"Vladimir Putin: a miracle defender of Christianity or the most evil man? "Why far-right nationalists like Steve Bannon have embraced a Russian ideologue"
Christmas In Ukraine, Celebrations In A Time Of War
NBC
News 3,991 views Dec 26, 2022
In war torn Ukraine, for many, celebrating Christmas is an act of defiance. Everyday people showing Russia’s Vladimir Putin their traditions and families will not be silenced. NBC’s Matt Bradley visits with one family that even after having their home destroyed by a Russian assault, has decorations up and the holiday spirit in their hearts. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2sXq2V9TEg0
Vladimir Putin faces legal challenge after breaking Kremlin's 'fake news' law with comments on 'war' in Ukraine
Saturday 24 Dec 2022 at 7:44am
The opposition councillor who made the legal challenge said he knew it would go nowhere, but filed it to expose the "mendacity" of the system.(Reuters: Sergey Guneev)
A St Petersburg politician has asked prosecutors to investigate Russian President Vladimir Putin for using the word "war" to describe the conflict in Ukraine, accusing the Kremlin chief of breaking his own law.
Key points:
* Vladimir Putin's reference to "war" runs afoul of Kremlin laws against so-called fake news * The legal challenge isn't expected to affect the Russian president * Internal critics of Russia's war have previously faced harsh repercussions
Mr Putin has for months described his invasion as a "special military operation".
He signed laws in March that prescribe steep fines and jail terms for discrediting or spreading "deliberately false information" about the armed forces, putting people at risk of prosecution if they call the war by its name.
But he departed from his usual language on Thursday when he told reporters:
-- "Our goal is not to spin the flywheel of military conflict, but, on the contrary, to end this war." --
Nikita Yuferev, an opposition councillor in the city where Mr Putin was born, said he knew his legal challenge would go nowhere, but he had filed it to expose the "mendacity" of the system.
"It's important for me to do this to draw attention to the contradiction and the injustice of these laws that he [Putin] adopts and signs but which he himself doesn't observe," he told Reuters.
-- "I think the more we talk about this, the more people will doubt his honesty, his infallibility, and the less support he will have." --
In his challenge, filed in an open letter, Mr Yuferev asked the prosecutor general and interior minister to "hold [Putin] responsible under the law for spreading fake news about the actions of the Russian army".
Mr Yuferev, who asked Reuters not to disclose his location, said Mr Putin's critics who publicly called the war a war have suffered harsh punishments.
Opposition politician Ilya Yashin was jailed for eight-and-a-half years this month for spreading "false information" about the army.
In July another local councillor, Alexei Gorinov, was sentenced to seven years for criticising the invasion.
Mr Yuferev said he had previously drawn authorities' attention to the use of the word "war" by other prominent figures including Sergei Kiriyenko, deputy head of the presidential administration, and leading politician Sergei Mironov.
He said police told him they examined the complaint against Kiriyenko and found he had done nothing wrong, and refused to look into the Mironov case.
After publishing the open letter about Mr Putin, Mr Yuferev said he had received hundreds of hate messages. But he said he believed the majority of Russians understood what was really happening in Ukraine.
"War, in Russian society, is a frightening word. Everyone is brought up by grandparents who lived through World War II, everyone remembers the saying 'Anything but war'," he said.
Moscow’s war in Ukraine brought harsh tactics against gay Russians at home
"Vladimir Putin: a miracle defender of Christianity or the most evil man? "Why far-right nationalists like Steve Bannon have embraced a Russian ideologue"
By Mary Ilyushina and Mary Gelman, January 7, 2023 at 1:00 a.m. EST
Yulia and Kris at home in St. Petersburg, on Nov. 27, 2022. (Mary Gelman/VII for The Washington Post)
As Russian President Vladimir Putin steers Russia toward becoming a closed-off, conservative society, ruled by “traditional values” and bound tightly to the Orthodox Church, with visions of a “Russian world” in opposition to the decadent, amoral West, the Russian parliament has expanded Moscow’s official discrimination against gays and others of non-heterosexual orientations.
The idea of Russia as a defender of traditional Christian beliefs has been used to justify Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. And it has driven the Russian Parliament to tighten restrictions on LGBTQ “propaganda.”
In December, Putin signed legislation making it illegal to promote or “praise” same-sex relationships, to publicly express non-heterosexual orientations, or to suggest they are “normal” — expanding a 2013 law that prohibited spreading “gay propaganda” among minors. That ban now applies to all ages.
The tougher law is just one way the war in Ukraine has made life worse for LGBTQ Russians. Rights groups and advocates who previously defended sexual and other minorities have been branded as “foreign agents.” Many were driven out of Russia.
Legal experts said the new ban was drafted vaguely to sow confusion and maximize the potential for prosecution and hefty fines against anyone engaging in public discourse that describes LGBTQ people in a positive, or even neutral, way — including in ads, books or online.
According to Human Rights Watch, whose Russian office was shut down in April, the law “perpetuates false and damaging messaging that tries to link LGBTQ people with pedophiles.”
By contrast, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has opened the door to legalizing same-sex civil unions after the war highlighted a lack of rights and protections for gay soldiers and their partners.
The Washington Post spoke to members of Russia’s LGBTQ community to understand how the more draconian legislation has affected their lives. [...] It’s become very difficult to be a public LGBT person. People began to self-censor. The law itself is very confusing and unclear but everyone is panicking, deleting posts and so on. Another thing I noticed is how it affected publishers and bookstores, which now have to hide covers of books on LGBT themes. And the third thing is that I worry they will close any remaining help centers for queer people.
Most of my friends are LGBTQ activists and it’s especially dangerous and scary for them to remain in Russia. Kris wanted to leave back in February but I am not so quick, I need more time, but after this law I felt I definitely want to move away.”
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