Nowhere to run, nowhere to hide
Russia is what Freedom House refers to as a “consolidated authoritarian regime,” and its democracy rating has declined even further in 2024 “due to omnipresent fraud, the absence of genuine opposition, violence, and intimidation of voters and domestic election monitors.” Russian citizens are not allowed to speak their minds and political opponents are treated harshly.
When Dmitry Gudkov, co-founder of the Russian Anti-War Committee, an organisation that co-ordinates efforts to oppose the war in Ukraine, arrived at London’s Luton Airport last year to attend a friend’s birthday, he was met by two plain-clothed UK police officers. They weren’t there to arrest him. Instead, they had come to warn him, out of concern for his safety. Apparently, he is on a list of people who are in danger and is wanted in Russia for "spreading fakes" about the Russian army. Gudkov currently lives in exile in an EU country.
Now that dissent has effectively been eliminated at home, Russia has turned its attention to opponents living outside the country. People like Alesya Marokhovskaya, who moved to Prague thinking that she would be safe there. The threats she has been receiving are detailed enough to show that she is being closely monitored. For example, there was a promise to find her "wherever she walks her wheezing dog". Her dog really does wheeze when it walks. When she was about to fly to Sweden for a conference, her flight details, including the seat number, were shared with her anonymously.
Alesya has let go of the illusion of security she had when she first moved to Prague, and says: “Now I realise that [Russian intelligence services] can get their hands on people almost anywhere in Europe. I can’t say I’m not afraid, because I am."
Mark Galeotti, an analyst who studies the Russian security services, suggests that “intimidation is the intent. The idea that you'd better keep your head down. It’s a way of deterring the emergence of some kind of coherent political opposition [to the Kremlin].” Authoritarianism 101.
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