Kremlin Began Preparing for Putin’s War in Ukraine Two Years in Advance, New ‘Agora’ Report Says

Paul Goble

            Staunton, Mar. 24 – Almost two years before Russian troops advanced into Ukraine a month ago, the Kremlin began preparing for the conflict by tightening restrictions on individuals and groups that it felt could lead protests against that war, according to a 19-page report released by the Agora human rights group.

            In the month since the military campaign began in earnest, the report continues, Moscow has de facto but not yet de jure imposed martial law in Russia, banning ever more kinds of media and public actions (drive.google.com/file/d/1vCb_QdGscBkLUtYQpNxl5Q7I1XNisbnr/view and idelreal.org/a/31770371.html).

            The report’s authors, Agora lawyers Pavel Chikov and Damir Gaynutdinov say that in the last 30 days, there have been “extraordinary” limitations on the basic constitutional rights and freedoms of Russia, restrictions that were anticipated by Russian government actions against individuals, groups, and especially the media as early as the spring of 2020.

            And they thus conclude that “the neutralization of the political and information space over the past year was in preparation for its military stage,” although they concede the logic behind what the powers that be were doing earlier became clear only when the Russian army began its invasion of Ukraine.