launching an investigation), nurses strike resolved in NYC, and Aleksei Navalny faces health crisis in Russian prison. — Connect with us: + WEBSITE: www.sugarfreemedia.co + INSTAGRAM: www.instagram.com/sugarfreemedia.co + TIKTOK: www.TikTok.com/@sugarfreemedia BECOME A PATRON: www.patreon.com/sugarfreemedia SHOP MERCH: www.sugarfreemedia.co/shop News Du Jour is a 10-15 minute daily news recap. We strive to relay stories in a calm, approachable way. We cover everything from politics, to art, to business, to celebrity news, and more. Be sure to subscribe so you‘re always up to date! If you enjoy News Du Jour, be sure to leave us a rating/review or share our podcast with friends, family, colleagues, or on social media! You can also always READ the News Du Jour on our website at: https://sugarfreemedia.co/category/news-du-jour/ --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/newsdujour/support

Today we're bringing you an episode from our friends at Sway about the war in Ukraine and the challenges of conflict-zone reporting. Clarissa Ward has had, as she puts it, a “long and very complicated relationship” with Russia. The chief international correspondent for CNN, she has had stints in Moscow since the beginning of her career, and has struggled to get a Russian visa since she investigated the 2020 poisoning of the Russian opposition leader Aleksei Navalny.But that hasn't stopped her from reporting on the region, and in particular on Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Yet after months of war, it can be an uphill battle to keep the viewers' attention on the front line. “Our job is to keep finding ways to make sure that we don't become numb and desensitized to the horrors of war, because that is exactly how wars continue and grind on,” Ward says.In this conversation, taped last week, Kara talks to Ward about her time reporting in Ukraine, what it's like to “let fear sit in the passenger seat” when reporting from the front and how the hangover of war can leave correspondents detached from the “bourgeois and banal” normalcy of home.You can find transcripts (posted midday) and more information for all episodes at nytimes.com/sway, and you can find Kara on Twitter @karaswisher.“The Ezra Klein Show” is produced by Annie Galvin, Jeff Geld and Rogé Karma; fact-checking by Michelle Harris; original music by Isaac Jones; mixing by Jeff Geld; audience strategy by Shannon Busta. Our executive producer is Irene Noguchi. Special thanks to Kristin Lin and Kristina Samulewski.

Clarissa Ward has had, as she puts it, a “long and very complicated relationship” with Russia. The chief international correspondent for CNN, she has had stints in Moscow since the beginning of her career, and has struggled to get a Russian visa since she investigated the 2020 poisoning of the Russian opposition leader Aleksei Navalny.But that hasn't stopped her from reporting on the region, and in particular on Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Yet after months of war, it can be an uphill battle to keep the viewers' attention on the front line. “Our job is to keep finding ways to make sure that we don't become numb and desensitized to the horrors of war, because that is exactly how wars continue and grind on,” Ward says.In this conversation, taped last week, Kara talks to Ward about her time reporting in Ukraine, what it's like to “let fear sit in the passenger seat” when reporting from the front and how the hangover of war can leave correspondents detached from the “bourgeois and banal” normalcy of home.You can find transcripts (posted midday) and more information for all episodes at nytimes.com/sway, and you can find Kara on Twitter @karaswisher.

Clarissa Ward has had, as she puts it, a “long and very complicated relationship” with Russia. The chief international correspondent for CNN, she has had stints in Moscow since the beginning of her career, and has struggled to get a Russian visa since she investigated the 2020 poisoning of the Russian opposition leader Aleksei Navalny.But that hasn't stopped her from reporting on the region, and in particular on Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Yet after months of war, it can be an uphill battle to keep the viewers' attention on the front line. “Our job is to keep finding ways to make sure that we don't become numb and desensitized to the horrors of war, because that is exactly how wars continue and grind on,” Ward says.In this conversation, taped last week, Kara talks to Ward about her time reporting in Ukraine, what it's like to “let fear sit in the passenger seat” when reporting from the front and how the hangover of war can leave correspondents detached from the “bourgeois and banal” normalcy of home.You can find transcripts (posted midday) and more information for all episodes at nytimes.com/sway, and you can find Kara on Twitter @karaswisher.

Imprisoned Kremlin opponent Aleksei Navalny is handed a new nine-year sentence, part of a sweeping and persistent clampdown on dissent in Russia as the war in Ukraine -- which President Vladimir Putin may have expected to last a few days -- enters its second month. Ben Noble, an associate professor of Russian politics at University College London and co-author of a recent book about Navalny, joins host Steve Gutterman on Twitter Spaces to discuss.

There's talk of summit talks as tension spikes in the Donbas, adding to fears of a new Russian invasion of Ukraine. Meanwhile, Kremlin foe Aleksei Navalny is on trial again. Mark Galeotti, author, analyst of Russian politics, and honorary professor at the UCL School of Slavonic and East European Studies in London joins host Steve Gutterman to discuss.

As the tension over Moscow's military buildup near Ukraine's borders mounts, the Kremlin's clampdown on dissent, civil society, and independent media in Russia continues, with Aleksei Navalny facing a new trial and a 16-year-old boy sentenced to prison in a controversial case. Irina Lagunina, director of special projects at RFE/RL's Russian Service, joins host Steve Gutterman to discuss.

