Expanding the Zone of Repression
Political Justice in Russia in 2023
Deutsche Fassung
Abstract
The Moscow regime further intensified its policy of repression in 2023. Most of the laws establishing a military dictatorship were already passed in 2022. In 2023, the offenses defined there were punished with higher penalties and the paragraphs were applied even more arbitrarily. This was not without effect. There is hardly any public protest against the war. In the second half of 2023, the number of new criminal proceedings and convictions fell slightly. However, the sentences handed down were demonstratively harsh. The transfer of misdemeanour proceedings to criminal proceedings also serves the goal of deterrence. It must be expected that in 2024 the authorities will attempt to cut off people in Russia even more from access to the websites and channels of journalists, politicians, and other well-known individuals who have emigrated.
(Osteuropa 4/2024, pp. 59–67)