PACE called the Russian Federation a dictatorship, and the hierarchs of the Russian Orthodox Church – Putin’s accomplices

On the website of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe published the text of the resolution approved the day before, adopted in connection with the death of Russian oppositionist Alexei Navalny in the colony on February 16. The resolution contains proposals for tough measures against the Russian authorities, and Navalny’s death is called a murder, for which the Russian state bears full responsibility. PACE also called for sanctions against about 50 peoplewho, according to the assembly, are directly involved in the persecution of Navalny (some of them are already on the sanctions lists).

“Under the rule of Vladimir Putin, the Russian Federation has effectively turned into a dictatorship,” the resolution says. It is also alleged that the regime of Vladimir Putin is guided by the “neo-imperial ideology of the “Russian World” to justify aggression against neighboring states. It is indicated that the hierarchs of the Russian Orthodox Church, led by Patriarch Kirill, play an important role in strengthening this ideology. This is called “the abuse of religion and the perversion of Christian Orthodox tradition,” there is a call to treat the leadership of the Russian Orthodox Church as accomplices of the alleged crimes of the Putin regime. The presidential elections held in Russia in March are called illegitimate in the resolution (back in 2023, PACE adopted resolutions not recognizing Putin as the legitimate president of Russia).

The document calls for the immediate provision of necessary weapons and ammunition to Ukraine, tightening sanctions against Russia, fighting for the release or exchange of political prisoners held in prisons in Russia and Belarus, using frozen Russian assets to help Ukraine and creating an international tribunal to investigate the alleged crime of aggression side of the Russian leadership. Among other things, PACE stated that Russian oil refineries should be considered legitimate military targets (previously, in particular, representatives of the US administration criticized Ukrainian attacks on these plants).

The resolution also calls for dialogue with the democratic forces of Russia and Belarus, in particular for the appointment of a special rapporteur for contacts with them.

Russia was expelled from the Council of Europe shortly after the large-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 and, accordingly, does not participate in the work of PACE. PACE resolutions are essentially advisory in nature: the assembly does not have the ability to oblige member countries of the Council of Europe to implement them.

On Thursday, Evgenia Kara-Murza, the wife of Russian oppositionist Vladimir Kara-Murza, who was sentenced in Russia to 25 years in prison and is in a colony, spoke at PACE. The resolution expresses concern about his situation and calls for the fight for his release.