I recently joined a Facebook group known as the Dull Women’s Club. After reading some of the members’ posts, I quickly realized that these women are, in fact, anything but dull. Bored, maybe. Dissatisfied, probably in some cases. But also bright, witty, compassionate, and supportive. So I joined, and I am so glad I did!

They come from all over the world, all ages, all sorts of backgrounds and current living conditions. And it turns out that they’re all — each in her own unique way — beautiful, and worth knowing.

But a problem has arisen recently: some men want to join our women’s club. There are, of course, differing views on this, and that’s fine. But here is mine, for what it’s worth:

Despite current attempts to blur the line between the sexes, there is a difference — a big one — between men and women. You may wish you were something you’re not; you may take steps to be something other than what you are; and you may be attracted to someone of your own gender. That’s all fine, if it makes you happy. But the fact is, if you have a uterus, working mammary glands, and no Adam’s apple, you are genetically female. If you have a penis, testicles, and that useless lump in your throat, you are male. And I say:

Vive la difference!

But we women — the ones who acknowledge and appreciate our womanliness — sometimes just want to be by ourselves, with other women, to talk about women’s things. When that’s the case, it’s uncomfortable to have men in the room. It doesn’t mean we don’t love you anymore, or don’t ever want you around. Just not in our women’s club. At least, that’s how I feel.

I understand there’s a Dull Men’s Club on Facebook too. I have no interest in joining it to hear about some jock’s latest sexual conquest, or his newest video game, or the best mud flaps for his monster truck, or whatever it is you talk about. But you guys go right ahead and enjoy yourselves. We women won’t interfere, I assure you. And we’d greatly appreciate it if you would return the favor.

Do I believe in equal rights for both sexes? Damn right, I do! But that doesn’t mean we’re alike in every way, nor do we need to be. We can have separate interests . . . separate opinions . . . different hormonal balances . . . and still be equal. In fact, it’s those very differences that make it so much fun to mingle when we do all get together. Just not all the time, okay?

Just sayin’. . .

Brendochka
3/5/24

It is too late for Alexei Navalny; but perhaps it is not too late for the others.

The terror continues, with two more prominent pro-freedom activists added to the growing list of those imprisoned in Vladimir Putin’s Russia for speaking the truth: Oleg Orlov and Boris Kagarlitsky. Not household names like the late Aleksei Navalny, but each vitally important to the cause of freeing Russia from the ever-strengthening grip of Putin-style totalitarian rule . . . each now being muzzled for having offended the dictator in the Kremlin.

Oleg Orlov, age 70, Chairman of the Nobel Peace Prize-winning organization “Memorial,” was charged in October 2023 with “repeatedly discrediting” the Russian armed forces. Found guilty at trial, he was fined 150,000 rubles (US $1,630) and walked free. But — as has become commonplace in Russia recently — the prosecutors appealed the sentence as being too soft. A higher court ordered a retrial.

Some four months later, the guilty verdict was confirmed, but the sentence was far different: he would be sent to prison for 2-1/2 years . . . simply for having written an article presenting his assessment of the war in Ukraine. In his closing statement in court, he spoke of a Russia that is “sinking ever more deeply into darkness” and of “the suffocation of freedom.”

“We know the real reason why we’re being detained, tried, arrested, sentenced and killed. We are being punished for daring to criticise [sic] the authorities. In present-day Russia this is absolutely prohibited.”

He addressed the judge and the prosecutor: “Doesn’t the obvious occur to you? That sooner or later, the machine of repression may roll over those who launched it and drove it forward? That’s what happened many times throughout history.” [Steve Rosenberg, BBC News, Feb. 27, 2024.]

And then he was handcuffed and led out of the courtroom.

*. *. *

Boris Kagarlitsky, age 65, is a Russian Marxist theoretician and sociologist, editor-in-chief of the Left Politics publication in Moscow, and host of the YouTube channel Rabkor. In May of 2022, he was declared a “foreign agent.” And in December of 2023, he was found guilty of “public justification of terrorism” for a video published on Rabkor commenting on the Crimean Bridge bombing in October of 2022. Like Oleg Orlov, he was issued a fine, though in the higher sum of 609,000 rubles (US $6,700).

Also as in Orlov’s case, the prosecution appealed the sentence, and on February 13, 2024, the Russian Military Court of Appeal sentenced him to five years in a penal colony, and banned him from administering websites for an additional two years after his release.

