Three days ago, Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) announced that:

“European lawmakers have approved a resolution that calls for the ‘immediate and unconditional release’ of all political prisoners held in Russia, including journalists Alsu Kurmasheva and Evan Gershkovich.

“The resolution was part of a joint motion in the European Parliament on April 25, condemning Russia’s ‘undemocratic’ presidential election last month and their ‘illegitimate extension’ to territories inside Ukraine that Moscow has illegally annexed.” [RFE/RL, April 25, 2024.]

“Aha!” I impulsively exclaimed. And then I reminded myself that this resolution of the legislative body of the European Union (EU) is just that: a resolution of condemnation. Russia is not a member of the EU. What can the EU do? Arrest the country? Throw Vladimir Putin into prison? Hardly.

What they can do, of course, is issue further, ever more onerous sanctions in an attempt to make life miserable for Putin and his cronies. That’s fine. But massive sanctions have already been piled one on top of another, and despite the financial hardships, Putin continues to find support from countries willing to ignore the sanctions: China, India, Iran. And his tyrannical reign marches steadfastly on.

But perhaps — just perhaps — the continued international pressure on Putin will finally have some effect. The resolution calls for “the immediate and unconditional release and compensation of all political prisoners .. . . unjustly imprisoned journalists, including Alsu Kurmasheva and Evan Gershkovich, and their families, for the restoration of freedom of expression and association in Russia and for increased international scrutiny and monitoring of human rights abuses in Russia.” [RFE/RL, id.] It also specifically names, among others, Vladimir Kara-Murza, Oleg Orlov, Ksenia Fadeyeva, and Ilya Yashin — names already sadly familiar to us as included in my weekly list.

There likely isn’t a snowball’s chance in hell of any freedoms or human rights being restored to the people of Russia as long as Vladimir Putin sits in the Kremlin. But if any — even a single one — of the hostages obtains a quick release, then the resolution can be deemed a success. And if the EU and other institutions and governments continue to apply pressure, then maybe . . .

Well, we’ll take every ray of hope we can get.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
4/28/24