This week our guest on the podcast is Konstantin Aleksandrovich Kotov, a Russian computer programmer and civil society activist. In 2019 Konstantin Kotov was the second person to be convicted under the so-called ‘Dadin' Article 212.1 that was added to the Russian Criminal Code in July 2014 – ‘Repeated violation of the established procedure for organizing or holding a meeting, rally, demonstration, march, or picket.' The topics of our conversation include: the Russian judicial and penitentiary systems, and the current state of human rights in Russia. The questions we are discuss are: Why did you become a civic activist? How unexpected was your arrest, prosecution and imprisonment in 2019? How did you feel at the time? Your arrest and sentence caused a great public outcry. What did this support mean to you? You and the defendant in the New Greatness case, Anna Pavlikova, were married in the building of the Matrosskaya Tishina detention centre where you were held. How did this happen? On 20 April 2020, Moscow City Court reduced your sentence from four years in prison to one year and six months. Through all this time how did you see the work of the Russian legal system, including the President's intervention? What has been your experience of the Russian penitentiary system? How do you assess the current situation in Russia in terms of human rights? What needs to be done to improve the human rights situation in the country? What is the role of civil society and civic activists? What are the prospects for the development of human rights protection in Russia? This podcast is in Russian. You can also listen to the podcast on SoundCloud, Spotify, iTunes, Google Podcasts, Anchor and YouTube. Sergei Nikitin writes on Facebook: “It probably started with the protest on Bolotnaya Square. I was at Bolotnaya, I was at Sakharov Prospekt, I participated in all the peaceful protests that took place in 2011-2012 in Moscow. I had a job, I was a programmer. The turning point was 2018: Oleg Sentsov and his hunger strike. His act touched me deeply: a man risking his life to save others.”Simon Cosgrove and I continue to record our podcasts – conversations with human rights activists, civic activists, lawyers and journalists. Yesterday our interviewee was Konstantin Kotov, the second person convicted under the so-called ‘Dadin' Article 212.1, added to the Russian Criminal Code in July 2014. He was sentenced to 4 years in prison, but was released a year and a half later, in December 2020. The colony was the same Penal Colony in Pokrov where Aleksei Navalny is now imprisoned.“Your day in the colony is strictly regulated: from 6 a.m., when you get up, until 10 p.m., when you go to bed, you don't belong to yourself. “Among other things, Konstantin talked about his experience in prison: “Apart from inspections, sweeping pathways, and other things, you are also obliged to watch TV. Moral support came from letters that I still keep. Many of them came from Amnesty International activists from abroad.”

It's November 7, 2021. Paxton 'kidifies' world news headlines. Aleksei Navalny wins the European Union's top Human Rights award, a transgender woman flees Malaysia, women who want to be judges in Egypt do not have many chances, Mar Menor in Spain is not looking so good, and Colombia now has an anti-machismo hotline.

Aleksei Navalny won't be in Strasbourg this week to pick up a European human rights prize named after Andrei Sakharov, because he's in prison in Russia. Ben Noble, an associate professor of Russian politics at University College London and co-author of the book Navalny: Putin's Nemesis, Russia's Future? joins host Steve Gutterman to discuss the opposition leader and his fate.

Moscow is going into its most restrictive lockdown in over a year this week as coronavirus cases and deaths rise across Russia. And imprisoned Kremlin opponent Aleksei Navalny has won the Sakharov Prose for Freedom of Thought. Moscow-based journalist Matthew Luxmoore joins host Steve Gutterman to discuss.

Ahead of the September 17-19 election of the State Duma and regional balloting across Russia, there's evidence the Kremlin is doing its best to thwart Putin foe Aleksei Navalny's Smart Voting initiative and keep dissent at a minimum. RFE/RL senior correspondent Robert Coalson joins host Steve Gutterman to discuss.

Listen to the Daily Global #News from Grecian Echoes and WNTN 1550 AM. US diplomats in Kabul warned American citizens early this morning to immediately leave several gates into the airport following what one US official called a "very specific threat stream" from a branch of ISIS.  Moderna has completed its submission to the FDA for full approval of its Covid-19 vaccine for people 18 and older.  Delta Air Lines will require unvaccinated employees to pay an extra $200 per month for their health care plans.  From prison, Aleksei Navalny said “Putin's regime” is doomed to collapse.  Red Sox loose in extra innings.

Lawyer Lyubov Sobol, who dropped plans to run for parliament due to pressure, faces a verdict over a protest against Aleksei Navalny's arrest in January. And across the country, a number of activists -- some of them would-be candidates in September elections -- have been subjected to forced medical treatment. RFE/RL senior correspondent Robert Coalson joins host Steve Gutterman to discuss.

Independent media outlets and civic groups are shutting down after being designated "foreign agents" or "undesirable organizations." Russia's media regulator, Roskomnadzor, has blocked 49 websites linked to Aleksei Navalny as the imprisoned opposition leader's associates are arrested or flee the country. And the FSB has published a list of 61 topics that Russians are forbidden to discuss, lest they be designated as foreign agents. Vladimir Putin's regime is dialing the repression up to eleven. On this week's Power Vertical Podcast, host Brian Whitmore discusses what it all means and where it may be going with Maria Snegovaya.

A groundbreaking investigative reporting outfit and a prominent legal-defense group are among the latest victims of the Russian state's sweeping campaign against opponents, civil society, and independent media. Meanwhile, court cases against allies of Aleksei Navalny and others continue. RFE/RL senior correspondent Robert Coalson joins host Steve Gutterman to discuss.

”Jeg er opdraget til at være modig”, fortæller Agnès Callamard. Hun er vokset op i en familie med stærke kvinder og kommer fra et job hos FN, hvor hun blandt andet har efterforsket mordet på Jamal Khashoggi og drabsforsøget på Aleksei Navalny.

A Moscow court may label three organizations linked to imprisoned opposition leader Aleksei Navalny extremist groups this week, part of what Kremlin critics say is an ongoing effort to sideline his supporters and silence dissent. Is the crackdown only connected to the upcoming State Duma elections? Or does it go deeper? Irina Lagunina, director of special projects at RFE/RL's Russian Service, joins host Steve Gutterman to discuss.

