‘USSR Citizens’ Sent to Siberia
A Russian court has sentenced 11 members of the “Soviet citizens” movement to imprisonment for extremism, after a trial that lasted almost two years.
The group subscribes to the notion that the Soviet Union never actually ceased to exist and that the Russian Federation is therefore illegitimate.
In 2019, a court in the Komi Republic declared the “USSR” an extremist organization, effectively banning its activities. The 11 defendants from Sverdlovsk Region, however, continued to hold meetings and lectures, distribute pamphlets and avoid taxes and utility bills, according to authorities.
Members of the Ekaterinburg branch of “USSR” were found guilty of “participating in a public association banned due to extremist activity,” under Article 282.2, Section 2 of the Russian criminal code, local media reported on Wednesday.
The two ringleaders were sentenced to six years in a general regime penal colony, while each of their nine followers was sentenced to two years.
According to prosecutors, “USSR” was started in 2010 by Sergey Taraskin, owner of a dental clinic in Zelenograd, Moscow Region. Taraskin was born in Dushanbe, the capital of Tajikistan, the former Soviet republic now an independent Central Asian state.
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The Soviet Union was proclaimed in 1922, on the ruins of the Russian Empire. It ceased to exist in December 1991, after the leaders of Belarus, Russia, and Ukraine agreed to dissolve it in defiance of a popular referendum favoring its continuation. The Russian Federation was then recognized as the legal successor of the USSR, with all other republics turned independent states seeking recognition from scratch.
Prosecutors have alleged that members of the “USSR” – which to some stood for “Union of Soviet Socialist Republics” but to others for “Union of Slavic Forces of Rus” – refused to recognize the existence of Russia and styled themselves citizens of the now-extinct Soviet Union.
This manifested in refusal to obey Russian laws, failing to pay utility bills or bank loans, or contempt for government officials – including Judge Yulia Lobanova, who presided over the trial. Several of the defendants argued that the court lacked legitimacy, as they only recognized Soviet judges.
A similar movement, called “sovereign citizens,” emerged in the US in the 1970s and has since spread to Canada, the UK, Australia, and New Zealand. Its adherents have invoked English Common Law to argue that they did not consent to being ruled by any government.
JD Vance Calls for Breaking up Google
Senator J.D. Vance, Donald Trump’s running mate in the November presidential election, has past ties to tech, but also strong opinions about it.
Informed by the knowledge of the industry many politicians lack, Vance is anti-Big Tech monopolies, and positive on cryptocurrencies.
Appearing on the CBS News show Face the Nation, the potential future vice president reiterated his previously stated by-and-large approval of FTC Commissioner Lina Kahn’s work, and the two seem to be particularly in agreement on the need to break up Big Tech monopolies.
The case for spinning off companies like Google has been talked up over the last years from both political camps in the US, unsurprisingly, however, from different angles. Vance focuses on the danger of such large entities controlling speech.
“I don’t want Google or a billionaire that controls Google that’s in bed with China to be able to censor American information and that’s exactly what they’ve done,” Vance told CBS.
He also mentioned the anti-trust lawsuit against Google launched during Trump’s first term in office, noting that they both “look at this in the same way.”
Speaking of the difference between “Small Tech” and “Big Tech,” Vance singled out the monopolistic power the latter has to control some key elements, such as Google’s digital advertising power vs. for example X.
“I don’t think that Elon Musk has any monopoly – he’s not using his company to try to destroy competitors,” Vance remarked, explaining the importance of anti-trust initiatives around the technology sector.
In pushing for better anti-monopoly rules, Vance hopes the Trump presidency would achieve two goals: secure better-paid jobs at home, and freedom of expression.
This is not the first time that Vance has criticized Google, but also Facebook and others for their left-leaning bias, posting on X in February that it was “time to break Google up.”
As for cryptocurrencies, Vance, like Trump, wants to avoid overindulgent regulatory measures. Also earlier this year, he criticized the approach taken by Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Gary Gensler during a Y Combinator event RemedyFest.
Some reports see these policy points as appealing to a number of Silicon Valley actors, which, after all, isn’t uniformly left – although its biggest players seem to be.
But Vance’s messages, particularly around cryptocurrencies, seem to resonate among venture capitalists and the likes of Elon Musk, who are willing to put their money where their mouth is and support the Trump-Vance ticket with large campaign contributions.
Olympic Boxer Sues JK Rowling, Elon Musk For “Cyber Bullying”
Algerian boxer Imane Khelif has filed a criminal complaint to French authorities claiming that author J.K. Rowling and tech billionaire Elon Musk participated in a campaign of “cyber harassment”. Khelif, who is alleged to have […]
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WHO Chief Declares Monkeypox An International Public Health Emergency
The World Health Organization has declared that monkeypox as a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC) and have urged a vaccination campaign. WHO director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus made the announcement after the emergency […]
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German Police To Be Given The Right To ‘Secretly’ Enter & Search Homes
The German Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) could soon be granted the right to secretly enter and search homes, according to media reports. A draft reform proposal seen by Der Spiegel and RND claims that […]
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BREAKING: NATO Expanding Invasion Of Russia — Experts Warn The Trigger For WWIII Has Never Been Closer
Alex Jones breaks down the alarming developments from the Eastern front in Ukraine as NATO planes have gotten directly involved in the conflict against Russia in a move that experts say signals the organization is planning to expand the war rather than draw it down. Tune in!
BREAKING: NATO Expanding Invasion Of Russia—
Experts Warn The Trigger For WWIII Has Never Been Closer pic.twitter.com/XS4slj6WW1— Alex Jones (@RealAlexJones) August 14, 2024