Repression set to tighten

Hello! This week we analyze how Russia is preparing to tighten the screws on domestic critics and why a ceasefire in Ukraine would only lead to yet more repression on the home front.

Russia steps up campaign against the ‘enemy within’ ahead of possible ceasefire

Amid a thaw in relations with the United States and a possible ceasefire in Ukraine — though not any time soon — the Russian authorities are demonstrating their intransigence toward the perceived “enemy within”. The recent Petersburg International Legal Forum was a showcase of the Kremlin’s planned new policies towards “foreign agents,” who will soon be officially equated with criminals.