The harassment and sanctioned murder of opposition voices are no longer the exception in Russia; rather, they are part and parcel of President Vladimir Putin’s strategic intent to suppress those who challenge his government.
A conversation with: Ilya Yashin
Deputy Chairman of People’s Freedom Party
Ramzan Kadyrov, Mr. Putin’s close ally and leader of Chechnya, is widely believed to be responsible for orchestrating the murder of Russian opposition leader Boris Nemtsov in February 2015. In recent months, Kadyrov and his supporters have systematically harassed and threatened Russian opposition politicians who bravely speak out against Putin’s regime. In his revealing report, A Threat to National Security, Ilya Yashin details the extent of Kadyrov’s criminal activities and unrestrained corruption. Kadyrov now exercises complete control over Chechnya with a private army of thirty thousand loyal only to him. Kadyrov’s increasingly brazen actions signal that the Kremlin may not have complete control over the Chechen leader.
We hope you can join us for this important and timely discussion.
The live webcast of this event will be available.
Ilya Yashin is a Russian activist and liberal politician in Russia. He is the Deputy Chairman of the People’s Freedom Party (PARNAS), which was led by Boris Nemtsov until his death last year. In 2005, Mr. Yashin co-founded the civic youth movement Oborona, and until 2008, he was the leader of the Yabloko Party’s youth wing, where he organized mass protests and spoke to the media about the party’s causes. In 2012, he was elected to the Russian Opposition Coordination Council. An active participant in Strategy-31, a campaign for freedom of assembly, Mr. Yashin was arrested on December 31, 2010 for demonstrating in Moscow at one of the campaign’s rallies. He was taken to a police station and detained for fifteen days, leading Amnesty International to declare him a prisoner of conscience. Mr. Yashin was arrested again on October 27, 2012 with Alexey Navalny while attempting to join a Moscow protest. After Mr. Nemtsov’s death, Mr. Yashin continued to work on Mr. Nemtsov’s report, “Putin. War,” about Russian involvement in the Ukraine war. In February 2016, Ilya Yashin presented the report “Threat to National Security” on Ramzan Kadyrov in Russia amid protests and a bomb threat.