Russia is increasingly beginning to resemble the late Stalinist system — only adapted to the age of the internet. Where once “enemies of the people” were hunted for kitchen jokes, today a single word online is enough. One comment, one “well done” — and the repressive machine is already ready to turn a person into a “terrorist,” “traitor,” and “saboteur.”
This is exactly what happened to Artyom Asalkhudin from Ust-Ilimsk in the Irkutsk region, who worked at a social welfare center. The reason for the criminal prosecution was the comment “well done,” left under news about the attack on the Ust-Ilimsk military commissar during mobilization. At first, security forces opened a case only for “justifying terrorism.” But that was not enough for a system that no longer seeks merely to punish a person — it seeks to publicly destroy their life.
Then the familiar mechanism of the repressive state was activated: investigators began to “prove” that Asalkhudin had allegedly cooperated with the Freedom of Russia Legion, prepared sabotage, and committed a number of other “crimes.” At the same time, according to available information, Artyom did not admit to cooperating with the Legion or preparing sabotage, and in reality only acknowledged the internet comment itself. No convincing public evidence of actual cooperation with the Legion was openly presented to society — but in today’s Russia, that is no longer an obstacle to a monstrous sentence.
As a result, the court found him guilty of “treason,” “justifying terrorism,” and other charges, sentencing him to 18 years in a maximum-security penal colony.
A state that has declared itself a “besieged fortress” is turning its own citizens into internal enemies. The authorities no longer need to prove real danger — it is enough that a person said or thought something the system disapproves of. After that, investigators “discover” the necessary episodes, prosecutors invent connections that may never have existed, and the court obediently approves the predetermined verdict.
In a country where the judiciary has long ceased to be independent and has effectively merged with prosecutors and security services, guilt increasingly becomes a mere formality. Decisions are made not on the basis of justice or convincing evidence, but according to political expediency. In exchange for loyalty, the system’s enforcers receive careers, privileges, and a sense of total impunity — all paid for with the lives of the people this system destroys and imprisons for decades.
Today in Russia, a person can receive 18 years of strict imprisonment not for proven violence, but for a word, an emotion, or an online comment. The repressive machine no longer hides its essence: it does not need criminals, but a frightened society where everyone is afraid even of their own thoughts.
Source: Telegram channel “People of Baikal”
https://t.me/Baikal_People/14664
Russia is increasingly beginning to resemble the late Stalinist system — only adapted to the age of the internet. Where once “enemies of the people” were hunted for kitchen jokes, today a single word online is enough. One comment, one “well done” — and the repressive machine is already ready to turn a person into a “terrorist,” “traitor,” and “saboteur.”
This is exactly what happened to Artyom Asalkhudin from Ust-Ilimsk in the Irkutsk region, who worked at a social welfare center. The reason for the criminal prosecution was the comment “well done,” left under news about the attack on the Ust-Ilimsk military commissar during mobilization. At first, security forces opened a case only for “justifying terrorism.” But that was not enough for a system that no longer seeks merely to punish a person — it seeks to publicly destroy their life.
Then the familiar mechanism of the repressive state was activated: investigators began to “prove” that Asalkhudin had allegedly cooperated with the Freedom of Russia Legion, prepared sabotage, and committed a number of other “crimes.” At the same time, according to available information, Artyom did not admit to cooperating with the Legion or preparing sabotage, and in reality only acknowledged the internet comment itself. No convincing public evidence of actual cooperation with the Legion was openly presented to society — but in today’s Russia, that is no longer an obstacle to a monstrous sentence.
As a result, the court found him guilty of “treason,” “justifying terrorism,” and other charges, sentencing him to 18 years in a maximum-security penal colony.
A state that has declared itself a “besieged fortress” is turning its own citizens into internal enemies. The authorities no longer need to prove real danger — it is enough that a person said or thought something the system disapproves of. After that, investigators “discover” the necessary episodes, prosecutors invent connections that may never have existed, and the court obediently approves the predetermined verdict.
In a country where the judiciary has long ceased to be independent and has effectively merged with prosecutors and security services, guilt increasingly becomes a mere formality. Decisions are made not on the basis of justice or convincing evidence, but according to political expediency. In exchange for loyalty, the system’s enforcers receive careers, privileges, and a sense of total impunity — all paid for with the lives of the people this system destroys and imprisons for decades.
Today in Russia, a person can receive 18 years of strict imprisonment not for proven violence, but for a word, an emotion, or an online comment. The repressive machine no longer hides its essence: it does not need criminals, but a frightened society where everyone is afraid even of their own thoughts.
Source: Telegram channel “People of Baikal”
https://t.me/Baikal_People/14664
Categories:
Tags: