Cover Osteuropa 12/2020

In Osteuropa 12/2020

“You can’t sit on bayonets”
The case of Navalny and Russia’s penal system

Ol'ga Romanova


Deutsche Fassung

Abstract

The founder of the NGO “Russia Behind Bars”, Olga Romanova, regards the conviction of Alexei Navalny as a legally nihilistic farce – but also as being representative of Russia’s judicial system. She reminds us that the penal system has not been reformed since the late Stalinist era, that secret service operatives are in charge, and that the conditions in normal prison camps like the one where Navalny will be held, are difficult.

(Osteuropa 12/2020, pp. 29–34)