inside the KGB

9-24-22 Under new law Russian troops face 10 years in jail for surrender, refusal to fight https://www.timesofisrael.com/russia-stiffens-penalty-for-surrender-or-refusal-to-fight-to-10-years-in-prison/ ……………..................... Since Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine began in February the Russian president has signed laws that crack down on people in his country who protest the war and independently report on its human cost. Drawing on remarkable footage from inside the country, Putin’s War at Home, a new FRONTLINE documentary directed and produced by award-winning filmmaker Gesbeen Mohammad and produced by Russian journalist Vasiliy Kolotilov, tells the stories of Russian journalists, activists and ordinary people who refuse to stay quiet in the face of Putin’s clampdown on dissent. Among them: an artist, Sasha, and her partner, Sonia, who went to a rally in St. Petersburg as Russia’s war on Ukraine started. “We realized it was impossible to stay silent,” Sonia says in the above excerpt. “Nobody could have imagined that such events would begin at the end of February and political repression would unfold so widely across the country.” Sonia tells FRONTLINE she wanted to say ‘no to war’ — words that she says “are considered extremist” in Russia and could lead to years in prison. “This explains why hundreds of thousands don’t go to protests,” she says in the excerpt. Russian authorities arrested thousands who protested against the war in the first month. Amid the crackdown, some protesters resorted to subtler ways of expressing their opposition. Sasha was one of them. As the excerpt shows, she posted stickers about the war in a grocery store, part of a trend Sonia says became popular in Russia. “These stickers — they are very similar to regular store price labels. But instead of the price there are numbers about the war in Ukraine,” Sonia explains. Sasha would pay a steep price for her actions. “I remember well the day when Sasha was arrested,” Sonia says. “Sasha left five anti-war stickers in a shop. The precise reason for her arrest was the price label with information about the victims in Mariupol,” the Ukrainian city that came under Russian assault early in the war https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/article/russia-protesters-arrested-putin-documentary-excerpt-ukraine-war/ ……….............................… Putin Signs Harsh Law Allowing Long Prison Terms For 'False News' About Army Anti-war protesters are detained in Yekaterinburg on February 26. The Kremlin said it needed a harsh new law to tackle such reports due to the current "information war." Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a new law into effect that calls for sentences of up to 15 years in prison for people who distribute "false news" about the Russian military. Major international broadcasters who have announced suspensions include BBC, CNN, Bloomberg, CBS and German ARD and ZDF to suspend reporting from inside Russia. Multiple websites of RFE/RL, BBC, and other outlets have also been blocked over what Russian regulators say is erroneous reports. Blocks by the Russian media watchdog Roskomnadzor have included social media including, most recently, Facebook. Roskomnadzor has ordered media across the country to only publish information provided by official sources. It also forbids describing the unprovoked actions as an invasion or a war, instead insisting they are called "special military operations." Russian lawmakers approved the draft law to criminalize spreading "false news" about the army on March 4. The legislation will be added as a separate article to the Criminal Code to "prevent the discrediting of the armed forces of the Russian Federation during their operations to protect the interests of the Russian Federation and its citizens, maintaining international peace and security." It envisages penalties of up to 10 years in prison for individuals convicted of the offense. The penalty for distribution of fake news about the Russian military that leads to "serious consequences" rises to up to 15 years in prison. It also makes it illegal "to make calls against the use of Russian troops to protect the interests of Russia" or "for discrediting such use" with a penalty possible of up to three years in prison. The same provision applies to calls for sanctions against Russia. The move comes as Russian authorities ratchet up pressure on media outlets, threatening them for their reporting about the invasion on topics such as heavy resistance being put up by Ukrainian forces despite Russia's overwhelming military power. On March 3, one of the most popular media outlets in the country, the Moscow-based Ekho Moskvy radio station, said it would be closing, at least temporarily, after being taken off air this week over its coverage of the invasion. https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-military-false-news/31737627.html …………............................. Dmitry Lobakin / POOL / TASS Speaking during a ceremony in Volgograd on Thursday to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the Battle of Stalingrad, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that it was "unbelievable, but true" that his country once again found itself being threatened by German tanks "with crosses on them."  “Those who expect to win on the battlefield apparently do not understand that a modern war with Russia will be utterly different for them. We are not the ones sending our tanks to their borders,” Putin said, referring to the military aid promised to Ukraine by its European and American allies. “But we have a way to respond, and it will not just end with the use of armored vehicles. Everyone should understand this,” Putin added, in an apparent allusion to Russia's enormous nuclear weapons arsenal.  Putin had earlier laid flowers at the eternal flame on Mamayev Kurgan, a hillside where much of the fighting took place that now hosts the "Battle of Stalingrad" museum complex and the city's famous statue "The Motherland Calls." https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2023/02/02/the-risks-of-russias-growing-dependence-on-the-yuan-a80127 ..................