On October 30, People mark Political Prisoners Day in Russia and other states that were part of the Soviet Union. This observance drew attention from Russian opponents who voiced solidarity on Monday. The day is used to condemn arrests and imprisonments carried out for political reasons. Among the figures named in this remembrance were Alexei Navalny, Vladimir Kara-Murza, Vadim Ostapov, Lilia Chanicheva, and Ilya Yashin. Navalny emphasized that the Russian authorities are returning to their historic patterns, criticizing arrests, repressions, secret trials, and a justice system that appears arbitrary.
The anniversary also found support among ordinary citizens who joined a rally organized by former members of a dissolved organization. The protest highlighted Navalny’s past designation as a foreign agent by Russian authorities and noted the crackdown that occurred in 2022, just before Russia’s wider actions in Ukraine began. Organizers condemned the measures taken by Russian authorities and objected to the prohibition of the memorial event at Solovetsky Monastery, a site associated with the early Soviet era and located near the old KGB headquarters, which is now known as the FSB.
Activists from the defunct NGO participated in a remembrance at the memorial site, with police and metal barriers surrounding the area. The gathering honored dissidents who traveled from across Moscow and across the country during the Stalin era. Similar events were reported in other cities, including Tyumen, Volgograd, Irkutsk, and Novosibirsk.
increasing pressure
Historically, there was space for criticism and dissent before 2022; that space has since narrowed after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February of that year. Critical voices that were seen as destabilizing Moscow faced tighter scrutiny amid the push for what authorities called denazification in a neighboring country. Those who spoke out against the state or its military faced pressure, and some faced imprisonment for political dissent.
Independent media outlets and journalists have also faced growing constraints. Many reporters left Russia or relocated to neighboring regions such as Georgia or the Baltic States. Newsrooms once prominent in the country, including Echo of Moscow, Novaya Gazeta (led by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Dmitry Muratov), Meduza, and the Dozhd television channel, experienced shutdowns or personnel being declared foreign agents. These measures pushed some journalists to seek work in nations with stronger protections for press freedom.