*. *. *

More and more, Mr. Orlov’s words ring true: Russia is indeed “sinking ever more deeply into darkness.” And the people who dare to speak out against the causes of its decline are paying with years spent in the hell of the Russian prison system . . . and sometimes with their very lives.

*. * . *

So I urge you yet again: Do not forget or forsake those men and women being held HOSTAGE by the Russian government, who have done no more than speak out against the dictatorial, fascist regime of Vladimir Putin. While they have been forced into silence, we have not.

We must continue to use our voices for them.

Please . . . bring them home!

Brendochka
3/4/24

Well . . . I did not hit the lottery. But the cost (my share, above and beyond insurance) of my most expensive prescription drug did drop from $151 to $93 per month. Now I can afford that really great brand of toilet paper. That’s certainly a good thing.

I ate two 4-oz. cups of Haagen-Dazs ice cream in one day and didn’t gain any weight. Also a good thing.

And all my orders from Amazon arrived in a single delivery this week. Yay!

If you think I’m grasping at straws here, I am. And it’s because I couldn’t find anything to cheer about in the news during the past seven days — just the usual litany of disasters, despotism and depravity. So I turned once again to CNN’s The Good Stuff column, which this Saturday was a collection of somewhat unusual stuff, to-wit:

– An 85-year-old man in England who finally, after 30 years, fulfilled his dream of completing his “geologically correct” and “aesthetically pleasing” rock map of Scotland. It took a lot of trips, but now perhaps he can relax and spend his retirement years admiring his uniquely beautiful creation.

– A much younger Irish explorer who has claimed the Ultimate Explorer’s Grand Slam prize (a thing I didn’t even know existed) for having climbed the highest mountain on every continent, touched the North and South Poles (not, I presume, at the same time), and visited every country on the globe. Quite an accomplishment. I wonder where he’ll choose to take his vacation next year.

– A sweet story about a tailless squirrel who is managing to enjoy life despite his embarrassing disability . . . a nice “tale” of inclusiveness in the squirrel community.

– A list of the least-visited national parks in the United States . . . prepared, I assume, for the benefit of those who have been everywhere else. Perhaps that Irish explorer.

– And speaking of toilet paper . . . there was an advertisement for that very thing, only this is made of three-ply bamboo. Now, that is good news, especially for the trees of this world. Not surprisingly, though, it’s pricey: $66 for 24 extra large rolls of 340 sheets each. The equivalent amount of my favorite high-end brand costs $40 (in that big box from Amazon shown above). Good news for the environment, but not-so-good for the budget.

*. *. *

So do you see what I mean? These stories don’t exactly change the world (except maybe that toilet paper) — no great medical discoveries, no end to any wars, no solution to the climate crisis. They’re just pleasant offerings about people (including one squirrel-stalker) who have found a smidgen of momentary joy in an otherwise joyless week.

But come to think of it, isn’t that what most of us are looking for: a bit of day-to-day happiness to take us away, even for a little while, from all of the doom and gloom?

And that is a very good thing indeed.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
3/3/24

Snapshots of the last four years of a man’s life . . . each picture worth more than any number of words.

Alexei Anatolyevich Navalny
June 4, 1976 – February 16, 2024

Proshchai,
Brendochka
March 2, 2024

Alexei Navalny was laid to rest today in Moscow. His mother and father were there to say a final farewell to their son; but his wife and children were unable to attend. They had to watch from the safety of a European haven, as the Kremlin authorities had already stated unequivocally that “The same fate awaits Navalnaya. If she comes to Russia, she will go to prison.”

It was only with the greatest difficulty — and for the same reasons of intimidation — that his mother and colleagues were able to make the arrangements for his funeral. Churches, cemeteries, hearses were somehow fully booked — some only when they heard Navalny’s name, others admitting frankly that they had been warned against accepting him. And the public had been “cautioned” to stay away. But, for once, the forces of evil did not prevail. A church and a nearby cemetery were found, a van was acquired . . . and the people came.

By the thousands, they came. They did not carry signs that could have gotten them arrested; but they chanted Navalny’s name, they chanted “Russia without Putin” and “Russia will be free.” And the heavy security forces — regular police and the MVD (Ministry of Internal Affairs) — did not interfere.

People who agreed to be interviewed said they were not afraid. Perhaps there was safety in numbers. Perhaps they were just sick of being afraid. Perhaps it was the presence of the Ambassadors from the United States, France, Germany, Ireland, Australia, and other dignitaries that kept the police at bay. Or perhaps Alexei Navalny’s courage had inspired the people to find their own.

