Translator Yelena Abramova, 43, was first detained in late 2022 for a solo protest demonstration during which she held up a “No to War” sign. The second time she was detained, in the spring of 2023, she was holding a sign that read: “Peace Without War, Russia Without Putin!” Finally, in the summer of 2023, a criminal probe was launched against Abramova after she demanded “Freedom to Navalny.”
Over the long months of her prosecution and trial, Abramova, who is raising a teenage daughter, lost her job. In May, a St. Petersburg court sentenced her to two years in a penal colony for “repeat discreditation” of the Russian army.
Abramova asked the court to defer her sentence until her daughter turns 18, in two years, but the judge declined her request. She talked about her reasons for protesting during her “Last Word” – a rare opportunity for free speech granted to defendants under Russian law. Despite ever-tightening restrictions on free expression, the Last Word provision has mostly continued to be honored. We here offer a slightly abridged translation of Abramova’s statement:
We are at a point in history where persecuting someone for opposing mass killings no longer feels unacceptable, just as aggression itself no longer feels impermissible. It’s as if this terrifying reality is now the context for all our words and actions. But I am convinced that human life is of greater value than anything on Earth.
What is it that I’m accused of? Just what is it that our state, as represented by the apologists and initiators of this war, consider a crime? My love of life? My conviction that we have no business going to foreign soil armed with weapons? We have our own country that can and must be developed. Our own country, where people could be living instead of perishing among the ruins of Ukrainian villages. Instead of killing Ukrainians, these people could be living in a free and happy Russia. They could be raising their children, working, traveling, and enjoying a future.
“Peace Without War, Russia Without Putin” – these were the words on one of my signs. These two phrases were side by side: “Peace Without War” and “Russia Without Putin.”
For me, Putin is everything but the word “peace.” Russia is not Putin. Russia is its citizens, the people in whose interests the government should be acting.
In my view, Vladimir Putin is not merely sending people off to kill and die to no purpose: he’s also killing our future. Thirty years in power aren’t enough for him – he has to immortalize himself using foreign blood to make his mark on history.
If you remember, I testified at one hearing that, upon seeing my sign, a representatives of so-called “law and order” told me: “If you don’t like Russia – leave.” What am I to make of this? I want to live in my country. I want to maintain my right to live in a free and peaceful Russia. It seems unthinkable to throw somebody in prison for nothing more than a personal view, for a desperate attempt to say something in the defense of peace. “No to War.” “Freedom to Prisoners.”
Alexey Navalny was murdered in prison on February 16, 2024. A man who was fighting for a free and peaceful Russia became a victim of Vladimir Putin’s regime. But it wasn’t enough for Putin to just put him in jail and create impossible conditions for him there. Just as with Boris Nemtsov in 2015, it was a political murder, aimed at erasing opposition to Putin’s militaristic, aggressive leadership. I have no doubt about this.
How can anyone justify war, rationalize it, repeat propagandist slogans? Justify it, and inject it with some sacred meaning?
The truth is that people are dying not for some ideals, but only because Vladimir Putin wants to play geopolitics. So far, some 100,000 people have died. That is the number of confirmed losses by Russia since February 24, 2022. Why are these people fighting on foreign soil? Why did Putin send them there to kill and die? What liberation or what peace have they brought to Ukrainian citizens? Why was hatred toward Ukraine and Ukrainians being fanned in my fellow Russians? Why was it necessary to annex Crimea, to engage in a bloody escapade in Donbas, to whip up imperialistic sentiments? It’s not just me who has no coherent answer to these questions; it’s also those who started this war. The instigators of the war cannot explain its goals. This ambiguity is also part of government policy.
Today we are reaping the fruits of an insane decision by one autocrat obsessed with the idea of limitless power. This government is totally self-centered, and human life means nothing in its eyes. Its power is grounded in the fear and indifference of the majority. But by now we have already been robbed of the ability to simply live our private lives. We cannot make any plans of our own. Can we stay on the sidelines? Can we get used to this? My answer is no. We cannot.
https://t.me/deptone/12827
«Кабинеты для свиданий с подзащитными — это сакральное место. Ни в советские времена, ни в более поздние — российские — времена не было такого, чтобы суды давали разрешение на прослушку этих свиданий. А потом сведения, полученные таким образом, представлялись в суд в качестве доказательств.»
