It has been well over two years since I last made an entry on this Blog. That certainly has not been because there is not much going on in the world since 2021 or my lack of interest in all of it. I think I am just a little overwhelmed by the events of the last few years and in a little bit of despair about what the future holds. I am not good at foreseeing what is to come and tend to give more credibility to darker outcomes. However much I try to look at positive things for the future, it all looks pretty grim to me. There are so many disturbing situations that seem perilous for all of us; the polarization of US politics, the China-Taiwan standoff, North Korea sabre rattling, and a whole myriad of tumult in the Middle East. Looming over all of this are the ever-increasing consequences of climate change.
And then there is the most immediate threat of all . . . Russia's illegal and unprovoked attack on Ukraine.
I cannot properly express my disdain for Putin, Russia, the remnants of its Soviet culture, and even its people. I will not say more about this very dim view of all things Russian. But today I read the words of a Russian citizen, Vladimir Kara-Murza, who is on trial for speaking out against the tyranny of the Putin regime. Clearly, he is an individual of incredible courage and a beam of light in my very dark view of the future and of Russians.
This was in today's Washington Post:
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"Vladimir Kara-Murza delivered these remarks on Monday at the closing session of his trial in Moscow.
MOSCOW CITY COURT — Members of the court: I was sure, after two decades spent in Russian politics, after all that I have seen and experienced, that nothing can surprise me anymore. I must admit that I was wrong. I’ve been surprised by the extent to which my trial, in its secrecy and its contempt for legal norms, has surpassed even the “trials” of Soviet dissidents in the 1960s and ’70s. And that’s not even to mention the harshness of the sentence requested by the prosecution or the talk of “enemies of the state.” In this respect, we’ve gone beyond the 1970s — all the way back to the 1930s. For me, as a historian, this is an occasion for reflection.
At one point during my testimony, the presiding judge reminded me that one of the extenuating circumstances was “remorse for what [the accused] has done.” And although there is little that’s amusing about my present situation, I could not help smiling: The criminal, of course, must repent of his deeds. I’m in jail for my political views. For speaking out against the war in Ukraine. For many years of struggle against Vladimir Putin’s dictatorship. For facilitating the adoption of personal international sanctions under the Magnitsky Act against human rights violators.
Not only do I not repent of any of this, I am proud of it. I am proud that Boris Nemtsov brought me into politics. And I hope that he is not ashamed of me. I subscribe to every word that I have spoken and every word of which I have been accused by this court. I blame myself for only one thing: that over the years of my political activity I have not managed to convince enough of my compatriots and enough politicians in the democratic countries of the danger that the current regime in the Kremlin poses for Russia and for the world. Today this is obvious to everyone, but at a terrible price — the price of war.
In their last statements to the court, defendants usually ask for an acquittal. For a person who has not committed any crimes, acquittal would be the only fair verdict. But I do not ask this court for anything. I know the verdict. I knew it a year ago when I saw people in black uniforms and black masks running after my car in the rearview mirror. Such is the price for speaking up in Russia today.
But I also know that the day will come when the darkness over our country will dissipate. When black will be called black and white will be called white; when at the official level it will be recognized that two times two is still four; when a war will be called a war, and a usurper a usurper; and when those who kindled and unleashed this war, rather than those who tried to stop it, will be recognized as criminals.
This day will come as inevitably as spring follows even the coldest winter. And then our society will open its eyes and be horrified by what terrible crimes were committed on its behalf. From this realization, from this reflection, the long, difficult but vital path toward the recovery and restoration of Russia, its return to the community of civilized countries, will begin.
Even today, even in the darkness surrounding us, even sitting in this cage, I love my country and believe in our people. I believe that we can walk this path."
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Vladimir Kara-Murza, a Global Opinions contributor to The Post, is a Russian politician, author and historian. He holds Russian and British passports and settled his family in the United States. He has been an outspoken critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin. In April 2022, nearly two months after Putin invaded Ukraine, uniformed police officers surrounded Kara-Murza’s car and took him to a Moscow police station. Initially detained on a spurious charge of disobeying the police, Kara-Murza was indicted 11 days later under a law passed in the wake of the invasion. A Russian court charged him with spreading what it considers “false” information. He maintains his innocence. A conviction could bring 10 years in prison.
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