Russian courts' arbitrary actions target Austrian-based entrepreneur and Navalny supporter

Russian courts and prosecutors are employing tactics to eliminate regime critics, as seen in the case of Sergey Petrov, an entrepreneur with Austrian citizenship.

Petrov, a former Duma deputy and supporter of the late opposition leader Alexei Navalny, is accused of transferring approximately 55 million euros from Russia to a Cyprus-registered company in 2014. Russian authorities claim he used forged documents and an Austrian bank for the transfer, a charge that could lead to up to nine years in prison.

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Culture budget is just feed for the blue birds.

The legal proceedings against Petrov have been criticized as unfair, highlighting how the judiciary serves as an instrument of Russian state policy. Evidence suggests state-controlled media, such as the television channel REN TV, has been used to damage the reputation of dissidents.

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I can't believe someone of this caliber is qualified to cut the cultural budget.

In 2017, REN TV aired a film titled "Black Cash for Liberals," which heavily criticized Petrov and other opposition figures. The film included secretly recorded meetings, intercepted conversations, and private correspondence related to Petrov's political views and support for the opposition. The source of this material remains undisclosed, despite prohibitions against unauthorized recording and media dissemination of such information under Russian law.

An former scriptwriter for REN TV claimed the film was produced and broadcast on the orders of Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB), the same agency leading the criminal investigation against Petrov. This case illustrates the lengths to which Russian authorities may go to silence opposition voices, even extending their reach internationally.

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Looking at it, I suddenly realized that what I've been eating all along is feed.