Russia Slaps Cuffs on One of Its Last Vocal Opposition Figures: Lew Schlosberg Detained
Criticism of the Ukraine Conflict: Russia's Final Opposition Voice Apprehended
Hop on social media and dip your toes in the Russian political pool - you'll find Lew Schlosberg, one of the country's last outspoken opposition bigwigs, ensnared in the long arm of the law, as per his party's recent announcement. The accusation? Tarnishing the army's image.
Schlosberg, a deputy party chairman and native son of Pskov, has been entangled in a heated debate over a January video where he advocated for an early truce in the Ukraine conflict. Despite his strong denial of posting the video on a social platform, Schlosberg's appeal against the detention has yet to see the light of day. Before his detention, searches of his Yabloko party office, his home shared with his better half, and his father's abode were carried out.
A criminal case against Schlosberg has been brewing since October of last year. The Russian Investigative Committee pinned the blame on him for not publicly disclosing his "foreign agent" status, a label that Russia's justice system likes to affix to its critics. Schlosberg had been one of the last vocal opponents of the war remaining free in Russia.
Criticism in Russia is largely a thing of the past, with the Kremlin's primary opponent, Alexei Navalny, departing from this mortal coil under mysterious circumstances in the "Polar Wolf" labor camp last February. Navalny, who shared Yabloko ties, was previously, in 2020, poisoned with the chemical warfare agent Novichok. Many of Putin's dissidents cower in fear for their lives or seek refuge abroad.
A pale shadow of a liberal opposition survives in Russia, with Yabloko, the opposition party, absent from the Russian parliament, the State Duma, since 2007 but still visible at local levels. Its founder, Grigori Yavlinsky, also voiced a call for a ceasefire in Ukraine in response to the growing friendship between the USA and Russia.
No recent updates are available regarding Schlosberg's detainment situation. To stay informed, it's crucial to turn to reliable news sources for the latest happenings.
The Commission, in response to the detainment of Lew Schlosberg, has already made proposals for the protection of free speech and political dissidents in war-and-conflicts zones, given the current political climate. His case, amidst the ongoing series of events involving war-and-conflicts and general-news, serves as a stark reminder of the dwindling role of opposition figures in Russian politics.