This week our guest on the podcast is Sergei Davidis, a member of the board of the Memorial Human Rights Centre and director of the Centre's programme in support of political prisoners.The questions discussed in the podcast include: Sergei Davidis' recent prosecution and jailing ['administrative arrest']; conditions of detention; application to the European Court of Human Rights; numbers of detentions and administrative and criminal cases following this year's protests; Evgeny Roizman, former mayor of Ekaterinburg; Aleksei Navalny; Amnesty International; politics and human rights; ECtHR; right of assembly; freedom of association; Anti-Corruption Foundation; application of extremism law; new legislation and human rights; future of human rights in Russia.This podcast is in Russian. You can also listen to the podcast on our website [https://www.rightsinrussia.org/category/podcasts/] or on SoundCloud, Spotify and iTunes. The music, from Stravinsky's Elegy for Solo Viola, is performed for us by Karolina Herrera.Sergei Nikitin writes: "Sergei Davidis, a member of the board of Memorial Human Rights Centre, was seized in the entryway of his home. The explanation for such an act of gallantry by the police is simple: according to the Russian authorities, notification of an event is now considered to be organization of an event. If we are talking about the kind of event that the authorities in their own jargon call 'unsanctioned', then a person who reposts information about the protest will receive a visit early in the morning. Sergei spent eight days in a special detention centre where those sentenced to administrative detention are held. He was given a total of 10 days, but two of those 10 days were spent in police custody. Simon Cosgrove and I are people with little prison experience (mine is richer than Simon's, but I won't go into that now), so we were interested in what Sergei had to say. Sergei Davidis was good at building relations with cellmates who had nothing to do with Article 20.2 of the Code of Administrative Offences. "None of them like the authorities, they don't approve of them, but they don't want to get involved in the fight." He successfully conducted - according to him - explanatory work to show what political institutions are and what political tools exist. "I did not see any aggression from the staff of the detention centre. Except for one moment, though it was not really aggression but overzealous performance of duty: one of the officers told me that wearing a T-shirt with the slogan 'No to political repression' in their honorable institution was unacceptable. Our podcast proved an interesting conversation with an interesting interlocutor on many topics, including Amnesty International's infamous decision to strip Navalny of his title of prisoner of conscience."Simon Cosgrove adds: "If you want to listen to this podcast on the podcasts.com website and it doesn't seem to play, please download by clicking on the three dots to the right. A summary of some of the week's events in Russia relevant to human rights can be found on our website here: https://www.rightsinrussia.org/week-ending-21-may-2021/ "

It turns out you can use a prank call to expose suspected poisoners, mole patterns to identify a violent demonstrator at a white nationalist rally and online videos to reveal a weapons-smuggling operation to Syrian rebels.At least, Eliot Higgins and the online sleuths at the open source investigative operation Bellingcat can. Since Higgins founded the organization in 2014, his team has helped break major stories, from unearthing evidence that ties Russia to the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 to revealing the identities of Russian agents suspected of poisoning the opposition leader Aleksei Navalny.In this conversation, Kara Swisher asks Higgins about the perils of taking on Vladimir Putin and how Bellingcat's work, which Kara calls “gumshoe journalism,” differs from online vigilantism. She presses Higgins on the ethics of paying for data, partnering with political figures like Navalny and building a company that benefits from the shaky relationship Big Tech has with user privacy.You can find transcripts (posted midday) and more information for all episodes at nytimes.com/sway, and you can find Kara on Twitter @karaswisher.

It turns out you can use a prank call to expose suspected poisoners, mole patterns to identify a violent demonstrator at a white nationalist rally and online videos to reveal a weapons-smuggling operation to Syrian rebels.At least, Eliot Higgins and the online sleuths at the open source investigative operation Bellingcat can. Since Higgins founded the organization in 2014, his team has helped break major stories, from unearthing evidence that ties Russia to the downing of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 to revealing the identities of Russian agents suspected of poisoning the opposition leader Aleksei Navalny.In this conversation, Kara Swisher asks Higgins about the perils of taking on Vladimir Putin and how Bellingcat’s work, which Kara calls “gumshoe journalism,” differs from online vigilantism. She presses Higgins on the ethics of paying for data, partnering with political figures like Navalny and building a company that benefits from the shaky relationship Big Tech has with user privacy.You can find transcripts (posted midday) and more information for all episodes at nytimes.com/sway, and you can find Kara on Twitter @karaswisher.

What would Russia look like today if some of the late Nobel laureate Andrei Sakharov’s ideas had been realized? Also, legislation barring people with ties to Aleksei Navalny and his organizations from running in elections is set to advance in the State Duma this week. RFE/RL senior correspondent Robert Coalson joins host Steve Gutterman to discuss.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has called for tighter gun regulations after a deadly school shooting in Kazan, but will it happen -- and will the Kremlin use the attack to expand control over the Internet? Also, some of the latest victims of the state’s crackdown on perceived opponents are former Moscow subway workers who were fired over alleged support for imprisoned opposition leader Aleksei Navalny. Irina Lagunina, director of special projects at RFE/RL's Russian Service, joins host Steve Gutterman to discuss.

A Russian teenager who has defied the authorities on the streets and in court faces a verdict on a vandalism charge. RFE/RL senior correspondent Robert Coalson joins host Steve Gutterman to discuss Olga Misik's case and take stock of the situation surrounding imprisoned Kremlin foe Aleksei Navalny.

As the government steps up its efforts to neutralize Aleksei Navalny and his supporters across Russia ahead of parliamentary elections due in September, some observers say the repression has reached a point of no return. Has the Kremlin’s crackdown pulled Russia into a dark new era? Irina Lagunina, director of special projects at RFE/RL’s Russian Service, joins host Steve Gutterman to discuss.

