Putin about the arrests of Kagarlitsky and Berkovich: “There must be a certain attitude towards those who cause damage within the country”, “in Ukraine they shoot for this”

President Vladimir Putin, at a press conference following the Russia-Africa summit, answered a question about the arrests of sociologist Boris Kagarlitsky and director Evgenia Berkovich, who are accused of justifying terrorism, citing “an armed conflict with a neighbor.” The live broadcast was conducted by the Soloviev Live channel.

During the press conference, Kommersant correspondent Andrei Kolesnikov mentioned Boris Kagarlitsky and Evgenia Berkovich, who were arrested “for spoken or written words.” “Is this normal? Thank God, it’s not 1937 here? Or, as many people think, maybe it’s already the 37th?”

“We are in 2023, and the Russian Federation is in a state of armed conflict with its neighbor. I think that there should be a certain attitude towards those people who cause us harm within the country,” Putin said.

The President claims that this is the “first time” he hears these names.

“In Ukraine they shoot for this - well, not for this, but for similar things... You know, yes, that several people were simply killed there, as soon as they opened their mouths. Even a participant in the negotiating group from Ukraine, I don’t know why, on suspicion that he said something wrong, he was immediately liquidated. This doesn't mean we have to do this. But we must keep in mind that in order for us to achieve success, including in the combat zone, we need to follow certain rules for everyone,” Putin continued, asking Kolesnikov to tell him more about these arrests later.

Boris Kagarlitsky, a sociologist and editor-in-chief of the left-wing online magazine Rabkor, was detained in Moscow and transferred to Syktyvkar at the end of July. He is charged with posts about the explosion on the Crimean Bridge, which the investigation qualifies as a justification of terrorism (Part 2 of Article 205.2 of the Criminal Code).

Theater director Evgenia Berkovich and screenwriter Svetlana Petriychuk have been in pretrial detention since May 5. They are accused of justifying terrorism (Part 2 of Article 205.2 of the Criminal Code) because of the play “Finist Yasnyi Sokol,” which tells about Russian women who married Islamists and went to join them in Syria.