Chapter 120: Privilege Over Power

445     have more rights in Ukraine  Timothy Snyder, “Far-Right Forces Are Influencing Russia's Actions in Crimea,” New Republic, March 17, 2014, newrepublic.com/article/117048/far-right-forces-are-influencing-russias-actions-crimea. Basic rights afforded to Ukrainian citizens (including ethnically Russian Ukrainians) were broader than in Russia. These freedoms included the right to fair elections, the right to protest, the right to fair trials, and the right to free speech (especially in regards to journalists and media, which was more tightly restricted in Russia at the time according to human rights reports). Instances of human rights violations in Ukraine in the 2013 and 2014 U.S. State Department reports were largely carried out by pro-Russian forces. See U.S. State Department, “Ukraine 2013 Human Rights Report,” 2014, 2009-2017.state.gov/documents/organization/220554.pdf; U.S. State Department, “Russia 2013 Human Rights Report,” 2014, 2009-2017.state.gov/documents/organization/220536.pdf; U.S. State Department, “Ukraine 2014 Human Rights Report,” 2015, 2009-2017.state.gov/documents/organization/236800.pdf; and U.S. State Department, “Russia 2014 Human Rights Report,” 2015, 2009-2017.state.gov/documents/organization/236782.pdf.

445     teach “patriotic” classes or face penalties, including jail time  Freedom House, “Russia," Freedom in the World 2025,freedomhouse.org/country/russia/freedom-world/2025; and Mary Ilyushina, “To Please Putin, Universities Purge Liberals and Embrace Patriots,” Washington Post, May 7, 2024, www.washingtonpost.com/world/2024/05/07/russia-universities-education-putin-overhaul/. A Washington Post analysis found that such “educational reforms accelerated in the aftermath of Crimea’s annexation in 2014.” Eugenia Nazrullaeva et al., “The Invasion of Ukraine Has Upended Russian Education,” Washington Post, September 14, 2022, www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/09/14/russia-patriotic-education-reform/.

445     restrict freedom of movement Freedom House, “Russia," Freedom in the World 2025, freedomhouse.org/country/russia/freedom-world/2025.

445     restrict people from choosing where they want to live “Some regional authorities impose registration rules that limit the right of citizens to choose their place of residence, typically targeting members of ethnic minorities and migrants from the Caucasus and Central Asia.” Freedom House, “Russia," Freedom in the World 2025, freedomhouse.org/country/russia/freedom-world/2025.

445     acquired vast holdings through limiting the ability . . .  Freedom House, “Russia," Freedom in the World 2025, freedomhouse.org/country/russia/freedom-world/2025.

445     hundreds of millions of rubles and give collectively billions . . . United Russia  Russian Railways contractors accounted for “about half" of United Russia’s donations from legal entities in 2020. On Russian Railways and other government contractors’ donations to United Russia, see “The Party’s Gold: How United Russia Misappropriates Russian Railways’ Money Under the Guise of ‘Donations,’” The Insider, October 15, 2021, theins.ru/en/corruption/245701; and “Who Funds United Russia?” Russian Election Monitor, November 2024, www.russian-election-monitor.org/who-funds-united-russia.html.

445     3 percent of Russians owned 89 percent . . . Ruth Ben-Ghiat, Strongmen: Mussolini to the Present (New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2021), 157. Find this book at a library at search.worldcat.org/title/1233267123.

445     are extorted by the state Claire Bigg and Kevin O’Flynn, “Russian Entrepreneurs on Edge over Spiraling Police ‘Repression,’” Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty July 8, 2010, www.rferl.org/a/Russian_Entrepreneurs_On_Edge_Over_Spiraling_Police_Repression/2094706.html; and Freedom House, “Russia," Freedom in the World 2025, freedomhouse.org/country/russia/freedom-world/2025.

445     spent his birthday . . . raided the office. . . covered his surveillance cameras . . . if he paid a hefty sum  Bigg and O’Flynn, “Russian Entrepreneurs on Edge over Spiraling Police ‘Repression,’” www.rferl.org/a/Russian_Entrepreneurs_On_Edge_Over_Spiraling_Police_Repression/2094706.html.

445     Romanov refused. The police turned to his wife . . . telling her she’d . . . prison . . .  Bigg and O’Flynn, “Russian Entrepreneurs on Edge over Spiraling Police ‘Repression,’” www.rferl.org/a/Russian_Entrepreneurs_On_Edge_Over_Spiraling_Police_Repression/2094706.html.