Today on News Du Jour, we cover a potential Taliban blast, over 100 colleges in the U.S. will require vaccinations to attend, the Gavin Newsom debacle, a stampede in Israel kills about 45 people, a quick update on Aleksei Navalny, and a quick update on the covid crisis in India. — Connect with us: + EMAIL: annie@sugarfreemedia.co + WEBSITE/ SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER/ BLOG: www.sugarfreemedia.co + INSTAGRAM: www.instagram.com/sugarfreemedia.co + TIKTOK: https://vm.tiktok.com/tCCqwV/ + FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/sugarfreemedia.co + TWITTER: www.twitter.com/sugarfree_media ☕️ News Du Jour is a short daily news recap. We condense each day's stories into a 10-15 minute format and always relay the stories in a calm, digestible format. We cover everything from politics, to fashion, to art, to business, to tech, to celebrity, to world news and more. Be sure to subscribe so you to stay up to date with day-to-day unfolding news stories. ☕️ If you enjoy the News Du Jour, be sure to leave us a review/rating! We would also REALLY appreciate you sharing our podcast with your friends/ family/ colleagues or via all your favorite social media platforms. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/newsdujour/support

Imprisoned Kremlin opponent Aleksei Navalny has ended a hunger strike after more than three weeks of fasting that doctors said would lead to his death if he persisted longer. Meanwhile, his backers are defiant in the face of a potential “extremism” designation that would outlaw his organizations across Russia. RFE/RL senior correspondent Robert Coalson joins host Steve Gutterman to discuss.

RFE/RL senior correspondent Mike Eckel provides clarity on a complex story that appears to tie together a deadly blast at a Czech munitions site in 2014, poisonings in England and Bulgaria, two well-traveled Russian military intelligence agents, and more. Meanwhile, Aleksei Navalny's condition is dire and his supporters plan protests hours after President Vladimir Putin delivers an annual address on April 21.

Kremlin opponent Aleksei Navalny is on a hunger strike in prison, his condition said to be worsening. Tensions rise as the motives behind Russia's military moves in Crimea and close to the Ukrainian border near the Donbas remain murky. Plus, will the Hermitage have to put all its artworks depicting nudes in an adults-only area? Irina Lagunina, director of special projects at RFE/RL's Russian Service, joins host Steve Gutterman to discuss.

Today on News Du Jour, we cover a shooting in Orange County California, Aleksei Navalny on a hunger strike, virus cases going up despite vaccinations, and a small personal detail about President Joe Biden. — BECOME A SUGARFREE MEDIA MEMBER: www.sugarfreemedia.co/membership As a member, you get access to a BONUS episode back stock, our recipe book, our message board, an exclusive member newsletter each month, AND merch discounts. And you support the growth of our show and everything we do! Connect with us: + EMAIL: annie@sugarfreemedia.co + WEBSITE/ SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER/ BLOG: www.sugarfreemedia.co + INSTAGRAM: www.instagram.com/sugarfreemedia.co + TIKTOK: https://vm.tiktok.com/tCCqwV/ + FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/sugarfreemedia.co + TWITTER: www.twitter.com/sugarfree_media ☕️ News Du Jour is a short daily news recap. We condense each day's stories into a 10-15 minute format and always relay the stories in a calm, digestible format. We cover everything from politics, to fashion, to art, to business, to tech, to celebrity, to world news and more. Be sure to subscribe so you to stay up to date with day-to-day unfolding news stories. ☕️ If you enjoy the News Du Jour, be sure to leave us a review/rating! We would also REALLY appreciate you sharing our podcast with your friends/ family/ colleagues or via all your favorite social media platforms. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/newsdujour/support

This week our guest on the podcast is the well-known journalist Vera Sergeevna Vasilieva. The topics we discuss on the podcast include: human rights journalism in Russia, political prisoners, the ‘foreign agent' law, Radio Liberty, Aleksei Pichugin, Aleksei Navalny, other landmark court cases, recent amendments to the Russian constitution, crisis in Russia, atmosphere of hate, historical trends regarding human rights, the Russian judicial system, what the future may hold, and books by Vera Vasilieva.The podcast is in Russian. You can also listen to the podcast on Rights in Russia [https://rightsinrussia.org/podcasts/], SoundCloud, Spotify and iTunes. The music, from Stravinsky's Elegy for Solo Viola, is performed for us by Karolina Herrera.Sergei Nikitin writes: “The situation for journalists writing on human rights issues has become very complicated,” Vera Vasilieva told us. “Many of those websites and portals I used to collaborate with have been closed down and blocked. The field of activity is narrowing, there is no doubt about it.” She also told us how her career in human rights journalism began: “Many years ago I used to work for a popular science computer magazine and back in 2003, when the Yukos affair was just beginning, I wanted to form my own opinion about Alexei Pichugin. The first trial in his case was held behind closed doors, and the second trial on 4 April 2006 left me dumbfounded: the charges proved to be unsubstantiated.” It was then that Vera decided she would go regularly to observe such trials. And she also started to write for online human rights websites. Last Sunday, Simon Cosgrove and I talked to Vera about what she is working on now, what she is interested in, and what concerns her.Simon Cosgrove adds: If you want to listen to this podcast on the podcasts.com website and it doesn't seem to play, please download by clicking on the three dots to the right. A summary of some of the week's events in Russia relevant to human rights can be found on our website here.

