Russia’s new era of repression
It will lead to confrontation with the West
Editor’s note: On November 11th, after The Economist was published, Memorial, the human-rights group mentioned in this editorial, announced that Russian prosecutors have demanded it be shut down.
ANDREI SAKHAROV, a Soviet dissident and physicist, used to argue that repression at home invariably becomes instability abroad. His own life was evidence of it. His internal exile was lifted in 1986 by Mikhail Gorbachev, the Soviet Union’s last leader, who as the architect of glasnost released political prisoners and tolerated free speech. It was no accident that Mr Gorbachev’s rejection of repression coincided with the end of the cold war.
This article appeared in the Leaders section of the print edition under the headline "Putin’s new era of repression"
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