445     until she handed over $400,000. She did  Bigg and O’Flynn, “Russian Entrepreneurs on Edge over Spiraling Police ‘Repression,’” www.rferl.org/a/Russian_Entrepreneurs_On_Edge_Over_Spiraling_Police_Repression/2094706.html.

445     demanded another $500,000 to not bring more charges  Bigg and O’Flynn, “Russian Entrepreneurs on Edge over Spiraling Police ‘Repression,’” www.rferl.org/a/Russian_Entrepreneurs_On_Edge_Over_Spiraling_Police_Repression/2094706.html.

446     Religious freedom “The Russian Orthodox Church has a privileged position, working closely with the government on foreign and domestic policy priorities. The Jehovah’s Witnesses were declared an extremist organization in 2017, leading to a protracted campaign against worshippers marked by surveillance, property seizures, arrests, and torture . . . Many Muslims have been detained in recent years for alleged membership in banned Islamist groups such as Hizb ut-Tahrir. Religious leaders have been pressured to support the war in Ukraine, and those who publicly oppose it have faced dismissal and prosecution.” Freedom House, “Russia," Freedom in the World 2025, freedomhouse.org/country/russia/freedom-world/2025.

446     trade unions  “While trade union rights are legally protected, they are limited in practice. Strikes and worker protests have occurred in prominent industries, including automobile manufacturing, but antiunion discrimination and reprisals are common. Employers often ignore collective bargaining rights.” Freedom House, “Russia," Freedom in the World 2025, freedomhouse.org/country/russia/freedom-world/2025.

446     abortion services “In recent years, the government has encouraged women to have more children and has taken steps to limit access to abortion. The Health Ministry reportedly developed guidelines for medical workers to advise patients against having abortions, and announced plans to limit the availability of abortion pills and emergency contraceptives. Regional governments have also pressured private clinics to stop offering abortion services. As of September 2024, a special prescription is required to access emergency contraceptives.” Freedom House, “Russia," Freedom in the World 2025, freedomhouse.org/country/russia/freedom-world/2025.

446     $19,546 per year, about two-thirds of the . . . average of $30,490  OECD describes “Household net adjusted disposable income” as “the amount of money that a household earns each year after taxes and transfers. It represents the money available to a household for spending on goods or services.” “Russian Federation,” Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Better Life Index, accessed via WayBack Machine, October 21, 2022 capture, web.archive.org/web/20221021194613/https://www.oecdbetterlifeindex.org/countries/russian-federation/.

446     seventy-three years in 2022, eight years lower  “Russian Federation,” OECD Better Life Index, web.archive.org/web/20221021194613/https://www.oecdbetterlifeindex.org/countries/russian-federation/.

446     express a lower rate of satisfaction with life . . . the OECD average  “When asked to rate their general satisfaction with life on a scale from 0 to 10, Russians gave it a 5.5 grade on average, lower than the OECD average of 6.7.” “Russian Federation,” OECD Better Life Index, web.archive.org/web/20221021194613/https://www.oecdbetterlifeindex.org/countries/russian-federation/.

446     can brutalize and kill Russians with impunity “Police officers have broad authority to break into homes and vehicles and search personal belongings without a warrant . . . Use of excessive force by police is widespread, and rights groups have reported that law enforcement agents who carry out such abuses have deliberately employed electric shocks, suffocation, and the stretching of a detainee’s body to avoid leaving visible injuries. According to an October 2024 report by the UN special rapporteur on human rights in Russia, detained individuals are at risk of death due to the systematic use of torture and ill treatment by authorities.” “Freedom House, “Russia," Freedom in the World 2025, freedomhouse.org/country/russia/freedom-world/2025.

446     the indigenous ethnic group . . . by the fifteenth century Alex Gendler, “A Look at History of Crimean Tatars in Ukraine,” Voice of America (VOA), December 9, 2023, www.voanews.com/a/a-look-at-history-of-crimean-tatars-in-ukraine-/7391631.html; and The Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization, “Recent Developments in Crimea and the Crimean Tatars,” Briefing Note, December 2014, unpo.org/downloads/1145.pdf, 2.

446     to ethnically cleanse the Tatars from Crimea  “In 1783, Catherine II annexed the entire peninsula as the Taurida Oblast of the Russian Empire, violating Russia’s treaty guaranteeing Crimean independence. Russian rule was not kind to the Tatars. The tsarist governments considered them a disloyal population, and over the next century, each new war in the region brought fresh waves of persecution. Hundreds of thousands of Tatars were expelled or pressured to leave, with their lands confiscated and Russians resettled in their stead, while Tatar language and culture were suppressed.” Gendler, “A Look at History of Crimean Tatars in Ukraine,” www.voanews.com/a/a-look-at-history-of-crimean-tatars-in-ukraine-/7391631.html.

