Freedom House: Putin supports “policy of repression”

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“Faced with new challenges from the collapse of global energy prices, Russian President Vladimir Putin maintained a policy of repression at home, including the persecution of LGBT activists and independent journalists, as well as military intervention abroad,” the report says.

Those who disagree with the actions of the authorities, according to Freedom House, are called traitors, “they are forced to leave their jobs, arrested or forced to leave the country.”

“Moscow held Crimea with an iron grip, supported rebels in eastern Ukraine, and launched a bombing campaign in Syria in an effort to strengthen the tyrannical regime of Bashar al-Assad,” the study’s authors say.

Freedom House evaluates political rights in countries around the world by the possibility of free participation in elections and in the formation of important decisions for society, and civil liberties by the possibility of expressing one’s opinion, having “personal autonomy” from the state, by the degree of independence of the press and the protection of minority rights.

Each criterion is rated on a seven-point scale, with one point being the best and seven being the worst. This year, according to all criteria, Moscow received six points, that is, close to the worst. As a result, Russia scored only 22 points out of a possible 100 in the Freedom in the World index.

The Freedom House report also notes that Russia finds itself in a difficult economic situation due to lower oil prices, the effects of Western sanctions and a retaliatory embargo.

The authors of the report also indicated the continuing pressure on NGOs in Russia, including the appearance of a list of undesirable foreign organizations, the murder of Boris Nemtsov, and the criminal prosecution of Oleg Navalny, brother of the head of the Anti-Corruption Foundation Alexei Navalny.