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Among Russians who oppose Vladimir V. Putin and his brutal Ukraine invasion, hopes are high that the Russian dissidents freed last week as part of a prisoner exchange with the West will breathe new life into a fragmented opposition force. But if it promises an injection of energy into a movement struggling to effect change inside of Russia, it reignites a question older than the Russian Revolution — where is the more effective place to advocate for democratic change: from a prison cell inside of Russia, or in exile? For years, decades even, Russia’s opposition has been divided and beset with infighting; the Ukraine invasion has only exacerbated the grievances. And that was before the most influential opposition leader, Aleksei A. Navalny, died in an Arctic penal colony in February. The most prominent dissidents who remained — Ilya Yashin and Vladimir Kara-Murza, both freed last week — were serving long sentences, but they gained credibility from their willingness to forego the comforts of exile to speak their minds as inmates in Russia’s harsh prison system.

Persons: Vladimir V, Putin, Aleksei A, Navalny, Ilya Yashin, Vladimir Kara, Murza Locations: Ukraine, Russia, Russian

☆ 5 Convicts Familiar With Navalny’s Prison Confirm Hellish Conditions
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-29 | by ( Ekaterina Bodyagina | Anatoly Kurmanaev | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The men described in phone interviews unbearable cold, repulsive food, unsanitary conditions and beatings in Penal Colony No. 3 of the remote Yamalo-Nenets region, where Mr. Navalny arrived in December to serve out the remainder of his 19-year old prison sentence. The former inmates said the conditions were especially brutal in the solitary cells where Mr. Navalny is believed to have been confined on the day he was pronounced dead. But what made the prison, known as IK-3 or the Troika, dreaded even by Russia’s hardened inmates was the exceptional psychological pressure and loneliness, they said. “It was complete and utter annihilation,” said a former inmate named Konstantin, who spent time in the prison’s solitary confinement cells.

Persons: Aleksei A, Navalny, ”, Konstantin Locations: Russian

Convicted of selling drugs and ostracized by his family, he endured abuse from guards and frequent spells in solitary confinement at a high-security Russian prison. He told a friend he felt alone and racked with guilt. Then, in the summer of 2022, Mr. Mokin and other inmates in Penal Colony No. He offered freedom and money, even as he warned that the price for many would be death. Mr. Mokin and 196 other inmates enlisted the same day.

Persons: Aleksandr Mokin, Mokin, Yevgeny V, fatigues, Wagner, “, ” Mr Organizations: Penal, The New York Times Locations: Chelyabinsk, Ukraine

Four former Russian inmates who fought with Wagner in eastern Ukraine said they had received calls and messages offering new military contracts in recent weeks, confirming recent reports by Russian military bloggers. Three former fighters said they were specifically urged to join Rosgvardia, Russia’s militarized national guard. Originally envisioned as a rear-guard force, Rosgvardia has gained prominence since the invasion of Ukraine under the leadership of Victor Zolotov, a former bodyguard of President Vladimir V. Putin. “Wagner is officially becoming a unit of Rosgvardia,” read a recruitment text received by a former Wagner fighter last week and seen by The New York Times. “The entire structure, methods of work and commanders remain the same.”

Persons: Wagner, Rosgvardia, Victor Zolotov, Vladimir V, Putin, Mr, “ Wagner, ” Organizations: Kremlin, Rosgvardia, The New York Times Locations: Ukraine

In a month spent at the front line, Aleksandr, an ex-convict serving in the Russian Army, hadn’t seen a single Ukrainian soldier and had barely fired a shot. He said he had watched dogs gnaw at the uncollected corpses of his dead comrades, drunk rain water and scavenged garbage dumps for food. Aleksandr claims that out of the 120 men in his unit, only about 40 remain alive. “We are being sent to a slaughter,” Aleksandr said in a series of audio messages from the Kherson region, referring to his commanders. “We are not human to them, because we are criminals.”

Persons: Aleksandr, hadn’t, ” Aleksandr, ” Organizations: Russian Army, The New York Times Locations: Ukrainian, Ukraine, Kherson

Just days before the Russian invasion of Ukraine, with Moscow’s forces massing on the border, officials in the medieval town of Lützen, Germany, afforded landmark status to a Soviet-era World War II memorial standing outside a kindergarten in the town center. “Glory to the great Russian people — the nation of victors,” reads an inscription that was repainted by local officials in June on one side of the 10-foot, pyramidal monument. Inscribed on another side in bright red is a quote from Joseph Stalin commemorating 12 Soviet prisoners of war who died at German hands while working at the local sugar factory. A bright red star with gold-colored hammer and sickle adorns the pyramid’s peak. Scattered across Germany, but primarily in what was once the Soviet-dominated German Democratic Republic in the east, are more than 4,000 protected monuments commemorating the sacrifices of Soviet soldiers in the struggle against Nazism.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered a partial mobilization after setbacks in Ukraine. Insider spoke to one Russian man that was called up and obtained a copy of his draft summons. Thousands of Russians have begun to flee the country to avoid being drafted to fight in Ukraine after President Vladimir Putin announced a partial mobilization, which will see 300,000 reservists called up. One, who asked to be identified only as "Nikita" for security reasons, spoke to Insider about how he was handed military summons letters while still in custody. He told Insider he received it at a Moscow police station, where he had been taken after being arrested at a demonstration.

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