446     ordered the removal of all Tatars to . . . more than 80 percent . . . to Uzbekistan  “Nearly 180,014 Crimean Tatars were deported from the peninsula . . . Over 151,000 Crimean Tatar deportees were sent to Uzbekistan; the rest of the population was conveyed to regions of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), mostly in Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, the Ural region, the Mari Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, and for some, to the region of Moscow.” “At the same moment, most of the Crimean Tatar men who were fighting in the ranks of the Red Army were demobilized and sent into labor camps in Siberia and in the Ural mountain region. The demobilized soldiers were released after Stalin’s death in 1953 and allowed to return to their families in their place of exile.” Campana Aurélie, “Sürgün: The Crimean Tatars’ Deportation and Exile,” Violence de masse et Résistance, SciencesPo, June 16, 2018, www.sciencespo.fr/mass-violence-war-massacre-resistance/fr/document/suerguen-crimean-tatars-deportation-and-exile.html.

446     made their way back to Crimea Gendler, “A Look at History of Crimean Tatars in Ukraine,” www.voanews.com/a/a-look-at-history-of-crimean-tatars-in-ukraine-/7391631.html.

446     found the mutilated body . . . the day before the “referendum” Thirty-nine-year-old Reshat Ametov was “reportedly abducted and tortured for protesting against the Russian annexation of the peninsula.” “Slain Crimean Tatar Laid to Rest,” Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, March 19, 2014, www.rferl.org/a/murdered-crimean-tatar-laid-to-rest-in-crimea/25302237.html; and “Abductions, Torture, ‘Hybrid Deportation’: Crimean Tatar Activist Describes Six Years Under Russian Rule,” Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, March 17, 2020, www.rferl.org/a/abductions-torture-hybrid-deportation-crimean-tatar-activist-describes-six-years-under-russian-rule/30493504.html.

446     have the privilege to love as they choose, to marry . . .  Same-sex Russian couples “lack, and probably never will receive, those rights accorded to heterosexual couples. They won’t be allowed to refuse to testify against their partner in court, they won’t automatically inherit from each other, and they can’t see each other in hospitals that only allow visits by family members.” “Russian Constitution Change Ends Hopes for Same-Sex Marriage,” Associated Press (AP) News, July 13, 2020, apnews.com/article/ap-top-news-constitutional-amendments-st-petersburg-international-news-marriage-74065448f5f264390496dba86b4d111c.

446     to adopt kids “Russia’s Putin Signs Law Banning Gay Adoptions,” Reuters, July 3, 2013, www.reuters.com/article/world/russias-putin-signs-law-banning-gay-adoptions-idUSBRE96210N/.

446     to organize politically “In 2023, the Supreme Court ruled that the ‘international LGBT public movement’ was an extremist organization, effectively banning any advocacy on behalf of this community and opening LGBT+ individuals and allies to prosecution.” Freedom House, “Russia," Freedom in the World 2025, freedomhouse.org/country/russia/freedom-world/2025.

446     to visit each other in hospitals “Russian Constitution Change Ends Hopes for Same-Sex Marriage,” apnews.com/article/ap-top-news-constitutional-amendments-st-petersburg-international-news-marriage-74065448f5f264390496dba86b4d111c.

446     endured the erosion of their already limited rights . . .  Anti-Discrimination Centre (ADC) Memorial and Center for Civil Liberties, Violation of LGBTI Rights in Crimea and Donbass: The Problem of Homophobia in Territories Beyond Ukraine’s Control, June 2016, available at adcmemorial.org/en/publications/violation-of-lgbti-rights-in-crimea-and-donbass-the-problem-of-homophobia-in-territories-beyond-ukraine-s-control, 6–34; “How LGBT People Are Treated in Russia-Occupied Territories,” hromadske, June 28, 2019, hromadske.ua/en/posts/how-lgbt-people-are-treated-in-russia-occupied-territories; and RFE/RFL, “Crimea Does Not Need Gay People, Says Top Official,” The Guardian, September 2, 2014, www.theguardian.com/world/2014/sep/02/crimea-not-need-gay-people-top-official.

447     outlawed as “LGBT propaganda” any expression or demonstration . . .  Legislation quoted in “Russian Parliament Passes Law Banning ‘LGBT Propaganda’ Among Adults,” Reuters, November 24, 2022, www.reuters.com/world/russias-parliament-passes-law-banning-lgbt-propaganda-among-adults-2022-11-24/.