On today's show: China retaliates with sanctions of their own Multiple people stabbed near Lynn Valley Library Will other school districts follow Surrey's lead? Aleksei Navalny is still in jail, and his health is declining See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Part Two: Threats, Moscow and the regions, human rights lawyers, Public Oversight Commissions and Human Rights Ombudsmen, the European Court of Human Rights, Aleksei Navalny.

This week our guest on the podcast is Irina Biriukova, a lawyer at the Public Verdict Foundation. The issues we discuss with Irina include: getting started as a lawyer in Russia; work at the Civic Assistance Committee and Public Verdict Foundation; her most important court cases; combating torture in Yaroslavl penal colonies; the difference between human rights work in Moscow and the regions; other lawyers whose work Irina admires; the role of the European Court of Human Rights; Aleksei Navalny; last year's changes to the Constitution; and the future of Russia. The podcast is in Russian. You can also listen to the podcast on Rights in Russia [https://rightsinrussia.org/podcasts/], SoundCloud, Spotify and iTunes. The music, from Stravinsky's Elegy for Solo Viola, is performed for us by Karolina Herrera. Sergei Nikitin writes on Facebook: Irina Biriukova became a lawyer in 2005 and began working with the Civic Assistance Committee. At a certain point she became disillusioned with the effectiveness of human rights work – it was a cumulative effect, I guess. The arrests during the Bolotnaya protests changed her perspective and she decided that she could work with human rights defenders, at least on administrative cases. This is how Irina met Natalia Taubina. In our podcst Irina recalls: “I decided I could help people, I took part in cases on which the Public Verdict Foundation was working, I liked the team”. We all remember Irina's successful work in exposing torture in the Yaroslavl penal colony. Prison staff laughed in her face and told prisoners: “What can your Biriukova do to us? We won't be affected at all.” Yet Ira has achieved a great deal. Most importantly, she says, “We earned trust – we didn't just come and go. And we worked hard to gain that trust.” However, no one is going to change the penal system from within, Irina says. It has to be changed root and branch, she believes. And it is encouraging to hear that the circle of people like Irina and her colleagues is widening. The number of human rights lawyers is growing. “It's hasn't been a bad start to a career,” according to our interviewee. However, she is less optimistic about the current state of Russian legislation. “All this nonsense, all the changes in the legislation, all this should be abolished. It's just a question of what to take as the date where the watershed is. Probably – very roughly – we should reset from that moment – probably starting with the laws passed from, say, 2012.” What happens next? “It's going to get worse by the autumn, by then it will just be unbearable”. And what happens next? Listen to what happens next.Simon Cosgrove adds: If you want to listen to this podcast on the podcasts.com website and it doesn't seem to play, please download by clicking on the three dots to the right. A summary of some of the week's events in Russia relevant to human rights can be found on our website here.

This week our guest on the podcast is Jens Siegert. Jens is a German citizen who has lived in Russia for many years. From 1999 to 2015 he headed the office of the Heinrich Böll Foundation in Moscow. More recently he was head of the European Union project ‘Public Diplomacy. The EU and Russia.' He is the author of the book 111 Reasons to Love Russia (the book is in German). It has to be said that Jens is the first person who appears twice in our podcast!The questions we discuss on the podcast include: the coronavirus in Moscow; the poisoning and return of Aleksei Navalny; Amnesty International's view of Navalny; is there a crisis in Russia; EU-Russia relations; what can the EU do in response to Russia's human rights violations; policing public assemblies in the EU; German politics after Angela Merkel; the future of Russia; a new book; the meaning of some intriguing Russian words.The podcast is in Russian. You can also listen to the podcast on Rights in Russia [https://rightsinrussia.org/podcasts/], SoundCloud, Spotify and iTunes. The music, from Stravinsky's Elegy for Solo Viola, is performed for us by Karolina Herrera.Sergei Nikitin writes on Facebook: “There is a knock at the door. ‘Who's there?' And the answer is ‘Svoyi.' How do you translate ‘svoyi' [roughly ‘your own'] and ‘chuzhoi' [roughly ‘alien'] into German? There is no such thing in Germany, it cannot be translated. So said Jens Siegert who is finishing a new book about Russia to be called, In Principle Russia. An Encounter in 22 Concepts. What is meant by the Russian words vlast, gopnik, propiska, geroi, Evropa, siloviki, SMI? The aim of the book, Jens said, is to try to convey to the German reader what is going on in the heads and hearts of people living in Russia. In our latest podcast, Simon Cosgrove and I spoke with Jens, the longtime director of the Heinrich Böll Foundation's Moscow office and more recently head of the European Union project ‘Public Diplomacy. The EU and Russia.' The conversation lasted more than an hour and among the many issues discussed were: Navalny and Amnesty International; what leverage the West has; what sanctions can do; the head of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany after Angela Merkel; Armin Lachet, and his chances of becoming Chancellor. An excellent Russian speaker, Jens, will give you all 111 reasons why you should love Russia. He is a great storyteller, let's listen to him…Simon Cosgrove adds: If you want to listen to this podcast on the podcasts.com website and it doesn't seem to play, please download by clicking on the three dots to the right. A summary of some of the week's events in Russia relevant to human rights can be found on our website here.

