Aleksei Navalny, a Putin Critic, Is Barred From a Presidential Run
Source: NYT
President Vladimir V. Putin — in power since 1999, as president, then prime minister and again as president — is expected to seek a fourth term next year. Mr. Navalny was widely regarded as the only viable rival.
Mr. Navalny was given a five-year suspended prison sentence; fined 500,000 rubles, or about $8,400; and barred from participating in the election. He and his supporters dismissed the accusation — that he embezzled about $500,000 worth of timber from a state-owned company — as baseless and politically motivated
Mr. Putin has gone to great lengths to root out all genuine opposition in the country. Major television stations have been put under the government’s control and openly critical political figures have been marginalized. Several prominent journalists, politicians and human rights activists have been murdered under mysterious circumstances, with many of the cases remaining unsolved.
In a country where dissidents are frequently silenced, exiled or killed, even the political opposition must go through some measure of government approval, and the Kremlin has at times found it useful to let critics vent against a vetted sparring partner.
Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/08/world/europe/russia-aleksei-navalny-putin.html?_r=0
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"Boy will Uncle Vlad be impressed with me then!"
