The government never does anything right, Steven Harper and the conservatives are just as corrupt as the liberals, and the NDP will never get voted in because they'll bankrupt the country. In Canada, trash-talking the government rolls of the tongue as easily as the latest hockey stats, without us thinking twice about it. We'd never think, after uttering those words, to look over our shoulder for an instant.
The same can't be said for Russians like Anna Politkovskaya, the influencial Human Rights journalist and mother of two, whose articles and books have pitted themselves, more often than not, against the biggest bulldog in the Russian kennel, Vladmir Putin, and his nationalist regime. Gunned down in late 2006 by unknown assailants before an expose on Putin was about to be published, Anna Politskovskaya joined the ranks of at least a dozen other Russian journalists who had been murdered within the last eight years. Shot in a contract-style killing like twelve others before her, she was aware of the danger she faced publishing her work.
Former president of Russia, and former KGB agent before that, Vladmir Putin, promoted heady nationalism whilst undermining the authority of opposition forces, be they governmental, media, or personal. According to Amnesty International, law enforcement officials violently dispersed Anti-Government demonstrations in the first half of 2007, while the Pro-Government demonstations were able to proceed with no interference. The new Non-Government Ogranizational laws of 2006, which came into effect in early 2007, have continued to hinder the right to Freedom of Speech in Russia. Written reports of all activities by these NGO's must, by law, be submitted to the Government, providing them with not only information, but the ability to target organizations they feel are a threat to the authority of the state. Human Rights Defenders, like Anna Politkovskaya and her fallen compatriots, as well as Human Rights Organizations are most often targetted by the state. In particular, those that are funded abroad recieve more harrassment and intimidation, because they are 'unpatriotic'.
With the election of Dmitry Medvedev, Putin's chosen candidate in the 2008 Russian Presidential race, ominous events foreshadow an even more ominous future. The claim of Electoral fraud, and the forced withdrawl of opposition candidate Kasparov, do little to dispell world fears of political and media oppression within the region.
Russia is a country with a constitution which garauntees Freedom of Expression, Freedom of Association and Assembly. It is a country which has signed Human Rights treaties with the express obligatin to promote and protect these rights abroad, and within its own borders. However, laws have been put in place which restrict these rights, and allowed Russian authorities to grasp dissenters and those with alternative view points within their grip.
Amnesty International calls for the amendment of laws to allow for opposition. So do I, and so should you.
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Sources:
Amnesty International. "Freedom Limited. The Right to Freedom of Expression in the Russian Federation" http://www.amnesty.ca/resource_centre/news/view.php?load=arcview&article=4226&c=Resource+Centre+News
The Washington Post. "A Moscow Murder Story" http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/08/AR2006100800919.html
The Independent. "Murder in Moscow: The Shooting of Anna Politskovskaya" http://www.independent.co.uk/news/europe/murder-in-moscow-the-shooting-of-anna-politkovskaya-419186.html