Jens Siegert on Coronavirus; Aleksei Navalny; and Amnesty International:

More women come forward accusing New York Governor Andrew Cuomo of sexual harassment. Federal Judge makes decision in lawsuit against Miss America over transgender inclusion. Aleksei Navalny is transported to a harsh prison. Former President of France Nicolas Sarkozy sentenced. And more! Join criminal defense lawyer Robert F. Gruler to discuss the latest legal, political and criminal news, including:• New York Governor Andrew Cuomo in hot water as second sexual harassment accuser comes forward.• Former aide to the Governor, Ms. Charlotte Bennett details her story.• Lindsey Boylan, another woman claiming to being Cuomo's victim, shares her experience.• A review of Federal Sexual Harassment law under 25 CFR 700.561.• The Governor's website made combating sexual harassment in the workplace a centerpiece of their 2019 women's agenda.• New video shows Governor Andrew Cuomo encouraging the eating of the entire sausage.• New York Attorney General Letitia James and White House press Secretary Jen Psaki call for further inquiries.• Nancy Pelosi, AOC and others join in the calls for in-depth investigations into Governor Cuomo.• Governor Andrew Cuomo issues a new statement in written release.• Judge dismisses transgender lawsuit against Miss America pageant to demand inclusion of transgender applicants.• U.S. District Judge Michael W. Mosman found that Miss America cannot be forced to deviate from its focus on “natural-born” females.• Anita Noelle Green says she is disappointed in the ruling but believes the case is bringing awareness to the issue.• In world news, migrants pouring through Mexico into the United States with hopes to make claims under new Biden Administration asylum rules.• Review of Trump immigration polices vs. Biden immigration policies.• Russian reform politician Aleksei Navalny is transported to the notorious Penal Colony No. 2 in Russia.• France's former President Nicolas Sarkozy is found guilty of corruptions and sentenced to a year in prison.• As always, your questions and live Locals.com chat after the news!NOTE: The live chat portion of the show will be taking questions from the live chat on the Locals platform (not on YouTube)To join, head over to https://watchingthewatchers.locals.com and look for today's show thread.Connect with us:• Locals! https://watchingthewatchers.locals.com• Podcast (audio): https://watchingthewatchers.buzzsprout.com/• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/robertgruleresq• Rumble: https://rumble.com/c/RobertGrulerEsq• Robert Gruler Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/RobertGrulerEsq/• Miss Faith Instagram https://www.instagram.com/faithie_joy/• Clubhouse: @RobertGrulerEsq @faith_joy• Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/robertgruleresq• Homepage with transcripts (under construction): https://www.watchingthewatchers.tvDon't forget to join us on Locals! https://watchingthewatchers.locals.comWhy Locals? We head over to Locals to continue the conversation before, during and after the show. You can also grab the slides (and other stuff) from the show as well as a free PDF copy of Robert's book which is also available to buy on Amazon here: https://rcl.ink/hHBOther tips? Send to tips@rrlawaz.com or tag @RobertGrulerEsq on twitter.#WatchingtheWatchers #AndrewCuomo #MissAmerica #WorldNews #Navalny #Sarkozy

On Saturday, January 23, 2021, protests broke out all over Russia in response to the arrest of dissident Aleksei Navalny upon his return to his home country to continue his resistance to the regime of Vladimir Putin. A self-described “average Russian citizen” decided to attend the protest and was plucked out of a peaceful crowd and arrested. This, in his own words, is his story on that day. Translation courtesy of Rachel Campbell. Edited by Clay Boykin. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/dennis-tardan/support

Who is Aleksei Navalny and why is he a threat to Putin? Rick and Professor Michael McFaul discuss.

Today on News Du Jour, we covered the Game Stop/ Wall Street drama, how the Biden/ Senate Republican meeting went, two FBI agents killed during a raid in Florida, and Aleksei Navalny sentenced to two years in prison in Russia. — Connect with us: + EMAIL: annie@sugarfreemedia.co + WEBSITE/ SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER/ BLOG: www.sugarfreemedia.co + INSTAGRAM: www.instagram.com/sugarfreemedia.co + TIKTOK: https://vm.tiktok.com/tCCqwV/ + FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/sugarfreemedia.co + TWITTER: www.twitter.com/sugarfree_media ☕️ News Du Jour is a short daily news recap. We condense each day's stories into a 10-15 minute format and always relay the stories in a calm, digestible format. We cover everything from politics, to fashion, to art, to business, to tech, to celebrity, to world news and more. Be sure to subscribe so you to stay up to date with day-to-day unfolding news stories. ☕️ If you enjoy the News Du Jour, be sure to leave us a review/rating! We would also REALLY appreciate you sharing our podcast with your friends/ family/ colleagues or via all your favorite social media platforms. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/newsdujour/support

Comprehensive coverage of the day's news with a focus on war and peace; social, environmental and economic justice. President Joe Biden signs immigration orders to undo family separation policy. Senate confirms Biden's historic cabinet picks: Homeland Security and Transportation Secretaries. Democrats file 77 page impeachment brief against Donald Trump, his lawyers file defense. Thousands arrested in Russia protesting prison sentence for dissident Aleksei Navalny. Biden administration finds Myanmar military engaged in coup, paves way for sanctions. Biden administration to increase vaccine allocation to 6,500 pharmacies. Study finds 27% of Americans would not receive a COVID-19 vaccine. California Clean Water Act introduced to eliminate pollution in state's waterways. The post President Joe Biden signs immigration orders to undo family separation; Senate confirms Homeland Security and Transportation Secretaries; Biden administration says coup in Myanmar appeared first on KPFA.

