Another Sunday. And this week we have three new names to add — not as HOSTAGES yet, but now labelled by the Putin government as “Foreign Agents” . . . a designation just as frightening as it sounds. Because it is frequently the final move toward actual charges being filed for some bogus infraction of a newly made-up, ambiguous, one-size-fits-all law. Wisely, the first two, both prominent Russian journalists, have left the country for the relative safety of nearby Baltic nations, but continue to wonder when — if ever — they will be able to return home.

Ilya Barabanov is a BBC Russian correspondent who has written extensively about Russia’s war in Ukraine, and about the Wagner mercenary group formerly headed by now deceased Yevgeny Prigozhin. Barabanov has been accused by the Russian Ministry of Justice (an oxymoron if ever there was one) of “‘spreading false information’ about Russian government decisions and policies, and of opposing the war in Ukraine.” The BBC has, of course, strongly objected to the action against its correspondent, and has reported:

“The term ‘foreign agent’ recalls the Soviet-era campaign against ‘enemies of the people.’ ‘Foreign agents’ have to identify themselves as such on social media and in other publications, and face burdensome financial reporting requirements.” [Quotes from Laurence Peter, BBC News, April 12, 2024.]

Asya Kazantseva, a science reporter, “signed an open letter from Russian scientists and science journalists demanding that Russian troops withdraw from Ukraine.” [Id.] She reported being harassed by pro-war figures, and having her lectures and book presentations cancelled. Wisely, she left Russia in January.

Openly stating their opinions on matters of general knowledge — opinions that happen to disagree with official policy — is their only crime. And for that, they have to flee for their lives. This is Vladimir Putin’s Russia — the model for the world he intends one day to rule.

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Boris Akunin is the pen name of one of Russia’s most popular novelists of historical and detective fiction — Grigori Shalvovich Chkhartishvili — who was placed on the list of “Foreign Agents” in January of this year and currently resides in the U.K. Born in the then Soviet Republic of Georgia in 1956, his family moved to Moscow in 1958. Educated at Moscow State University’s Institute of Asian and African Countries, he enjoyed a distinguished career as Chairman of the Board of a large Pushkin Library, and acted as editor-in-chief of the 20-volume Anthology of Japanese Literature. In addition to his other writings, he has contributed literary criticism and translations from Japanese, American, and English literature.

It seems that Grigori Chkhartishvili, or Boris Akunin, also has a somewhat mischievous sense of humor, since “Akunin” — his chosen surname — is a Japanese word that translates to “great bad man.” In one of his novels, The Diamond Chariot, he “redefines an ‘akunin’ as a great evil man who creates his own rules.” [Wikipedia biography, as of April 13, 2024.]

And he has not hesitated to live up to his pen name. According to the same Wikipedia biography:

“Akunin has been critical of Vladimir Putin’s domestic and foreign policies since the invasion of Georgia and the annexation of Crimea.

”Akunin participated in a fundraiser in 2022 to benefit Russians accused of ‘discrediting’ the Russian army under the Russian 2022 war censorship laws.

“. . . One of the few booksellers that continued to distribute Akunin’s books, Zakharov Books, came under investigation by the Investigative Committee of Russia. Russian politician Andrey Gurulyov called Akunin an ‘enemy’ that ‘must be destroyed.’

Akunin was then added by Rosfinmonitoring* to its list of terrorists and extremists, with Akunin specifically believed to be complicit in terrorist activity by the Russian Government. The government also opened a criminal case against Akunin, with allegations of discreditation of the Russian army. In response, Akunin wrote on Facebook: ‘Terrorists declared me a terrorist.’ In an article on his website, Akunin has warned Russians abroad to not return to Russia.” [Wikipedia biography.]

Not incidentally, he has also been an outspoken supporter of the late Alexei Navalny. Little wonder that he has had to make a run for it.

* Rosfinmonitoring is the acronym for the Federal Financial Monitoring Service of the Russian Federation, created by Vladimir Putin in 2001 for the purpose of “collect[ing] and analyz[ing] information about financial transactions, [allegedly] in order to combat domestic and international money laundering, terrorist financing, and other financial crimes. [Not surprisingly], [it] also provides lists of people accused of terrorist or ‘extremist’ activities and books.” [Quoted from Wikipedia; bracketed words are mine.]

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The list of those designated as “Foreign Agents” is a long one, and compiling a comprehensive roster of their names and biographies would be a full-time job. But I am inspired by the stories of these three to report occasional new additions to my personal list as they come to my attention. They are not HOSTAGES . . . yet . . . but they live under constant threat of “advancing” to that level (or worse) if they let their guard down.

So please . . . look at their faces again. Do not forget them. They are the victims of an oppressive regime that is carrying Russia back to Stalinist times: a regime that must be stopped.

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The rest of my growing list of HOSTAGES remains unchanged since last week, with no known movement as to the release of any, or new information on any possible exchanges. On the bright side, if there is one, there have been no reported deaths either . . . though I have to wonder if they all still consider that to be the bright side . . .

And here they are, once again:

Brendochka
4/14/24