"The room where attorneys and their defendants confer is a sacred place. Never before – not in Soviet times, nor in more recent times, in Russia – did courts ever sanction tapping these meeting rooms and then admit transcripts of the meetings as evidence in court."
«Следует отметить, что столь незначительные суммы штрафов не способствуют соблюдению закона лицами, признанными иностранными агентами, а сами иноагенты до последнего времени торжествуют по факту их включения в реестр. Я думаю, что Министерство юстиции будет предлагать инициативы, потому что эту уголовную ответственность нужно вводить. Это и есть новая концепция. Хватит нянчиться с этими субъектами, которые ничего хорошего для нашей страны не приносят.»
"It should be noted that such miniscule fines are not conducive to the law being followed by individuals recognized as foreign agents. And the foreign agents themselves have so far actually celebrated their inclusion in the register. I believe that the Justice Ministry will suggest some initiatives, because criminal punishment must be introduced. That is the new concept. Enough babying these people, who bring nothing good to our country."
«Он [иноагент] даже сейчас, услышав дискуссию, понимает, что страна и депутаты работают в этом направлении, делают все для того, чтобы защитить государственность. И эти люди не будут спать спокойно, находясь там, а будут думать о том, что их ждет здесь.»
"[A foreign agent] understands now that lawmakers and the country are working on this, that they are doing everything to defend our state. And these people will not sleep soundly while they are living there, because they will be thinking about what awaits them here."
«Все эти миротворческие схемы, которые рисуют Макроны и Стармеры, исходят из того, что это требуется, чтобы сохранить хоть кусочек земли, на которой сохранится нацистский, откровенно русофобский режим, заточенный под очередную подготовку очередной войны против России»
"All these peace schemes drawn up by the Macrons and Starmers are based on the notion that ITIS is essential to maintain at least a sliver of land for the Nazi-ESQUE, outright Russophobic regime, which is focused on preparing for yet another war against Russia."
Russia is registering a sharp decrease in the production of hard liquor, which fell by 26% during the first four months of 2025. Other alcoholic drinks have also decreased in production, and sales of alcohol (excluding beer, cider or similar products not included in the statistics) dropped by 16.2% year on year.
Experts say the change is due to a number of factors, including a 15% hike in the excise duty that Russia slaps on ethyl alcohol and a poor grape harvest in the country’s south last year. Also, perhaps Russians are drinking less? Indeed, there is other evidence that a healthier way of life is coming into fashion: statistics show that the number of fitness clubs in Russia has grown by 12.3%. The top sports-crazed regions are Moscow, Moscow Oblast, St. Petersburg, Krasnodar Krai and Sverdlovsk Oblast.
Russian theaters are reporting growing audiences: in 2024, theaters reported a 3% increase in visitors versus the year before, or a total of 36.9 million persons. Meanwhile, gross income from ticket sales rose by an impressive 22%. The increase is partly attributed to a growing number of shows and, as a consequence, the sheer number of tickets available. (Vedomosti)
Russia’s negative attitudes towards migrant workers from other former Soviet countries have been on the rise. A record 22% polled said they view increasing labor migration “definitely negatively,” double the level of 20 years ago.
Responses to surveys asking, “What is your opinion of Russian construction sites having more workers from Moldova, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and other countries of the ‘near abroad’?” have been shifting over the past two decades.
While there is diversity of opinions on migrant workers, more people believe that they hurt rather than enrich Russians.
66% feel that migrant workers increase crime rates 56% feel that they take jobs from Russians 52% feel that they “destroy” Russian culture 31% feel that they help Russia’s economic development 21% feel that they enrich Russian society by bringing new ideas and cultures
40 years after Mikhail Gorbachev’s reforms, known as perestroika, Russians’ collective memory still casts them in a negative light. Gorbachev, who became general secretary of the Communist Party’s Central Committee in 1985, initiated political changes that ultimately led to the breakup of the Soviet Union, but also brought a freer press, freedom of movement, political parties, and capitalism.
Public opinion of Gorbachev’s reforms has remained relatively negative since 2000, with 59% saying that perestroika brought Russia more harm than good. But, as expected, the younger generations are less inclined to think negatively of the changes. Interestingly, the difference of opinions is not very stark between people with different levels of education or income.
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