In two days from today, the sham trial of American journalist Evan Gershkovich is scheduled to begin in Yekaterinburg, Russia, where he was arrested 15 months ago. Accused of spying, he has been “detained” ever since in Moscow’s Lefortovo Prison, with only unsubstantiated accusations — but not a shred of real evidence — being presented against him.

And now it has been announced that his trial will be held behind closed doors. U.S. Embassy officials have. been trying to gain admittance to the so-called trial, but are uncertain of their chances of success.

Secret trials are nothing new in Russia, dating back farther in time than most people living today can remember, to the “show trials” of Joseph Stalin’s real or imagined political enemies. And this generation — the Putin generation — sees nothing wrong with resurrecting the worst practices of one of the darkest periods of its history. “If it works, why not keep it?” — seems to be the prevailing philosophy.

Yeah . . . That’s Russian justice, all right. So who will act as Evan Gershkovich’s judge? And where is his jury? In fact, where is Evan Gershkovich? Has he already been moved across the 1,000-plus miles from Moscow to Yekaterinburg? And if so, why wasn’t the American Embassy notified?

Thirty years of progress have been summarily wiped out by one little man with a Napoleon complex. But does Vladimir Putin remember what happened to the man after whom that complex is named? Has he never heard of history repeating itself? Tyrants eventually fall, whether at the hands of their own disillusioned, ultimately fed-up people; or perhaps — as in the case of the overly ambitious Napoleon Bonaparte — by the brutal Russian winter of 1812; or simply by reaching the natural end of their God-given days.

But tyranny is seldom vanquished without a little push, or a serious shove. Lest we forget: “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” *

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
6/24/24

* Commonly attributed — apparently incorrectly — to Edmund Burke.