This week our guest on the podcast is the Russian civil society activist Aleksei Andreevich Minyailo. Aleksei Minyailo's many roles include those of entrepreneur, election observer and philanthropist. He has also been a trainer of election observers – a role he played in Crimea in 2014 when he created a network of independent observers for the referendum. Aleksei Minyailo was also involved in the 2019 Moscow City Duma elections when he was part of Liubov Sobol's election team. Together with Sobol, he went on hunger strike in protest at the authorities' refusal to allow her to stand in the elections. On 2 August 2019 he was arrested on charges of inciting riots on 27 July 2019. After two months in pre-trial detention, the charges against him were dropped and he was released.The podcast is in the Russian language. You can also listen to the podcast on Rights in Russia, SoundCloud, Spotify and iTunes. The music, from Stravinsky's Elegy for Solo Viola, is performed for us by Karolina Herrera.Sergei Nikitin writes on Facebook: “You started writing a book in prison, thought up two training programmes and wrote letters to people in prison. How is it possible that people on the outside were discouraged while you, who were in prison, tried to cheer them up? What helps you to be free a person in any circumstances?” Today we tried to get answers to these and many other questions. The hero of today's podcast is a man who makes the world a better place. In the past he managed to do this when working and volunteering in elections. He also did this when he worked help young people who who have been in orphanages to adapt to the difficult business of life outside. A defendant in the so-called Moscow case, he even made the world a better place when he was behind bars, cheering others in his letters from prison. Aleksei Minyailo was was released from custody in the courtroom when charges against him under Article 212(2) of the Criminal Code were dropped. Today, Aleksei Minyailo is making the world a better place by helping all those who have taken to the streets and squares of Russian cities to protest. He, along with more than a hundred volunteers, staffs a hotline listening to callers who are in difficulty, reassuring them, telling them what to do. Aleksei told us that the state terrorism we are seeing now makes him say to those serving in the Federal Guard Agency, the FSB or other such organisations: “Come to your senses and get out as quickly as possible. Run away from there, because this gang will not be in power forever and you will have to answer for what is being done.”The questions we discuss with Aleksei Minyailo include: How do you primarily see yourself today – entrepreneur, election observer, civic activist or philanthropist? How do you rate the quality of elections in Russia? What success have you had in getting businesses to cooperate with community activists in the field of socialisation of young people who have spent time in children's homes? How did it happen that the charges against you were dropped when you were prosecuted and remanded in custody for an offence under Article 212 (Part 2) of the Russian Criminal Code as part of the Moscow case? How was it possible that after you were remanded in custody people at liberty were discouraged and you tried to cheer them up from behind bars. How do you see the protests of 23 January 2021 differing from those of August and September 2019? Do you still work with Liubov Sobol? How do you see the prospects for Aleksei Navalny? How do you see the future of human rights in Russia?Simon Cosgrove adds: If you want to listen to this podcast on the podcasts.com website and it doesn't seem to play, please download by clicking on the three dots to the right. A summary of some of the week's events in Russia relevant to human rights can be found on our website here.

This episode was recorded when Ron Steslow was host of The Lincoln Project Podcast (www.lincolnproject.us). He is no longer affiliated with the organization. This feed is now the home of Politicology. Jennifer Horn (@NHJennifer), John Sipher (@john_sipher), and Mike Madrid (@madrid_mike) join Ron Steslow (@RonSteslow) to break down the arrest of Kremlin critic Aleksei Navalny and the protests around Russia last weekend, the $1.3 billion lawsuit Dominion Voting Systems filed against Rudy Giuliani, and Republican Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene's history of endorsing conspiracy theories and violence against Democratic politicians.

This week our guest on the podcast is the Russian civil society activist Evgeniya Chirikova. Yevgenia Chirikova is especially well known for her campaign to save Khimki Forest. She was the leader of the movement Environmental Defence of the Moscow Region (Eco-defence) and Movement to Defend the Khimki Forest, as well as a member of the organizing committee of Strategy 31 and a member of the Coordination Council of the Russian opposition. She now lives in Estonia. To learn more about her work today, you can visit the website: activatica.org.The questions we ask Evgeniya Chirikova in the podcast include: why do you live in Estonia? how did you become an activist? What was Strategy 31? How do you assess the situation of human rights in Russia? and the situation of human rights defenders and organisations? What do figures like Boris Nemtsov and Alexei Navalny mean to you? Why did Aleksei Navalny, now a prisoner of conscience, return to Russia? How do you view the January 23 2021 protests in Russia? What is the future for democracy and human rights in Russia? How do you feel about life in Estonia and how would you compare life there with life in Russia?The podcast is in the Russian language. You can also listen to the podcast on Rights in Russia, SoundCloud, Spotify and iTunes. The music, from Stravinsky's Elegy for Solo Viola, is performed for us by Karolina Herrera.Sergei Nikitin writes on Facebook: ‘ “It simply became impossible for us to work in Russia after the foreign agent law was adoopted, but we try to help Russian civil society from a safer distance, and to do so more effectively.” Evgenia Chirikova needs no introduction. Her enthusiasm, affability and energy have contributed to her being known by so many. She is loved and respected.“Alas, her native country tries to intimidate and squeeze out its patriots, distorting everything: the notions of patriotism and love of one's homeland held by the Kremlin do not include ecology and justice. Zhenya and her family have moved to Estonia, where she does a hundred and one things, including sprucing up her farmstead, which stands close to the sea.“Simon Cosgrove and I talked to Zhenya this weekend – what a great story she tells! We talked about the defence of Khimki Forest and remembered the politician Sergei Mironov who was once a supporter of the forest defenders. Saturday's events in Russian cities made us think of the Strategy 31, a campaign to defend the right of assembly in Russia, and so much more.“Eesti on minu teine kodu, Zhenya Chirikova told us, now in her sixth year of doing what she loves in the country that has become her second home. But listening to Zhenya, you realize that her home is the whole world.”Simon Cosgrove adds: If you want to listen to this podcast on the podcasts.com website and it doesn't seem to play, please download by clicking on the three dots to the right. A summary of some of the week's events in Russia relevant to human rights can be found on our website here.

