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The World Must Care About Murdered Russian Dissidents
Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny is seen on board a plane before the departure for the Russian capital Moscow at an airport in Berlin, Germany January 17, 2021. Photo: REUTERS/Polina Ivanova/File Photo.
In 2017, I wrote this:
Anti-corruption activist Alexei Navalny posted a report on YouTube detailing the corruption of Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev. After more than 13 million views in roughly three weeks, people, including a large number of teenagers, answered Navalny’s call for public protest. They flooded the streets of 95 Russian cities, as well as London, Prague, Basel, and Bonn. Many carried rubber ducks — or real ducks — referring to reports of a luxury duck farm on one of Medvedev’s properties.
Depending on the source, 7,000-8,000 (Russia’s Interior Ministry) or 25,000-30,000 (Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Foundation) people turned out in Moscow, and hundreds — or thousands — were arrested.
Navalny is now in jail.
Navalny is now dead.
Life has never been easy for critics of Vladimir Putin. There are 30 names in this review, which is not comprehensive. They died in different (and odd) ways and different places, but all were known to have fallen out of favor with the boss. Think of them and the circumstances of their lives as well as their deaths.
Just last week, Russian pilot Maxim Kuzminov was found in a parking lot in Kiev with five bullets in him. In August, he had defected to Ukraine with a Russian Mi-8 helicopter.
Also in August, Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin died when his airplane was struck by a missile, and General Gennady Lopyrev, once a Putin confidant, died in a military jail, where he had been sent in 2017. Just before his parole, he became ill — gasping for breath — and was told by doctors he had previously undiagnosed leukemia; then he died. Col-Gen Gennady Zhidko led the invasion of Ukraine in 2022 but was removed in disgrace in October 2022, and essentially disappeared. His death was announced in August.
Dmitri Pavochka, former manager of Roscosmos, burned to death after falling asleep with a lit cigarette. Magomed Abdulaev, Chairman of the Government of the Republic of Dagestan, was victim of a hit and run. Alexander Nikolayev of Rosatom and a former diplomat, was beaten to death.
Marina Yankina, head of the financial support department of the Ministry of Defense for the Western Military district, fell out a 16th story window. Windows were problematic for:
Federal Judge Artyom Bartenev
Kristina Baikova, Vice president of Loko-Bank
Lukoil chairman Ravil Manganov
Pavel Antonov, richest deputy of the Russian Duma — and Putin critic
Semyon Korobeinikov — a clothing salesman — who “lost his footing” on a balcony. Later it emerged that he had been a co-conspirator in a bank fraud case that might have required him to testify against a mob boss friend of Putin.
Nicolai Gorokhov (2017), a witness for the US government in the investigation of Serge Magnitsky’s death, fell 50 feet out a window “while installing a hot tub.” “The balcony fell off,” the Russian government said.
Dan Rapoport, a Latvian-born US citizen, fell out of the window of a luxury apartment building in Washington, D.C. [Rapoport was the second Putin critic to die in Washington. Mikhail Y. Lesin, 57, who helped create the Kremlin’s global English-language Russia Today television network, was found dead in a hotel in 2016.]
It wasn’t only windows. In 2022, Ivan Pechorin, 39, Putin’s hand-selected managing director of the Far East and Arctic Development Corporation (FEADC), fell off his yacht. [Andrei Fomin, Prosecutor of Chuvashia, drowned in the same area almost a year later.] Igor Nosov, CEO of FEADC died, reportedly, of a stroke.
The death of Igor Shkurko, deputy general director of Russian energy company Yakutskenergo in pretrial detention, accused of bribery, and that of 92-year-old Grigory Klinishov, the father of Russia’s thermonuclear bomb, were ruled suicides. As was the death of Major General (ret.) Yevgeny Lobachev, of the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation.
The former Deputy Chairman of Novatek, was found hanged from a handrail. His wife and daughter were stabbed to death. Businessman Mikhail Watford was found dead at his home in England, while another businessman — Vladimir Bidenov — died in India after hitting his head on a railing.
No explanation was given for the death of Aleksandr Buzakov, head of Russia’s “admiralty shipyards.” Aleksey Maslov, former chief of Russian Ground Forces died “unexpectedly” in a military hospital.
There is more.
Putin critic and lawmaker Denis Voronenkov (2017), Boris Nemtsov (2015), human rights lawyer Stanislav Markelov (2009), journalists Anastasiya Baburova (2009), Natalia Estemirova (2009), Anna Politkovskaya (2005), and Paul Klebnikov (2004), and politician Sergei Yushenkov (2003) were all shot.
Human Rights lawyer Sergei Magnitsky (2009) died in police custody after being beaten and denied treatment. Yevgeny Khamaganov (2017) editor-in-chief of Asia-Russia Daily died in unexplained circumstances that resulted in a coma. Putin critic Nikolai Andrushchenko (2018) died of a severe beating — his third in a few months. He had told friends that he’d survived a previous attempt to poison him.
Britain is only barely safer. Boris Berezovsky (2013), after a falling out with Putin, left for London. He was found dead in his bath in a locked bathroom with a noose around his neck. A British coroner did not determine the cause of death. Yuri Shchekochikhin (2003) had what official reports called a “rare allergic reaction” to “something.” His family believed he had previously been poisoned and this time it killed him. Alexander Litvinenko (2006) drank radioactive tea in Britain. British coroners found nothing unusual in Alexander Perepilichny (2012) dropping dead on a jog. It might have been “bad sushi” they suggested. Later, an insurance company scientist uncovered traces of a toxic plant in his stomach.
The chilling effect of killing political dissents goes beyond the tragic loss of lives of individuals fighting for better governance or their compatriot’s freedom. It serves as strategic move to deepen the veneer of inevitability surrounding the kleptocratic rule of President Putin, both at home and abroad.