And from their safe place, Navalny’s wife and daughter spoke of their determination to make him proud of them, and to carry on his mission to free Russia from the grip of Putin’s totalitarian regime. Perhaps the end of Alexei Navalny’s life is the spark his movement needs to bring about that new beginning for his beloved country.

And without a doubt — without any “perhaps” — today is a day that will not be forgotten by Vladimir Putin. How he will react remains to be seen; but I doubt that it will be pretty.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
3/1/24

*. *. *

I doubt that Alexei Navalny would ever have sought to become a martyr. His goal was simply to see his beloved Russia and its people living in freedom — freedom from tyranny, want, and fear. His method was to spread the truth: loudly, clearly, peaceably. He was met with persecution, poisoning, criminal prosecution, imprisonment, torture, isolation, starvation, and a long, slow, painful death in a penal colony in the frozen Siberian nowhere.

Vladimir Putin and his minions of course deny any complicity in Navalny’s treatment or his death . . . while at the same time threatening Navalny’s widow, Yulia Navalnaya, with “the same fate.” As offered by Kremlin propagandist Vladimir Solovyov on Tuesday, February 27th: “The same fate awaits Navalnaya. If she comes to Russia, she will go to prison.” [Shannon Vavra, Daily Beast, Feb. 25, 2024.] Presently outside Russia, it is unclear whether Yulia Navalnaya will be able to attend her own husband’s funeral.

*. *. *

As I write this on the eve of the funeral (7:00 p.m. Thursday E.S.T. time, 3:00 a.m. Friday in Moscow), I see reports that there is already a police presence outside the church. Putin is well aware of the outpouring of grief that has already been seen since Navalny’s death was announced; and he must now realize that, in allowing this man to die while in custody, he has inadvertently created his own worst nightmare: a martyr, beloved by the freedom-seeking Russian populace and survived by a wife, children, mother, and team of compatriots who will carry on the fight against Putin’s tyrannical reign. Does he plan to kill them all?

We shall see what tomorrow brings.

Brendochka
2/29/24

. . . “Rage, rage against the dying of the light.”

Dylan Thomas wrote those lines as he contemplated the inevitability of his aging father’s death. And the words themselves have become immortal . . . words of advice for all of us to heed.

One man who clearly believed, as Thomas did, that his only choice in life was to fight — to rage — against that finality was Alexei Navalny. But death was inevitable to him as it is to all of us. For him, though, it came far too soon, brought about by the evil of a regime that could not bear his honesty, his courage, or his raging.

He was the victim of the very sort of injustice against which he had fought so long and so honorably in life. Wrongfully charged, poisoned, imprisoned, tortured . . . yet he still could not be silenced. So he was murdered; and even after death, forced to suffer the further indignity of his body’s being held hostage as his killers sought to prevent any public show of grief and support. They arrested hundreds of those who laid flowers at makeshift memorials to him, and finally tried to coerce his family into keeping his funeral “secret.”

But his family showed that they, too, are made of sterner stuff, and began making proper funeral arrangements for him . . . only to run headlong into a blockade erected by those very same killers when church after church, burial ground after burial ground, were closed to him, some confessing that they had been “forbidden” by the authorities to accept him. Arrangements were finally made at a location near his former home in the outskirts of Moscow; burial is scheduled for tomorrow, Friday, March 1, 2024. In a show of defiance, the public has been invited by Navalny’s family and colleagues to attend, and have been urged to “come early.”

There is little doubt that attendance will be great . . . and accompanied by an equally great police presence. Whether Alexei Navalny’s final farewell will be peaceful, as he would have wished, remains to be seen.

*. *. *

In a final twist of the metaphorical knife, one of Navalny’s team, Maria Pevchikh, has said that, just before his sudden death, negotiations had been underway for his release and that of two (unnamed) U.S. citizens being held hostage in different prisons, in exchange for “a Russian hitman serving a life sentence in Germany for the 2019 assassination of a former Chechen fighter in Berlin.” [Anna Chernova, et al., CNN, Feb. 27, 2024.]

As of the time of reporting, CNN had been unable to independently verify Ms. Pevchikh’s claims, and the German government had declined to comment. An unnamed Western official told CNN that there had been “early discussions about a prisoner swap involving Navalny and US citizens, but no formal offer had been made prior to his death.” [Id.] But Ms. Pevchikh alleges that “because Putin could not tolerate the thought of Navalny being free, he instead decided to ‘get rid of the bargaining chip.’” [Id.]

