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https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/nov/06/putin-repressive-machinery-turns-inward-target-pro-war-figures>
"A pro-Kremlin pundit who for years has hailed Vladimir Putin as one of
history’s great men in appearances on foreign media. A military blogger,
zealous fundraiser for Russian troops, and promoter of openly genocidal
rhetoric about Ukraine.
A Ukrainian-born army volunteer and commentator for the state-controlled
RT
network lamenting that Russia had not launched its full-scale invasion sooner.
These are the kinds of characters who have thrived in recent years in Putin’s
Russia, where unwavering loyalty and militant enthusiasm for the war in Ukraine
were rewarded with money, status and influence.
Yet all three – along with other outwardly pro-Kremlin figures – have of late
found themselves targeted by the very state they once praised, which has turned
its repressive machinery inward.
Sergei Markov and Roman Alyokhin, respectively the political analyst and
pro-war blogger, were both designated as “foreign agents” this year, a label
previously used against anti-Putin voices. Carrying a negative Soviet-era
connotation, it obliges people to identify themselves as foreign agents on
social media and in other publications, as well as exposing them to crippling
financial limitations.
Tatyana Montyan, a Ukrainian-born commentator, was last week designated a
“terrorist and extremist” – a label normally applied to those the Kremlin sees
as its most dangerous enemies, including members of the late Alexei Navalny’s
team.
Taken together, analysts say, the cases point to a new trend: a purge not only
of dissenters but also of the regime’s own supporters, as rival factions within
the system turn on each other.
“First, they went after the anti-war voices. Now there are none left, and the
repressive machine cannot be stopped,” said the Russian political scientist
Ekaterina Schulmann."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
