Jacobin Radio: The Trial w/ Boris Kagarlitsky

Suzi talks to Boris Kagarlitsky, Russian left intellectual writer-activist, just two weeks after he won his release from over four months in pre-trial custody. Kagarlitsky was arrested in Moscow on July 25 by the FSB, the Russian secret police, and taken more than 800 miles north to the city of Syktyvkar in the Komi Republic, where the local FSB opened a criminal case against him. He was accused of justifying terrorism, ostensibly for comments that he posted months earlier on social media regarding the attack on the Crimean Bridge. Even pro-Kremlin commentators were surprised at how far-fetched the accusations were. The state has imposed increasingly draconian charges and sentences for even minor anti-war activities, arresting thousands.

Kagarlitsky's arrest was part of a coordinated attack on the online journal and popular YouTube channel that Kagarlitsky edits, Рабкор.ру (Workers Correspondent). The Russian Socialist Movement saw Kagarlitsky’s arrest as an attack on the whole left movement in Russia, and a huge movement to free Boris emerged all over Russia and the world in response.

Kagarlitsky’s trial opened on December 11 in Syktyvkar and lasted two days. The prosecution and the FSB demanded five and a half years in prison. Kagarlitsky’s lawyer argued that “the charges against Boris were absurd, Kagarlitsky never supported or justified terrorism. The purpose of all his speeches is an attempt to show the real problems that the Russian state faces.” In a total surprise, the Russian authorities conceded to public opinion and the demands of thousands of scientists, researchers, artists, politicians, trade union members, and political activists from around the world. Kagarlitsky was found guilty, fined 600 thousand rubles (about $6600), banned from editing any media outlet or webpage for two years, and set free. The next day Rabkor held a crowdfunding event and 700,000 rubles was raised within an hour.

We are fortunate to have Boris Kagarlitsky with us to tell the story.

Jacobin Radio with Suzi Weissman features conversations with leading thinkers and activists, with a focus on labor, the economy, and protest movements.