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov’s typical response was that the accusations were “absurd,” that the Kremlin “has nothing to do with the case” and therefore “cannot exert pressure.” [Id.]

Okay, sure — I buy that. And I also believe the moon really is made of blue cheese.

*. *. *

Whatever may be the truth of any behind-the-scenes prisoner “swap” negotiations, it is time now to give Alexei Navalny and his family the rest and the closure they deserve. Let’s hope he is at last allowed to “go gentle into that dark night.”

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
2/29/24

It’s not because they have eight children. It’s not because they’re right-wing conservatives. It’s certainly not because they’re Canadian, or because they’re farmers. Or even because they’re anti-LGBTQ. I’m a firm believer that each and every one of us has a God-given right to his/her/their opinion on everything. But these people have done something so incredible, so unbelievable, so unimaginable, that it can only be classified as absolutely, positively, unequivocally STUPID.

And now you’re wondering “Who?” “What?” “Why?” Well, hang on to your hats, because this one really is hard to believe.

Meet the Feenstra family from Canada, who, in their haste to escape the perceived “LGBT ideology” of their formerly beloved country, decided the best place on Earth to live would be the one place that has the most stringent anti-LGBT laws, and where they would feel safe from the “Western influence” . . . the place they have called “the land of opportunity” . . . RUSSIA.

Yes, I said “Russia.”

I honestly don’t know how to feel about this. On the one hand, it’s so bizarre I want to laugh. But it really isn’t funny. This couple, in their misguided belief that their way is the only true way, have consigned their eight innocent children to a life in what can only be described as Hell on Earth.

Emotions aside, suppose we just examine this a little further, without in any way passing judgment on their religious or moral beliefs. Those are strictly personal matters, and as I said, to each his own. But from a purely logical point of view, I have to ask: WHAT HAVE THEY DONE??!!!

They look like a nice, average family, don’t they? Dad (Arend) was a beet farmer in rural Canada, while Mom (Anneesa) has obviously had her hands full caring for their substantial brood of really cute kids. And they’ve carefully raised the children according to their conservative Christian beliefs. Life has been good to them.

Then one day, the kids find out that Mom and Dad are selling the farm and they’re all moving far away . . . really far, halfway around the world to another country where the way of life is different, the laws are different, the people are suspicious of foreigners, and most people don’t even speak English. It seems logical that the older ones will have asked why this is happening, and I have no idea how I, as a parent, would have answered them. “Because life is better there”? “Because we can have more land there”? “Because they don’t allow gay people there”?

Wait . . . WHAT??!!! What was that last one? Oh, yeah . . . that one was the truth. Because Russia does have the most stringent laws against promotion of “deviant” sexual identity, and we need to protect our precious children from the evils of “wokeness” and LGBT’s “corrupting influences.”

Well, if that was their goal, they could not have chosen a better destination (although Hungary is working hard at trying to catch up). In fact, they had received advance assurances from Russian officials that they would be given the help they needed to get established there. And they believed it.

But if they thought life in their new home was going to be paradise, or even easy, well . . . to put it bluntly, their new reality sucked. Big time.

First they found that their new Russian bank account, containing the proceeds of the sale of their Canadian farm, had been frozen as being “suspicious.” Unable to find anyone who spoke English to help them, Anneesa flipped out and went into a rant on YouTube, saying she was “very disappointed in this country at this point . . . I’m ready to jump on a plane and get out of here. We’ve hit the first snag where you have to engage logic in this country and it’s very, very frustrating.” [Will Potter, Daily Mail News, Feb. 22, 2024.]

Wow!

Well, you can just imagine how that went over with the folks in the Kremlin. The details of what followed aren’t readily available, but the video was taken down from their YouTube account, and Arend “shared a groveling apology video where he said their ‘thoughts aren’t always conveyed properly.’” [Id.]

Then a follow-up video was posted on February 11th, in which Arend said their funds were no longer frozen, and that they intend to stay in Russia “for the long haul.”

Further kowtowing ensued, in which Arend went so far as to say:

“Western media for the most part is very biased, corrupt probably. Lots of lies, lots of nonsense being spread around the West about us. We are perfectly happy here, we’re not planning on leaving here, we’re not stuck here, we’re not hostages.” [Id.]

He even went on to encourage others to follow in his footsteps, claiming that officials “make it easy for Americans to move to Russia. Especially large families, Christian farming families, conservative people, and they want them here . . . there’s tons of land and opportunity here.” [Id.]

