How Russian dissidents are being punished by both Russia and Europe

Earlier this month, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed into law new legislation that targets Russians living abroad who oppose his regime. The law restricts the provision of consular services to Russian citizens who have been sentenced in absentia in political cases.This means that those convicted of a number of offences – including violating the “foreign agent law” or “discrediting” the Russian army – will not be able to renew their Russian passports and receive other essential consular services. This could affect thousands of Russian citizens. Individuals and organisations labelled “foreign agents” are already more than 1,600 and the number continues to grow.This comes at a time when European countries are increasingly making more difficult residency renewal and asylum seeking for Russian citizens who condemned the invasion of Ukraine and had to flee their country. Russians of conscience are thus being punished by both sides for deciding to oppose a brutal war.I know what that feels like.In May 2022, Russia began legal proceedings against me and my family. It was one of the first known cases in which the Russian authorities sought to strip a person of citizenship because of ...