He is a 57-year-old Russian host and comedian who has become the latest person to be persecuted by the Russian government for his criticism of the war against Ukraine.
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Now she lives in Spain. According to the newspaper the world, the Investigative Committee opened a criminal case against Lazareva for “justifying terrorism.” This is due to an interview in which he said: “Every day we face drone attacks in Russian cities. And, you know, it’s horrible, but I’m happy.”
The accusation was made by State Duma deputy Andrey Alshevsky after a linguistic assessment. It established that the actress’ statement “contains information intended to justify terrorist activities”.
The Rosfinmonitoring list was created in 2001 by decree of Vladimir Putin. (Photo: AFP)
That’s how it is Tatiana Lazareva Included in the list is Rosfinmonitoring, the Federal Financial Monitoring Service of the Russian Federation, which is considered Russia’s main financial intelligence agency.
Despite the allegation, the actress and host have indicated in other media that they stand in solidarity with people who receive attacks not only from Ukrainians, but also from Russians. “I said that such attacks will affect those who live in Russia and enjoy the war, and then they will turn their gaze in another direction,” he commented.
Anti-war
Lazareva’s opposition is not new. On February 24, 2022, a few days before Russia invaded Ukrainian soil, the actress arrived in Kiev and witnessed the attack on her country. He protested more than once, and due to his public protest, the Russian Ministry of Justice declared him a “foreign agent” in July 2022. Two years later, in June 2024, the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs put her on the most wanted list.
Actress, host and comedian Tatiana Lazarev has become the new enemy of Vladimir Putin’s government. (Photo: Instagram / lazarevatut)
According to the newspaper UniversalLazareva was among the public demanding that Putin’s government return the body of dead opposition leader Alexei Navalny to his family. International Amnesty Opposition politician dies in custody, “after being poisoned, unjustly imprisoned and tortured in prison”
In addition, he supported extraparliamentary opposition activities in the March elections and opposed the re-election of incumbent President Vladimir Putin.
Alexei Navalny is one of the biggest opponents of Vladimir Putin’s regime. (Photo: AFP)
But his clearest move to dismiss the outbreak was the document “Only if there was no war,” an open letter publicized by historian Andrey Zubov in 2022, when Russia had already launched an attack on Ukraine. The letter was direct and asked Russia to back down.
point to The Moscow Times About a hundred high-profile figures, including dissidents, actors, writers, singers, journalists and politicians, signed the initial document, and later five thousand signatures were added. “I will always support those who represent the interests of the community, not the interests of the authorities. Petitions are the only safe way to express the will we have left,” Lazareva said, not denying her fear of what might happen in Russia, “and anyone can become a victim of this repression.”
Censorship and harassment
These are traits that have become harder under Vladimir Putin’s government. In 2023, name Olesya Krivtsova She made headlines when she was sued for her Instagram posts. The 20-year-old university student was accused of “justifying terrorism” and “insulting the Russian armed forces”.
A statement The New York Times He mentions that he was placed under house arrest and banned from using the phone or the Internet. However, he decided to escape for his life. “I decided to leave because I was desperate. It is impossible to prove anything in a Russian court,” Krivsova said in a video apologizing and was forced to sign a confession.
Olesya Krivtsova, a 20-year-old young woman, was accused of terrorism by some publications on her social networks. (Photo: nytimes.com)
But there are other famous cases. Journalist in May this year Nadezhda Gevorgova (65) Listed as “Terrorists and Extremists”. A Moscow court remanded him in custody until July 6 on charges of “justifying terrorism.”
In addition to jail, authorities can freeze the bank accounts of people under investigation without a court order by entering the list. In his case, he was also charged for publications he published on Telegram.
In Russia, the use of social networks owned by the company Meta is banned. (Photo: AFP)
If it’s about social networks, we need to talk about it Andy Stone, a spokesperson for American technology company Meta, owner of Facebook and Instagram. In April this year, the AP Institute A Russian court convicted him on charges of justifying terrorism and sentenced him to six years in prison during a speedy trial.
Based on local media, they indicated that the charges were filed following the publication of reports in 2022 when the war began. But authorities labeled Meta a terrorist organization and banned Facebook and Instagram across the country, just as X (when it was called Twitter) did.
Finally, in 2024 Russia also added the LGBT movement to its list of “terrorists and extremists”, following a Supreme Court ruling in November 2023, ensuring that LGBT activists should be designated as extremists.
Interview
“Putin’s political philosophy and practice should not have strong opposition”
Ramiro Escobar
International Researcher and Professor at PUCP
How does Russia deal with opposition in this war environment?
Since the conflict in Ukraine began in 2022, in Russia it cannot be called a war, but rather a special operation. Specific laws have been passed in the Russian parliament to punish those who oppose the war or simply call for war, and a person can be imprisoned for up to 15 years. That’s why dissidents like this actress have fled other countries, but inside Russia some who dare to speak out are in jail. In general, the opposition parties have faced many problems since Putin has been in power for more than two decades. There are laws for that, there is even internet surveillance, and there are lists of people who, in the opinion of the Russian government, are a threat to the state and Russian society. Putin’s political philosophy and practice should not be met with strong opposition, which became even more difficult when the offensive against Ukraine began.
– Who are the main targets of the audit?
What is happening, according to the Putin government’s logic, is that they are destabilizing the state. So anyone from a Jehovah’s Witness to an artist, TV host or LGBTI activist can fit into that box, but at one point Facebook and Instagram were added to the list of companies threatening the Russian government. So, anything that can challenge the way things are perceived in the Kremlin, at the level of organizations and individuals, may be eligible to enter that list.
What role does Rosfinmonitoring play?
This system monitors financial institutions and financial movements. For example, Jehovah’s Witnesses were blocked from funding because they were considered a threat, but according to the Kremlin, they also promote a list of people who pose a threat to the state. Interestingly, this is also marked in the conflict between the West and Russia, as the agency is recognized by the US, the EU and the UK. It is an agency that sanctions and blacklists opponents of the Russian regime.
Is there social protest in Russia now?
Months passed and the regime became harder, and I think that was also because Russia had not yet won the war. I thought it would end soon, it’s been more than two years, the war continues and Russia can’t win. This further hardened the Russian government’s attitude towards those who opposed the war. It is very difficult to resist it inside Russia. There were street protests in the first weeks, but hundreds of arrests. The protests were very dull then. The latest sign of protest, or at least distance from the regime, is to leave some flowers at Alexei Navalny’s funeral or at the house where he lived. There are many possibilities for this to end. On the one hand, there is resistance outside in Ukraine, Lithuania, Spain and other European countries, and inside Russia runs the gamut of possibilities, from strengthening civil society to supporting armed militias. Activists. They are few and far between, but they exist, so there are still some serious activists who even consider this possibility, but it is very difficult because the regime is very rigid and militarily very powerful. The remaining possibility is to activate civil society within Russia, which is also difficult, and the other option is that Putin has some health problem or some inconsistency in the power plan and there is some gap within the Russian regime.
