Ed Casabar @edcasabar@qoto.org

Another photo of a plaque I took at Moscow's #SolvetskyStone outside of #Lubyanka. In Russian and English, it says:

"During the years of terror, over 40,000 people were shot in Moscow on groundless political charges. Their bodies were buried in the cemetery of Yauza Hospital (Now Hospital 23) between 1921 and 1926; at Vagankovo Cemetery between 1926 and 1935 and cremated at the Moscow (Donskoi) Crematorium from early 1930s, until, at least, the 1950s. Starting in 1937, two NKVD execution sites - the Moscow suburb of Butovo and the Kommunarka Collective Farm - were also used as burial places. More detailed information on this subject is available at Memorial Society at: 12 May Karetny Pereulok."

#russia

In response, the Nobel Peace Prize in 2022 was awarded to Memorial.

https://www.nobelprize.org/.../peace/2022/memorial/lecture/

#Russia

Just over a year ago, #Memorial, an organization documenting Soviet repression, was shut down by the Kremlin. They had been holding ceremonies at the #SolovetskyStone for years. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-59853010

#Russia

The WaPo article reminds me of my first trip to #Russia in 2008. One of my private tour stops was to the #SolovetskyStone, commemorating those lost in the #Gulag. Ironically, it's located just outside the former #KGB 's notorious #Lubyanka Prison.

#travel
#photography

As a result of #Russia ’s war in #Ukraine, average Russians are now repeating a scary part of Soviet history (the Great #Purge / Great #Terror of the late 1930s). Now, in 2023, snitching on or denouncing each other is becoming more common, so Russian citizens are self-censoring their speech and activities in order to avoid arrest and imprisonment.

From the WaPo article: “This wave of denunciations is one of the signs of totalitarianism, when people understand what is good — from the point of view of the president — and what is bad, so ‘Who is against us must be prosecuted,’” said Andrei Kolesnikov, a Moscow-based political analyst with the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

During the Terror, the slippery slope of denunciations started with high-ranking Communist officials. Eventually, average Soviet citizens were encouraged to report any activity that was considered suspicious. Neighbors disappeared in the middle of the night, taken away by the KGB. The estimated number of people arrested during and sent to the gulags during the Terror varies greatly somewhere between 2.6-7 million. The best estimates are that at least 1.3 million were sentenced to death and 700,000 executed.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/05/27/russia-denunciations-arrests-informants-war/

Battling for Breath | © Ed Casabar
Muay Thai at Rajadamnern Stadium
Bangkok, Thailand

70 mm 1/500 sec f 2.8 ISO 8000
Canon 5DM3, 70-200 mm f2.8 L

#Travel, #Photography, #travelphotgraphy
#MuayThai, #Bangkok, #Thailand

Humanitarian and volunteer soldier from the UK in #Ukraine, #MacerGifford, gives an incredible interview. Probably one of the most articulate persons I've ever heard speak about the war. A truly amazing individual. Well worth listening to the whole podcast on YouTube.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rOzTmMRcehE

In support of Budweiser. This*

https://www.nbcnews.com/nbc-out/out-pop-culture/bud-light-partnership-trans-influencer-dylan-mulvaney-prompts-rightwin-rcna78295

All 34 written indictments can be found at PBS:

https://www.npr.org/2023/04/04/1167708172/trump-charges-hush-money-new-york-indictment

Trump charged with 34 felonies. Wow. Just wow.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/04/04/trump-arraignment-ny-indictment-live-updates/

相馬野馬追。私はそこにいます! The #SomaNomaoi festival. I'll be there!

#japan
#日本

Yes! The International Criminal Court (#ICC) issues an arrest warrant for Russian President, Vladimir #Putin. for the abduction and deportation of Ukrainian children.

Source: NY Times

https://www.nytimes.com/live/2023/03/17/world/russia-ukraine-putin-news

#RussiaIsATerroristState

"Navalny" movie wins an #Oscar. #Russian political prisoner and Putin's arch enemy, Alexei #Navalny, now imprisoned for one a year, will smile once he hears the news. His wife, Yulia Navalnaya, speaks on his behalf. #СвободуНавальному!

Video source: Дождь/TVRain

Power to the people. Great news for #Georgia. After two nights of protests, Georgia's ruling party withdraws Kremlin-like foreign agents bill intended to stifle media coverage and civil society.

Photo source: Associated Press

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/09/world/europe/georgia-protests-bill.html

Why we should worry of Russian influence in the world. Brave Georgians protesting against a Russian-style "foreign agent" law aimed at limiting media freedom and civil society.

How the Russian language has changed because of the war. With English and Russian subtitles.

Worth a listen whether or not you're learning #Russian - a podcast from two Russian language instructors who left their country because of the war.

I found this particularly interesting since I posted previously about new Russian vocabulary I've learned since the start of the war.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DBQT5yjqeco

#Russia, #россия
#RussianLanguage, #русскийязык
#languagelearning

A well done, PBS Newshour piece on whether #ArtificialIntelligence, #AI, can produce art.

Visually stunning and thought provoking. Makes me want to go to New York to view #RafikAnadol 's "Unsupervised" at MOMA..

For the visually impaired, text of the interview is available PBS:

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/use-of-artificial-intelligence-generates-questions-about-the-future-of-art

#Murdoch, under oath, admits #Fox endorsed #TheBigLie. I hope he sees jail time or at least we see the financial demise of Fox News.

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/27/business/media/fox-news-dominion-rupert-murdoch.html