447     had already banned . . . anywhere where children could be present  Andrew E. Kramer, “Russia Passes Bill Targeting Some Discussions of Homosexuality,” New York Times, June 11, 2013, www.nytimes.com/2013/06/12/world/europe/russia-passes-bill-targeting-some-discussions-of-homosexuality.html; and Andrew Roth, “New Russian Legislation Could Ban Holding Hands in Public if You’re Gay,” Washington Post, January 14, 2016, www.washingtonpost.com/news/worldviews/wp/2016/01/14/new-russian-legislation-could-ban-holding-hands-in-public-if-youre-gay/.

447     “destroy our traditional values” “Address by the President of the Russian Federation,” President of Russia, Kremlin, February 24, 2022,en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/67843. Scholar Emil Edenborg characterizes this quote from Putin as being in line with Russia’s weaponization of “traditional values” against LGBTQ rights, multiculturalism, and feminism. Emil Edenborg, “Putin’s Anti-Gay War on Ukraine,” Boston Review, March 14, 2022, www.bostonreview.net/articles/putins-anti-gay-war-on-ukraine/.

447     have both railed against the “gay lobby” or “LGBT lobby” Kast condemned the “gay lobby” and Meloni denounced the “LGBT lobby.” José Antonio Kast quoted in “Far-Right Candidate Takes All the Flak at Last TV debate Among Chilean presidential hopefuls,” MercoPress, November 16, 2021, en.mercopress.com/2021/11/16/far-right-candidate-takes-all-the-flak-at-last-tv-debate-among-chilean-presidential-hopefuls; and Giorgia Meloni quoted in “Giorgia Meloni: ‘Yes to the Natural Family, No to the LGBT Lobby and Gender’. Zan: ‘Criminal’—Video,” Gay.it, June 14, 2022, www.gay.it/giorgia-meloni-spagna-famiglia-naturale-lobby-lgbt-gender, via Google Translate.

447     “the LGBT imposition, which has become . . .” and “another threat that tries . . .”  Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, speech at the opening ceremony of the 38th meeting of the Standing Committee for Economic and Commercial Cooperation of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, November 28, 2022, quoted in “Erdoğan: LGBT Is a Tool of Global Dictatorship,” Her Taraf, November 28, 2022, hertaraf.com/haber-erdogan-lbgt-kuresel-bir-dikta-aracidir-10619. 

447     “attitudes” . . . “been aggressively imposing on their countries . . .”  “Address by the President of the Russian Federation,” President of Russia, February 24, 2022, en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/67843.

447     “traditional” . . . ”values”  “Address by the President of the Russian Federation,” President of Russia, February 24, 2022, en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/67843; and Edenborg, “Putin’s Anti-Gay War on Ukraine,” www.bostonreview.net/articles/putins-anti-gay-war-on-ukraine/.

447     “is not going to happen” “Address by the President of the Russian Federation,” President of Russia, February 24, 2022, en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/67843.

447     “No one has ever succeeded in doing this . . .” “Address by the President of the Russian Federation,” President of Russia, February 24, 2022, en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/67843.

447     wanted the public to believe  Pollsters and sociologists have questioned the reliability of the state-run Public Opinion Research Center. For example, in 2019, the Public Opinion Research Center adapted its methodology to boost Putin’s trust rating, after an earlier poll from the agency “showed trust in President Vladimir Putin had fallen to the lowest level in nearly 20 years.” Dmitry Rogozin, a researcher at the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration, said, “‘When indicators change so much after criticism, it all looks quite doubtful.’” “Russian State-Funded Pollster Changes Survey Questions—And Putin’s Ratings Soar,” Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, May 31, 2019, www.rferl.org/a/russian-state-funded-pollster-changes-survey-questions---and-putin-s-ratings-soar/29974840.html.

447     about two-thirds . . . “in the existence of an organization . . . “spiritual values"  63 percent of surveyed Russians expressed this belief. Russian Public Opinion Research Center quoted in Alex Cooper, “Majority of Russians Believe Gays conspiring to Destroy Country’s Values, Poll Finds,” NBC News, August 30, 2018, www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/majority-russians-believe-gays-conspiring-destroy-country-s-values-poll-n905196. The original poll can be found at Russian Public Opinion Research Center (VTsIOM), “Conspiracy Theory Against Russia,” August 20, 2018, wciom.ru/analytical-reviews/analiticheskii-obzor/teoriya-zagovora-protiv-rossii-, via Google Translate.

447     state-run Public Opinion Research Center  Cooper, “Majority of Russians Believe Gays conspiring to Destroy Country’s Values, Poll Finds,” www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/majority-russians-believe-gays-conspiring-destroy-country-s-values-poll-n905196.

