Senior human rights defender freed in exchange says Russia is returning to Stalinist era
BERLIN: A human rights activist since the 1980s, Oleg Orlov believes Russia took a turn after the collapse of the Soviet Union and a democratically elected president.
But Vladimir Putin came to power, crushed dissent and invaded Ukraine. Eventually, Orlov, 71, was imprisoned for opposing the war. Freed last week in the largest East-West prison swap since the Cold War, he was forced into exile — like the Soviet dissidents of his youth.
In an interview with The Associated Press on Thursday in Berlin, Orlov denounced the extent and severity of repression under Putin, with people jailed for merely criticizing the authorities, something not seen since the days of dictator Josef Stalin.
And he vows to continue his work to free Russia's many political prisoners and keep their names local.
“We are going into the Stalin era,” said Orlov, who showed occasional signs of exhaustion from a busy schedule of media interviews in the weeks since his release.
He was sentenced to 2½ years in prison in February for writing anti-war articles. When he was unexpectedly transferred last month to a prison in central Russia in the lead-up to the Aug. 1 prison swap, he was awaiting transfer to a penal colony after losing to the appeal.
The move was a complete surprise, he told AP.
First, he was asked to write a petition for Putin's pardon – something he says he flatly refused. Several days later, he was put in a van and, to his surprise, went to the airport in Samara and was sent to Moscow.
“To find yourself on a plane, among free people, straight from prison – a strange feeling,” said Orlov.
Three more days later, in the famous Lefortovo prison in Moscow, isolated in his cell, where he wrote a complaint that he is not allowed access to his lawyer. Then, he was shown a letter stating that he had been pardoned. He was again put on a plane, this time outside Russia, along with other freed dissidents, and met in Germany by Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
He smiled as he recalled seeing familiar faces on the bus to the airport — artist and musician Sasha Skochilenko, jailed for a small anti-war protest, dissident politician Andrei Pivovarov, and others.
“So, when the security personnel announced (on the bus) that it was a transaction, we understood it well,” he said.
While detained in Lefortovo, Orlov suspected that another criminal case was being prepared against him. Regarding the charges that the authorities could file, he said, “They found (one) no problem.”
“The machine of repression … has been set up and is running on its own,” said the long-time human rights activist. “The machine works to feed itself and can only strengthen the clamps, making them more rigid.”
Memorial, the rights group that Nobel Peace Prize laureate Orlov co-founded, says more than 760 political prisoners are still being held in Russia. Another prominent rights group, OVD-Info, said more than 1,300 are in prison for political reasons.
Some of them face alone, without a lawyer or doctor, often on the orders of the authorities, said Orlov.
Dissident politicians, such as the late Alexei Navalny or the recently defected Vladimir Kara-Murza, were kept in such isolated conditions in remote penal colonies, and their health deteriorated. those.
“My experience was easier than a lot of others,” Orlov said. “The prison officials never broke the law with me,” he added, “I did not stand out from the crowd.”
Still, it's important to support the growing number of those persecuted for political reasons, he said, from keeping their plight in the headlines to sending them letters. , and care packages and support for their families.
In prison, “there's always that feeling of caring for your family. Knowing that your family will be okay really helps you feel at peace. And the most important thing in prison is to not be depressed and feel peace of mind,” said Orlov.
In the hectic days since he began his new life in exile that he never wanted, Orlov has had little time to process his new freedom, and he still hasn't been reunited with his wife.
But he is determined to continue his work with the Memorial, saying there are still things lawyers can do from outside Russia, such as maintaining a database of political prisoners and coordinating aid. for those in prison.
A complete end to repression, however, will only happen when Putin's “repressive, terrorist regime” is gone, he said.
