Putin Critic Writes Op-Ed From Jail, Says ‘Russia Will Be Free’ – Opinion

Vladimir Kara-Murza, a leading Vladimir Putin critic who is also a Washington Post contributor columnist was detained by the Kremlin on Monday. However, he still wrote an opinion piece for the Washington Post while in jail. The PostIt is not clear how he managed to pass what can be assumed must have been tight security. They only mention that he sent it through his lawyers.

Kara-Murza writes that if you were to believe there were no war protestors in Russia, you’d be wrong. He is not alone. There are actually many other protesters and activists inside the prison.

When you are told that no one protests against the war in Russia, don’t believe it. Many people involved in protests like these are held in special detention centers and police stations. These people are taken by police officers who immediately grab their hands and remove them. And there are no more media outlets in Russia that can talk about it.

A man in Russia sings the Ukrainian national anthem during a protest against Putin’s war in Ukraine near Red Square in Moscow. pic.twitter.com/qo6B6ZbTeM

— Battle Leaks Independent (@leaks_battle) April 11, 2022

Kara-Murza was arrested by five or six police officers from the Second Special Regiment of Moscow’s Main Internal Affairs Directorate (is it just me, or do they sound particularly unfriendly?) He was arrested just hours after appearing in an interview on CNN.

In the interview, he lambasted Russia’s war on Ukraine, calling the Putin regime “murderers.”

In the new WaPo piece, Kara-Murza also claims his detention was clearly political, and that the police didn’t even pretend to hide it. They wouldn’t, why would they? They don’t have to answer to anyone but Vlad.)

Everybody involved in this process (including Judge Diana Mishchenko, the Interior Ministry officers that brought me to court) understood that my only motive for arrest was my antiwar and political position.

For years, he has been subject to harassment by the Kremlin and claims that he was poisoned twice. (The Kremlin has long been known to be a fan of poison and used it against Alexei Navalny, an opposition leader.

Kara-Murza’s wife Evgenia has demanded his release, according to the Washington Examiner.

“Twice have the Russian authorities tried to kill my husband for advocating for sanctions against thieves and murderers. For calling their bloody WAR a war, they now want to put him in jail. I demand my husband’s immediate release!”

Russia’s current ruler, Vladimir Putin, has repeatedly proven that they are brutal, treacherous, and murderous.  We knew this already.

Kara-Murza didn’t mince any words. “Orwell lives on,” he writes. “War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength.”  Surprisingly, he ends on a hopeful note. His final line reads, “Russia will be free. I’ve never been so sure of it as I am today.”

Given current events, it seems unlikely that Russia will be “free” in the near future, if ever. However, we are able to appreciate his optimism as well as courage and believe that he will be right.