447     about a quarter . . . “people who advocate for the rights of . . .” Russian Public Opinion Research Center quoted in Cooper, “Majority of Russians Believe Gays conspiring to Destroy Country’s Values, Poll Finds,” www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/majority-russians-believe-gays-conspiring-destroy-country-s-values-poll-n905196. See also VTsIOM, “Conspiracy Theory Against Russia,” wciom.ru/analytical-reviews/analiticheskii-obzor/teoriya-zagovora-protiv-rossii-.

447–448 having their children excluded . . . or segregated . . . “Gypsy classes” . . .  ADC Memorial and International Committee of Indigenous Peoples of Russia, Alternative Report on Russian Federation’s Implementation of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, For the 109th sessions of the UN CERD, April 11-28, 2023, available at adcmemorial.org/en/news/breaking-news/racism-in-russia-report-of-adc-memorial-and-international-committee-of-the-indigenous-peoples-of-russia-to-the-un-cerd/, 7.

448     less likely to be forced into the military and die on battlefields than . . . “The BBC found that six of the 10 Russian regions with the highest mortality rates in Ukraine are located in Siberia and the far east.” Nick Schifrin and Sarah Cutler, “Russia’s Ethnic Minorities Disproportionately Die in the War in Ukraine,” PBS News Hour, December 11, 2023, www.pbs.org/newshour/show/russias-ethnic-minorities-disproportionately-conscripted-to-fight-the-war-in-ukraine. See also Leyla Latypova, “Ethnic Minorities Hit Hardest By Russia’s Mobilization, Activists Say,” Moscow Times, September 27, 2022, www.themoscowtimes.com/2022/09/27/ethnic-minorities-hit-hardest-by-russias-mobilization-activists-say-a78879; Leyla Latypova, “2 Years Into Ukraine War, Russia’s Ethnic Minorities Disproportionately Killed in Battle,” Moscow Times, February 24, 2024, www.themoscowtimes.com/2024/02/24/2-years-into-ukraine-war-russias-ethnic-minorities-disproportionately-killed-in-battle-a84170; Bruce Pannier, “Central Asia in Focus: Russia Continues Sending Central Asians to Ukraine,” Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, July 2, 2024, about.rferl.org/article/central-asia-in-focus-russia-continues-sending-central-asians-to-ukraine/; and Freedom House, “Russia," Freedom in the World 2025, freedomhouse.org/country/russia/freedom-world/2025.

448     privileged access to better jobs, housing, schools, and health care  U.S. State Department, “Russia 2023 Human Rights Report,” 2024, www.state.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/528267_RUSSIA-2023-HUMAN-RIGHTS-REPORT.pdf, 80–82; Laura Gozzi, “Moscow Attack: Central Asian Migrants Hit by backlash in Russia,” BBC News, March 27, 2024, www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-68665896; and Lauren Woodard, “‘As If I Were an Illegal’: Racial Passing in Immigrant Russia,” Cultural Anthropology 37, no. 4 (November 2022), journal.culanth.org/index.php/ca/article/view/5097/807.

448     “who do not have Slavic . . .” “humiliation and violence” . . . mostly “comes from . . .”  Valentina Chupik quoted in Gozzi, “Moscow Attack: Central Asian Migrants Hit by Backlash in Russia,” www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-68665896.

448     the power to raid homes, workplaces . . . Gozzi, “Moscow Attack: Central Asian Migrants Hit by Backlash in Russia,” www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-68665896; and Anti-Discrimination Centre Memorial and International Committee of Indigenous Peoples of Russia, Alternative Report on Russian Federation’s Implementation of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, adcmemorial.org/en/news/breaking-news/racism-in-russia-report-of-adc-memorial-and-international-committee-of-the-indigenous-peoples-of-russia-to-the-un-cerd/, 14.

448     can round them up. Brutalize them. Incarcerate them. Deport them Gozzi, “Moscow Attack: Central Asian Migrants Hit by Backlash in Russia,” www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-68665896; and Anti-Discrimination Centre Memorial and International Committee of Indigenous Peoples of Russia, Alternative Report on Russian Federation’s Implementation of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, adcmemorial.org/en/news/breaking-news/racism-in-russia-report-of-adc-memorial-and-international-committee-of-the-indigenous-peoples-of-russia-to-the-un-cerd/, 14.

448     “In Russia, the world’s fourth-largest . . .”  Woodard, “‘As If I Were an Illegal,’” journal.culanth.org/index.php/ca/article/view/5097/807.

448     “from Central Asia, as well . . .” are “racialized as ‘black’”  Woodard, “‘As If I Were an Illegal,’” journal.culanth.org/index.php/ca/article/view/5097/807.