Jokeren in exile – Kreml puts 18 years in prison against Nawalny – friend

Leonid Wolkow was the nearest circle around Nawalny, the most prominent critic of President Vladimir Putin. Nawalny suddenly died in an Arctic criminal colony at the age of 47 in February 2024. The Russian authorities classify Nawalny’s movement as “extremist” and describe them as a Western organization that wants to generate unrest.

Even after the death of Putin’s greatest enemy, the authorities act against his followers. In January, a court was imposed in prison for three former Nawalny lawyers in prison for the membership of an extremist group. In April, four journalists were sentenced to five and a half years in prison. They were accused of working in the forbidden organization of Nawalny.

The punishment against Wolkow was imposed on Wednesday. The military court guilty of the Russians in dozens of charges. The allegations include the spread of false information about the war in Ukraine and the “justification of terrorism”. The judgment is not yet final.

Wolkow ridicules the Russian authorities
The Wolkow who lived in Lithuania responded with irony on the verdict and the extra fine of two million rubles (22,000 euros). “And they didn’t forbid me to use the internet! Well, I will use it,” he wrote on social media. Wolkow later said that after an accurate examination of the judgment, he discovered that he was forbidden to use the internet for ten years. “And I’ve already used it. Damn. What should I do? ” He gave up jokes.

Pressure is also exerted on Wolkow in exile. In 2024 he was attacked in Lithuania with a hammer. Recently there was a search in April to his parents’ house in Russia. The Russian domestic secret service FSB had heard his father for a few hours, Wolkow said at the time.

Oppositional Schlossberg has to arrest in the house
A Russian court ordered two months of house arrest against the opposition politician Lew Schlossberg for the contempt of the army. The judges in Pskow followed the application from the public prosecutor on Wednesday. The judicial service of the region that borders Estonia published a photo of Schlossberg, which was in a court cage during the hearing. The authorities have already classified Schlossberg as “foreign agents” – a label with negative connotations from the Soviet period, making the life of the affected difficult. In the case of a conviction, he threatens up to five years in prison.

The 61-year-old politician was arrested on Tuesday. He is accused of discrediting the Russian army and he referred to the war war against Ukraine as a game “Bloody Chess”. He made this statement in a video debate in January, in which he asked the war for an end. The Liberal Jabloko party, whose leading member of Schlossberg explained that his arrest is related to these statements. According to the party, he denies the allegations. Schlossberg is one of the few remaining opposition politicians in Russia.