Why the Torture Cases in Russia Matter
How the Tactics that the Russian State Uses against Anarchists Could Spread
Grisly news keeps coming in from Russia about the activities of the
Russian Federal Security Service—the FSB, which is descended from the
KGB. In account after account, anarchists and anti-fascists describe how the FSB kidnapped them, planted weapons in their cars, and used torture to force them to sign false confessions admitting to participating in an obviously invented terror network.
Why should we care about the Russian torture cases, specifically? At
first, it may strike people in the US and Western Europe as yet another
abstract tragedy, just one more call for international solidarity with
unfortunates in a faraway land. But the stakes here are much more
significant. What is taking place in Russia is a nightmare scenario that
could recur closer and closer to us if we don’t take it seriously.
For decades now, the security agencies of many different countries
have repeatedly attempted to fabricate national and international
“terrorist conspiracies” in order to frame anarchists. To date, all of
these efforts have been embarrassing failures. Now, the Russian secret
police have introduced an innovation: by kidnapping anarchists without
warning, planting weapons in their cars, and torturing them until they
agree to sign forged “confessions,” they hope to finally make charges of
participating in a “terrorism network” stick. If they succeed, we can
expect to see other police agencies across the world emulate their
tactics.
In the following analysis, we will review the history of this model
of repression, explore the details of the Russian torture cases, and
outline how we can respond. The Appendix lists the details of the arrests and torture in chronological order and provides corroborating evidence of the reports herein.
We’ve also prepared posters expressing solidarity with those targeted
in this wave of repression. Please print them out and paste them up to
draw attention to this case. The same posters are available in Spanish here.
QueerAnarchism 