Moscow’s Repression Became Systemic in 2024, with Number of Cases Stabilizing but Punishments Meted Out Increasingly Harsh, ‘Re-Russia’ Says

Paul Goble
    Staunton, Dec. 23 – Over the past 12 months, the Kremlin’s repressive system became systemic with the number of cases stabilizing but the punishments meted out for violations of ever more stringent laws becoming increasingly harsh, according to an investigation by the Re-Russia portal.
    In 2024, the portal says, the number of political cases remained at the same level with approximately 60 prosecutions each month; but the share of those resulting in incarceration rose from 35 percent to 70 percent and with these terms being increasingly long as well (re-russia.net/analytics/0227/).
    In the two previous years, most of the cases appear to have been reactive, Re-Russia says, with the authorities responding to protests. Now, however, the Kremlin has appeared to put in place a system which will punish whole classes of people as foreign agents or undesirables, a development that suggests the future will be even more repressive than the past.