Ever More Russians are at Risk of Repression as Putin’s Russia Heads Toward Totalitarianism 2016-01-27 01:38:31 Staunton, V, January 26, 2016 — There is an old observation that in a democracy, anything that isn’t prohibited is permitted; in an authoritarian system, anything that isn’t permitted is prohibited; and in a totalitarian one, anything that is permitted […]
LIVE UPDATES: The public inquiry into the assassination by radioactive polonium of former FSB agent Alexander Litvinenko in London has been published. Welcome to our column, Russia Update, where we will be closely following day-to-day developments in Russia, including the Russian government’s foreign and domestic policies. The previous issue is here. Recent Translations: –The Non-Hybrid […]
Updated Daily. A group seeking greater autonomy for Siberia found its web page, VKontakte community and Twitter account censored as well as an interview with its leader in slon.ru. A rally organized by Russian ultranationalists in support of the separatists fighting in southeastern Ukraine had a very low turnout. Young Russian men cheered a Russian […]
Yesterday’s liveblog can be found here. For an overview and analysis of this developing story see our latest podcast. Please help The Interpreter to continue providing this valuable information service by making a donation towards our costs. View Ukraine: April, 2014 in a larger map For links to individual updates click on the timestamps. Below […]
Marina Litvinenko, the widow of former FSB spy-turned-MI6 spy Alexander Litvinenko, has won a court judgment overturning a decision by the British Home Office, which last year ruled that a public enquiry into the murder of her husband. The British government has serially repeated its reluctance to air the findings of its investigation into the […]
On Wednesday in the High Court in London, a two day debate on Marina Litvinenko’s supervisory appeal against the British Home Secretary, Theresa May, came to an end. Alexander Litvinenko’s widow is appealing against the Home Secretary’s decision not to hold a public inquiry into the murder of her husband. A public inquiry is a […]
The Interpreter’s Elena Sevettaz, a Russian-French journalist, has published a book about Sergei Magnitsky, whose death in prison, and post-mortem trial and conviction, sparked protests around the world, eventually leading to the Obama administration passing sanctions against Russian officials involved in the case. The Russian government responded by blocking American adoptions of Russian children. The new […]
Edward Snowden is a man who gave up the life he had in order to “blow the whistle” on the work of the National Security Agency (NSA). The NSA programs that have been exposed in the process have raised serious concerns about secret surveillance programs and internet spying. Many rights groups, free speech advocates, and […]
British authorities have classified the documents of the investigation of the murder of Alexander Litvinenko; there will be no public judicial proceeding. Below is an interview with Litvinenko’s wife, Marina. – Ed. The judicial investigation into the case of the death in London in 2006 of Alexander Litvinenko, the former Federal Security Service (FSB) officer, […]
In what resembles a real-world James Bond plot gone wrong, a former Russian agent-turned-dissident was killed in 2006 while in England. Alexander Litvinenko, a former FSB secret service member, died of Polonium-210 poisoning after moved to the UK following his disclosure that the FSB was engaged in assassinations, had ties to the mob, conducted terrorist […]
