March 16, 2025

Fleeting Freedom


Fleeting Freedom
There and back again... The Russian Life files

Vladislav Postnikov's 14-day jail sentence was set to end on March 14. However, shortly after he tasted freedom, he was arrested once again.

On March 1, Postnikov, who is the editor-in-chief of a local web newspaper in Yekaterinburg, was initially detained under charges of distributing "extremist symbols." The court cited a pair of Telegram posts. In one, Postnikov poses with a member of Alexey Navalny's team, who wears a jacket with a red exclamation point on a white background, a symbol of Navalny's anticorruption organization. The posts were published in 2020 and 2022.

When Postnikov was released on March 14, however, he was soon back in jail for the second time in a month. Authorities cited another Telegram post, this one from 2021, in which Postnikov discussed fake videos attributed to Navalny. It also included the exclamation point symbol.

Postnikov reportedly suspects that the authorities arrested him because he was due to deliver a lecture on Ural identity the same day.

Posstnikov's ordeal matches reports from elsewhere in Russia, as Moscow cracks down on dissent amid the ongoing full-scale war in Ukraine. His newspaper, Vechernie Vedemosti, was fined repeatedly in 2022 and 2023 for covering anti-war protests. 

You Might Also Like

Women's Rights in Wartime
  • March 04, 2025

Women's Rights in Wartime

Women's rights activists face increased pressure and reduced domestic violence resources in Russia.
Russia's Year of Horror
  • February 24, 2023

Russia's Year of Horror

After a year of horrific war, why does a magazine like Russian Life continue? Why not simply wash our hands of it and walk away?
Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of our Books

The Moscow Eccentric
December 01, 2016

The Moscow Eccentric

Advance reviewers are calling this new translation "a coup" and "a remarkable achievement." This rediscovered gem of a novel by one of Russia's finest writers explores some of the thorniest issues of the early twentieth century.

Murder at the Dacha
July 01, 2013

Murder at the Dacha

Senior Lieutenant Pavel Matyushkin has a problem. Several, actually. Not the least of them is the fact that a powerful Soviet boss has been murdered, and Matyushkin's surly commander has given him an unreasonably short time frame to close the case.

The Samovar Murders
November 01, 2019

The Samovar Murders

The murder of a poet is always more than a murder. When a famous writer is brutally stabbed on the campus of Moscow’s Lumumba University, the son of a recently deposed African president confesses, and the case assumes political implications that no one wants any part of.

Fearful Majesty
July 01, 2014

Fearful Majesty

This acclaimed biography of one of Russia’s most important and tyrannical rulers is not only a rich, readable biography, it is also surprisingly timely, revealing how many of the issues Russia faces today have their roots in Ivan’s reign.

Murder and the Muse
December 12, 2016

Murder and the Muse

KGB Chief Andropov has tapped Matyushkin to solve a brazen jewel heist from Picasso’s wife at the posh Metropole Hotel. But when the case bleeds over into murder, machinations, and international intrigue, not everyone is eager to see where the clues might lead.

Survival Russian
February 01, 2009

Survival Russian

Survival Russian is an intensely practical guide to conversational, colloquial and culture-rich Russian. It uses humor, current events and thematically-driven essays to deepen readers’ understanding of Russian language and culture. This enlarged Second Edition of Survival Russian includes over 90 essays and illuminates over 2000 invaluable Russian phrases and words.

The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas
October 01, 2013

The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas

This exciting new trilogy by a Russian author – who has been compared to Orhan Pamuk and Umberto Eco – vividly recreates a lost world, yet its passions and characters are entirely relevant to the present day. Full of mystery, memorable characters, and non-stop adventure, The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas is a must read for lovers of historical fiction and international thrillers.

 
Marooned in Moscow
May 01, 2011

Marooned in Moscow

This gripping autobiography plays out against the backdrop of Russia's bloody Civil War, and was one of the first Western eyewitness accounts of life in post-revolutionary Russia. Marooned in Moscow provides a fascinating account of one woman's entry into war-torn Russia in early 1920, first-person impressions of many in the top Soviet leadership, and accounts of the author's increasingly dangerous work as a journalist and spy, to say nothing of her work on behalf of prisoners, her two arrests, and her eventual ten-month-long imprisonment, including in the infamous Lubyanka prison. It is a veritable encyclopedia of life in Russia in the early 1920s.

About Us

Russian Life is the 31-year-old publication of an award-winning publishing house that also creates books, and other products for Russophiles the world over.

Latest Posts

Our Contacts

Russian Life
73 Main Street, Suite 402
Montpelier VT 05602

802-223-4955