Despite how partisan our politics currently are in the United States, we often forget that there are places with political processes that are less than fair.
Russia, for example, has been under the authoritarian watch of Russian President Vladimir Putin in one form or another since 1999. It’s not hard to see why Putin remains such a singular figure in Russian politics, either. Just look at what his opposition has to deal with.
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Video of an encounter at the Anti-Corruption Foundation, created by Putin’s political rival Alexei Navalny, shows the tactics the Russian government will use to push their control on citizens.
Russia’s Federal Bailiff Service conducted the Thursday raid, using power tools to saw through a door in a brazen daylight sweep.
According to the BBC, Navalny was dragged away and laptops and equipment belonging to his organization were seized by authorities. Navalny aide Nikolai Lyaskin posted a clip of the door soon before it was breached.
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“New Year’s fireworks,” Lyaskin wrote in Russian accompanying a clip of the door being hacked through. Watch the video in his post below.
Новогодний фейерверк! В ФБК pic.twitter.com/2DKAsCfekI
— Николай Ляскин (@nlyaskin) December 26, 2019
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Authorities ultimately did not detain Navalny.
Despite being let go, this is the fourth raid in six months the office has endured.
Additional footage of the raid shows helmeted and masked officers milling through the office was posted by a Twitter account belonging to Navalny Live, a YouTube channel run by Navalny that films in the Anti-Corruption Foundation’s building.
“This time we were visited not only by people in masks, but also in helmets,” Navalny Live’s tweet read in Russian. “The security cameras were turned off, and they once again started to rob the studio.”
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В этот раз к нам пришли не только люди в масках, но и в касках.
Камеры наблюдения отключили, начинают в очередной раз грабить студию. pic.twitter.com/wsper3ew77
— Навальный LIVE (@navalnylive) December 26, 2019
According to the BBC, Navalny claimed the raid was over his refusal to remove a documentary about corruption in Russia.
A Russian court ordered the anti-corruption advocate to take the film down after it was posted in 2017.
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As his political rivals fight off government raids and other forms of harassment, Putin continues to solidify his control of the country. In the most recent Russian presidential election, Putin won a landslide victory, receiving up more than 75 percent of the total votes.
It’s not hard to see how Putin has remained in power for nearly two decades.
Thankfully, the only thing politicians who go against the grain in America have to face are partisan impeachment attempts.
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