Shoshana Bryen is Senior Director of The Jewish Policy Center, where a version of this article first appeared.
The post The World Must Care About Murdered Russian Dissidents first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Treasure Trove spotlights a menorah designed in the early years of the State of Israel
This laurel branch Hanukkah menorah, designed by artist Maurice Ascalon (1913-2003), won first prize at the 1950 Tel Aviv Design Competition. Between 2,000 and 4,000 of these were made by the Pal-Bell factory in Israel, and they were sold not only in Israel but in select department stores around the world, including Macy’s in New York and Harrods in London.
The shape of the oil containers resembles ancient Roman lamps, while the large pitcher is a reference to the single jug of oil that lasted for eight days that is at the heart of the Hanukkah story.
These hanukkiyot were manufactured out of cast bronze with a green patina that was created using reactive chemicals, a process developed by Ascalon, resulting in an antique verdigris look.
Ascalon, who was born in Hungary and originally named Moshe Klein, immigrated to Palestine in 1934 after training in Brussels and Milan. He started the Pal-Bell Company in the late 1930s for the production of ritual and secular decorative items. “Pal” is short for Palestine and “Bell” is short for bellezza, Italian for beauty and an allusion to his time in Milan where the artist learned and perfected his sculpting skills. During Israel’s War of Independence in 1948, Ascalon designed munitions for the Israeli army and, at the request of the Israeli government, retrofitted his factory to produce arms for the war effort.
Ascalon closed Pal-Bell and moved to the United States in 1956, where he taught sculpture at the University of Judaism in Los Angeles and opened Ascalon Studios, which produces large-scale sculptures for public spaces and houses of worship.
The studio, which is now run by Ascalon’s son David and his grandson Eric, was retooled during the COVID pandemic to manufacture safety boxes that allowed health-care workers to assist a patient on a ventilator while minimizing exposure.
Treasure Trove wishes you a happy Hanukkah , which starts on Dec. 25. This year, as Peter, Paul and Mary sang, “Light one candle for the terrible sacrifice, justice and freedom demand. Don’t let the light go out!”
The post Treasure Trove spotlights a menorah designed in the early years of the State of Israel appeared first on The Canadian Jewish News.
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Germany: 5 Killed, Scores Wounded after Saudi Man Plows Car Into Christmas crowd
Magdeburg Christmas market, December 21, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Christian Mang
i24 News – A suspected terrorist plowed a vehicle into a crowd at a Christmas market in the German city of Magdeburg, west of the capital Berlin, killing at least five and injuring dozens more.
Local police confirmed that the suspect was a Saudi national born in 1974 and acting alone.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz expressed his concern about the incident, saying that “reports from Magdeburg suggest something bad. My thoughts are with the victims and their families.”
Police declined to give casualty numbers, confirming only a large-scale operation at the market, where people had gathered to celebrate in the days leading up to the Christmas holidays.
The post Germany: 5 Killed, Scores Wounded after Saudi Man Plows Car Into Christmas crowd first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Syria’s New Rulers Name HTS Commander as Defense Minister
A person waves a flag adopted by the new Syrian rulers, as people gather during a celebration called by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) near the Umayyad Mosque, after the ousting of Syria’s Bashar al-Assad, in Damascus, Syria, Photo: December 20, 2024. REUTERS/Ammar Awad/File Photo
Syria’s new rulers have appointed Murhaf Abu Qasra, a leading figure in the insurgency which toppled Bashar al-Assad, as defense minister in the interim government, an official source said on Saturday.
Abu Qasra, who is also known by the nom de guerre Abu Hassan 600, is a senior figure in the Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group which led the campaign that ousted Assad this month. He led numerous military operations during Syria’s revolution, the source said.
Syria’s de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa discussed “the form of the military institution in the new Syria” during a meeting with armed factions on Saturday, state news agency SANA reported.
Abu Qasra during the meeting sat next to Sharaa, also known by the nom de guerre Abu Mohammed al-Golani, photos published by SANA showed.
Prime Minister Mohammed al-Bashir said this week that the defense ministry would be restructured using former rebel factions and officers who defected from Assad’s army.
Bashir, who formerly led an HTS-affiliated administration in the northwestern province of Idlib, has said he will lead a three-month transitional government. The new administration has not declared plans for what will happen after that.
Earlier on Saturday, the ruling General Command named Asaad Hassan al-Shibani as foreign minister, SANA said. A source in the new administration told Reuters that this step “comes in response to the aspirations of the Syrian people to establish international relations that bring peace and stability.”
Shibani, a 37-year-old graduate of Damascus University, previously led the political department of the rebels’ Idlib government, the General Command said.
Sharaa’s group was part of al Qaeda until he broke ties in 2016. It had been confined to Idlib for years until going on the offensive in late November, sweeping through the cities of western Syria and into Damascus as the army melted away.
Sharaa has met with a number of international envoys this week. He has said his primary focus is on reconstruction and achieving economic development and that he is not interested in engaging in any new conflicts.
Syrian rebels seized control of Damascus on Dec. 8, forcing Assad to flee after more than 13 years of civil war and ending his family’s decades-long rule.
Washington designated Sharaa a terrorist in 2013, saying al Qaeda in Iraq had tasked him with overthrowing Assad’s rule and establishing Islamic sharia law in Syria. US officials said on Friday that Washington would remove a $10 million bounty on his head.
The war has killed hundreds of thousands of people, caused one of the biggest refugee crises of modern times and left cities bombed to rubble and the economy hollowed out by global sanctions.
The post Syria’s New Rulers Name HTS Commander as Defense Minister first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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