Ah, yes . . . it seems the good old “workers’ paradise” from the days of Lenin and Stalin has returned to Mother Russia. And it didn’t take long for the propaganda machine to take hold of the Feenstras, did it?

*. *. *

As for the kids, who will no doubt learn Russian fairly quickly, as kids usually do . . . well, the school system will take care of their essential “re-education.” Though I’m not sure what’s going to happen to their earlier Christian religious upbringing. Perhaps they’ll be allowed to join the Young Pioneers instead. What fun!

Желаю удачи, дети: “I wish you luck, kids.” I really do. I’m afraid you’re going to need it.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
2/28/24

If you are not aware that Queen Elizabeth II passed away about a year and a half ago, then you’ve probably been doing the Rip Van Winkle thing, and I’m sorry to have to be the one to break the sad news to you. But she really did leave this world in September of 2022, and her son — after waiting in the wings for some 70 years as Prince Charles, heir to the throne — has been ruling the United Kingdom since then as King Charles III.

However, the late Queen — if she were still with us — would no doubt be flattered and delighted to know that former President Donald Trump has taken it upon himself to defend her and her good name in the only way he knows how: by dissing — and one might even say threatening — her younger grandson, Harry, and his wife, Meghan.

Now, if you’re that same sleepy-headed individual who wasn’t aware that the Queen was dead, you may also be oblivious to the fact that the Sussexes — as the aforesaid Harry and Meghan are known — made the decision some time ago to leave their royal duties behind, move to the United States, and live like normal people . . . well, normal rich people, anyway. They seem to be happy here, and there’s no question that they’ve done well for themselves financially, building on the already substantial bankroll and the advantageous name recognition they brought with them to the Colonies.

Needless to say, the rest of the royal family — and most notably Queen Elizabeth herself, who was still very much alive at the time — were less than thrilled by this unexpected turn of events, not least because of the unflattering things her grandson and granddaughter-in-law had to say about some of the daily trials and tribulations of life in that rarefied royal environment. And honestly, I’d have been pissed too, in her place. While wanting to live their own lives is understandable, would it have hurt them to keep their personal grievances to themselves? Did they have to air the family’s dirty laundry at every opportunity? Really?

Well, if you consider that keeping mum doesn’t bring in book deals or TV appearances, I guess we know the answer to that. Because that’s what it’s all about: Harry’s book, and the notorious Oprah interview. In short, when they went public, they screwed the pooch . . . big time.

You see, Harry put it all out there, including (or so I understand, because I haven’t read the book and don’t intend to) his past history of youthful indiscretions involving sex, drugs, and whatever. Not unusual experiences for a young man with lots of charisma, money, and a wide range of contacts. But again, did he have to advertise it to the world?

Obviously, he thought he did. And whether we approve or not, and regardless of what we think of Harry and Meghan and their lifestyles, the choices they have made were theirs to make. They’re adults; they’re entitled to live their lives without our input or judgment . . . right?

Wrong! Because they are public figures, who have chosen to remain in the public eye while also claiming to have escaped all of that four years ago when they fled the U.K. They knew perfectly well what they were doing, and they have orchestrated it spectacularly.

*. *. *

But here is where it gets interesting. Because, in being so open about his boyhood peccadilloes, Harry may have inadvertently contradicted himself on one very crucial point. On his application for a U.S. visa, one of the questions he had to answer was whether he had ever used illegal drugs. Did he answer honestly? That hasn’t been revealed yet, but he is surely hoping he did . . . since, in his book, he apparently goes into some detail on that score. And if it turns out he lied on his visa application . . .

So there’s a whole legal can of worms here, and it’s just fortunate that he has the money to pay those exorbitant attorneys’ fees, as this could become very expensive . . . and inconvenient, if the Sussexes ultimately have to move again.

*. *. *

And now . . . enter Donald Trump, stage right (far-right), with a group of his Merry Men from the conservative Heritage Foundation to save the United States from the evils of this dangerous young couple.

“What the hell do Donald Trump and the Heritage Foundation have to do with Harry and Meghan’s immigration status?” . . . I hear you thinking. Excellent question.

It’s unclear who first became interested in the issue — Trump or the Heritage folks — but it seems likely that one inspired the other to join in the fray. Heritage has gone so far as to bring a lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) attempting to seize Harry’s immigration records! What standing they claim to have in the matter is beyond me, but that’s for the courts to decide.

