Due to the aggressive war against Ukraine, repression in Russia is becoming more and more widespread and brutal, but it becomes increasingly difficult to collect information about it
The project “Support for Political Prisoners. Memorial” presents the report ‘Political Prisoners and Political Repression in Russia in 2024’. In our large report, we analyse the key trends in politically motivated persecution in Russia and the Russian-occupied territories of Ukraine over the past year.
As repression in Russia becomes more widespread and brutal, it is becoming increasingly clear that we are only seeing the tip of the iceberg. Recently, our project published a list of imprisoned people whose persecution shows signs of political motive and illegality. We have collected data on more than 3,300 people, but we still do not know anything about the thousands of individuals who have been persecuted for political reasons.
Nevertheless, based on the cases we do know, this report attempts to assess the scale and brutality of Russian repression, which is inseparable from the aggressive campaign against Ukraine, now in its fourth year.
In our report, you will find an overview of the key events that have shaped the dynamics of Russian political persecution in 2024. You will read about the murder of Alexei Navalny and the deaths of other prisoners, the large-scale criminal case over the protests in Baimak and the repression of LGBTQ+ people, the persecution of minors and prisoner exchanges. You will learn about who are the most frequent victims of political repression and the accusations used by Russian security forces in their fight against dissenters.
Of course, the law enforcers’ crosshairs are constantly focused on Ukrainian residents and Russians who oppose war with Ukraine. But as the repression becomes more brutal and unpredictable, more and more people from a wide range of groups in Russian society are being targeted.
Head of the project “Support for Political Prisoners. Memorial” Sergey Davidis:
“It seems to me that in our annual report (this is the fifth such review) we have managed to outline a comprehensive and convincing picture of political repression in Russia today, although not complete. It once again clearly demonstrates the falsity of the propaganda thesis of universal support for the authorities and clearly demonstrates the tools of ensuring its control over society”.