This week, our guest is Mikhail Benyash. Mikhail Benyash is a lawyer from the city of Sochi in Krasnodar region. In September 2018 Mikhail Benyash was beaten and detained by police after a meeting with his client who was taking part in a peaceful protest in Krasnodar. The court jailed him for 14 days and in addition sentenced him to 40 hours of compulsory work for disobeying a police officer and violating the rules on public protests. Amnesty International declared Mikhail Benyash a prisoner of conscience and called for his immediate release. In 2018, Mikhail Benyash was charged under Article 318(1) of the Russian Criminal Code (“Use of violence against a public official”) and in October 2019 he was sentenced to a fine of 30,000 roubles.Issues discussed in the podcast include: Mikhail Benyash's criminal prosecution; cases he has worked on in recent years; factors determining the outcome of a court case; the degree of independence of the courts in Russia; specifics of the Krasnodar region; reasons why Mikhail Benyash became a lawyer and works on human rights; the role of the European Court of Human Rights; changes introduced to the Russian Constitution last year; the return of Aleksei Navalny to Russia; the future of human rights in Russia.The podcast is in the Russian language. The podcast is in the Russian language. You can also listen to the podcast on Rights in Russia, SoundCloud, Spotify and iTunes. The music, from Stravinsky's Elegy for Solo Viola, is performed for us by Karolina Herrera.Sergei Nikitin writes on Facebook: “In the autumn of 2018 I wrote to Boris Grebenshikov about Mikhail Benyash, the Krasnodar lawyer who was detained and beaten by police in September 2018 but released on bail a few weeks later. Mikhail's release was helped – among other things – by the support of lawyers, the reaction of the Federal Bar Association and the fact that Amnesty International recognised him as a prisoner of conscience. Mikhail Benyash, a man of fortitude and courage, wrote to me on his release: ‘In the detention centre I often read ‘The Movement Towards Spring' to myself. It struck me that the young BG was able to understand and feel things that only came to me in prison, and only after my second visit. If you know him, please pass these words on to him.' I relayed Mikhail's words to the musician. Boris Grebenshchikov answered my letter briefly but succinctly: ‘Thank you, Sergei! It's worth a lot.' Last Sunday, Simon Cosgrove and I spoke with Mikhail Benyash about many things: his work, Navalny flying to Moscow at that very time, the current Russian justice system, the difficult work of a human rights lawyer – in other words, about the very words of that very song by BG: ‘Some people have a tendency to sing. / Some of them to their detriment'.”Simon Cosgrove adds: If you want to listen to this podcast on the podcasts.com website and it doesn't seem to play, please download by clicking on the three dots to the right. A summary of some of the week's events in Russia relevant to human rights can be found on our website here.

This week our guest is Viktor Valentinovich Kogan-Yasny. Viktor Valentinovich is a commentator on public affairs, writer and philosopher. Since 1989 he has been actively involved in public life. He started as an activist of Moscow Tribune and Memorial and in 1990-91 he worked with the Voters' Club of the Academy of Sciences and the Interregional Group of Deputies of the First Congress of Soviet People's Deputies. He was an aide to the chair of the Human Rights Committee of the RSFSR Supreme Soviet. Since 1992, he has been chair of the board of the Society against the Death Penalty and Torture, which has now become the NGO, Regional Civic Initiative - Right to Life and Civil Dignity. Viktor Valentinovich is one of the founders of Memorial Human Rights Centre and a member of its board. Since 1995, he has been an advisor both to the Yabloko party and to Grigory Yavlinsky. Among the topics we discuss in the podcast are the death penality in Russia, Amnesty International, the links between political developments and human rights, the recent apparent poisoning of Aleksei Navalny and events in Khabarovsk and Belarus. Sergei Nikitin writes: Viktor Valentinovich Kogan-Yasny is the latest guest of our podcast. Simon Cosgrove and I spent a very interesting hour with Viktor Valentinovich. I was especially interested to hear his story about how he found premises for Amnesty International in Moscow. In 1991 Marjorie Farquharson, the first representative of the oldest human rights organization in Russia, opened an office for the organisation on Herzen Street with the help of Viktor. The phone number that was allocated to the Amnesty office has remained unchanged for almost 30 years. Victor may not be very familiar to the general public, but he is a very interesting interlocutor. In 1990-91. Viktor Kogan-Yasny was an assistant chair of the Human Rights Committee of the RSFSR Supreme Soviet. It was he who founded the Society against the Death Penalty and Torture, where in 1992 he became chair of the board. I read with great interest the posts of Viktor Kogan-Yasny, one of the oldest members of the Yabloko Party, writer and philosopher.The podcast is in Russian. You can also listen to this podcast on Podcasts.com (www.podcasts.com/simon-sergei-0b5d072c0), Spotify (open.spotify.com/show/7HdmvhzC2P6VQS8ijICNHZ) and Itunes (podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/simo...ei/id1495261418). The music is from the Elegy for Solo Viola by Stravinsky, performed by Karolina Herrera.

Voor veel Russische jongeren is Vladimir Poetin de enige politiek leider die ze bewust hebben meegemaakt: al 17 jaar heeft hij de touwtjes stevig in handen. Maar met de presidentsverkiezingen van volgend jaar in het vooruitzicht lijkt het land nu in beweging te komen. Denk alleen al aan de demonstraties, georganiseerd door oppositieleider Aleksei Navalny, waar veel jongeren op afkomen. Kunnen die Russische jongeren voor een grote politieke verandering zorgen? Of is het - zoals zo vaak in Rusland – complexer dan het lijkt? Daarover vanavond Katja Platonova, student Nederlands uit Sint-Petersburg, en hoogleraar Russische geschiedenis André Gerrits, verbonden aan de Universiteit Leiden.

Aleksei Navalny organizes nationwide protests. And Vladimir Putin stages his annual call-in program. Who won the battle of the optics this week? Listen to the new Power Vertical Podcast.