In the meantime, never one to pass up an opportunity to run his mouth and hopefully ruin someone’s life, Trump declared that, if he were to win the 2024 election, “I wouldn’t protect him. He betrayed the queen. That’s unforgivable. He would be on his own if it was down to me.”

He never did specify what alleged offense against the Queen had particularly incurred his wrath, but it hardly matters. After all, if anyone would know what constitutes betrayal, it would be Donald Trump.

And he didn’t spare Meghan Markle, either. As far back as last September, in an interview on the Hugh Hewitt Show, the always-respectful Trump described her as “disrespectful,” and said, “I didn’t like the way she dealt with the queen. They treated her with great disrespect and I didn’t like it.”

It’s clear that he’s had it in for Meghan at least since the 2016 presidential campaign, when she described him as “divisive” and “misogynistic.” In his usual eloquent manner, he responded as follows: “I wasn’t referring to, she’s nasty. I said she was nasty about me. And essentially I didn’t know she was nasty about me. She was nasty to me. And that’s OK for her to be nasty. It’s not good for me to be nasty to her and I wasn’t.”

I’ll see your six “nasties” and raise you one “divisive.”

Okay, that’s enough. Let’s not be nasty.

*. *. *

I’m so glad to know that someone — even if it is, oddly, Donald Trump — still has the late Queen’s interests at heart, and is protecting her dignity . . . though I did think that would have been better left to her actual family. And personally, I would much prefer that Trump relegate the soap opera stuff to Oprah, and run a campaign based on actual issues of importance to the country and the world at large. Like what? Oh, I don’t know . . . maybe actual details of how he would try to solve the Russia-Ukraine crisis, the Israel-Hamas crisis, the energy crisis, the environmental crisis, the climate crisis, the population crisis, the immigration crisis, the mass-shooting crisis, the inflation crisis, the mental illness crisis, and perhaps even the why-isn’t-there-anything-decent-to-watch-on-TV crisis. That should keep him busy enough to keep his nose out of other people’s personal business.

But then it wouldn’t be all about him, would it?

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
2/27/24

Let’s add another couple of names today to the ever-expanding list, beginning — almost unbelievably — with Alexei Navalny’s younger brother, Oleg. He hasn’t been arrested yet, as he is apparently living outside Russia. But on February 20th, as Alexei’s family continued to haggle with officials over the release of his body for burial, a warrant was issued for the arrest of Oleg. He now appears as “Wanted” on the database of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs . . . on unspecified charges of alleged criminal activity, presumably to be figured out at some later time.

*. *. *

And already in prison is one Ilya Yashin, another anti-Putin activist. Somehow, amidst all of the publicity regarding Alexei Navalny and the others, I managed to overlook this case until recently, for which I apologize to Mr. Yashin.

In December of 2022, Yashin was sentenced to 8-1/2 years in a “general regime” prison colony: for spreading “fakes” about the Russian military. His appeal was denied the following April. His actual “crime”: making statements on his YouTube channel about war crimes allegedly committed by Russian forces in Bucha, Ukraine — incidents already well documented by numerous international news services.

In November of 2023, attorney Mikhail Biryukov reported that Yashin had been transferred from a pretrial detention center in Moscow to a detention center in Smolensk, noting that this was not to be his final destination and that the exact prison colony in which Yashin would serve out his sentence was still unknown.

In December of 2023, it was reported that he had been placed in a stricter-regime unit after serving five days in solitary confinement, following which he was “not allowed to use a phone to call his relatives now; parcels and visitations are also restricted.” [RadioFreeEurope / RadioLiberty, Dec. 8, 2023.]

On Friday, February 23, 2024, upon learning of the death of Alexei Navalny, Yashin expressed his concern for fellow activist Vladimir Kara-Murza, writing that Navalny’s death had made it “obvious that the life of every Russian political prisoner is under threat.” He pointed out numerous similarities between the cases of Navalny and Kara-Murza, and wrote in an open letter to world leaders: “Almost all Western leaders spoke out about Navalny’s death, blaming Putin for this tragedy. Prove your good will and use all your diplomatic resources to attain the immediate release of Kara-Murza. Do this before it’s too late.” [Novaya Gazeta Europe, Feb. 23, 2024.]

*. *. *

So I urge you once more: Do not forget or forsake those men and women being held HOSTAGE by the Russian government, who have done no more than speak out against the dictatorial, fascist regime of Vladimir Putin. While they have been forced into silence, we have not.

Let us use our voices for them.

*. *. *

Please . . . bring them home!

Brendochka
2/26/24