11- 31 December 2025
by Sergei Davidis
Source: Facebook
11 December 2025
Starting from the most general considerations and practical experience, we had no reason to expect anything good to come from the European Commission’s recent decision to add Russia to the list of countries with strategic deficiencies in their system for deterring financial crimes.
But now a professional analysis by Aleksandra Prokopenko from the Carnegie Endowment comes to the same conclusions as well. The people and organizations in the EU lawfully making the calculations will suffer from it.
The article’s sad summary: this political step ‘…fulfills a symbolic function. It demonstrates the West’s unity, satisfies the European hawks, and creates the appearance of additional pressure on Moscow. But make no mistake: in practice this new pressure does not affect the Putin regime and Putin-adjacent business at all’.
For the link to the report, see here.
I’m afraid that in the new year, after the decision goes into effect, both Russian political émigrés/relocatees, and NGOs connected with Russians or working with Russia, as well as commercial organizations established by Russians in Europe, are going to run into serious new problems.
The fact that over these same days a bill was introduced to the State Duma on the creation of a register of ‘departed politicals’ and the deprivation or limitation of a wide variety of civil rights of those included on it adds a sad irony to the situation.
Source: Facebook
13 December 2025
Here’s what I can’t understand. I regularly come across the phrase ‘good Russians’ as implying something bad. You mean it’s good to be a bad Russian and support the war and Putin?
What lunacy is that?
UPDATE I’m referring to the use of this expression by Russians, not Ukrainians. It’s inappropriate to be discussing Ukrainians’ choice of words during the war.
Source: Facebook
13 December 2025
In connection with the latest reports—my support goes to Vladimir Kara-Murza. Not only because I consider him my friend but for substantive reasons.
Source: Facebook
14 December 2025
Congratulations to my Belarussian friends and colleagues and, of course, the freed political prisoners!
I believe that Russian political prisoners sentenced in specious trials will be freed much sooner, too!
Source: Facebook
15 December 2025
A few respected people are saying that the only way to establish democracy in Russia is to raise the Ukrainian flag over Sevastopol.
I’m in favor of this, of course, but there are two things I don’t understand.
First, by what conceivable methods and means do they propose raising this flag? Who has to do what hasn’t been done over the last four years to achieve this result? And what reason is there to expect that this someone will do this something that he hasn’t done so far?
Second, should this thesis be understood to mean that as long as the Ukrainian flag doesn’t wave over Sevastopol there won’t be democracy in Russia either? I repeat, I would be happy to see this flag, but to be honest, does this mean that the only recommendation for Russians wishing to turn the country toward democracy is that they arm themselves with the Ukrainian flag and head for Sevastopol? Are you sure we can’t start with something more practical?
Source: Facebook
21 December 2025
I watched, although not very closely, Pliushchev’s interview with Kara-Murza and Kasparov. I’ve known them both for a long time and respect them both.
But when it comes to the conflict that was the impetus for the interview, after familiarizing myself with the positions of the two sides, my sympathies are with Vladimir. Garri Kimovich’s claims against Vladimir are not convincing.
What is this refusal to be a ‘team player’? Can there really be any sensible objections to expanding the circle of participants in shaping the Platform and bringing the FBK [Anti-Corruption Fund] into it?
What are these reproaches for not signing the Berlin Declaration?
Evidently, the demands of the PACE resolution are mandatory and there is no dispute about signing the declaration, but to reproach someone because he accepts the self-proclaimed certification of his antiwar and pro-democracy stance without enthusiasm is strange.
The very idea that someone believes he has the right to present these and other claims and reproaches to a like-minded colleague, especially in this form, is simply indecent.
In essence, what I didn’t like in Vladimir’s interview was his avoidance of clear answers on his support for Russians’ participation in the war on the side of the Ukrainian armed forces and about support for the Ukrainian armed forces as a whole.
In the interview, Garri Kimovich’s disagreement brought up some other theses, too:
From what I recall:
— the reduction of what can be done to change the situation in Russia exclusively to supporting Ukraine (this is an important matter, but there are zero grounds for asserting that future changes in Russia depend only on that);
— his thesis about everyone left in Russia supporting the regime and the war;
— his erroneous and insulting assertions about the senselessness and exclusively avaricious motives of the grant financing system and even his use of the delusional term ‘grant-suckers’.
Nonetheless, I am sure that everyone who speaks out against the war and the dictatorship is an ally, and they should look for what unites, rather than divides, them.
Source: Facebook
25 December 2025
For all my disagreements with Udaltsov’s opinions, his case and verdict cannot be viewed as anything but particularly malicious lunacy. He has been convicted for expressing a perfectly lawful opinion.
Source: Facebook
27 December 2025
Yesterday, some antiwar Russians wrote that we cannot talk about a violation of human rights and the principles of law if the result of these violations is the imprisonment of a war supporter.
Today, other antiwar Russians have written that we cannot express sympathy in connection with the death of RDK [Russian Volunteer Corps] Commander Denis Kapustin because he was a neo-Nazi.
I find both positions regrettable. They both seem to be a manifestation of an unconscionably oversimplified picture of the world.
I’ve already spoken about the former. In such a case, it is important to separate emotions from principles and one’s attitude toward the object of repressions from one’s attitude toward political repressions.
As for the latter, one should not lump together one’s assessment of a person’s entire set of opinions, his entire life’s journey, with one’s attitude toward his positions and actions in connection with the most important problem of our day: Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine.
One can be as strongly opposed as one likes to the ideology the RDK represents; there are powerful reasons for that. But the RDK is defending Ukraine, fighting on the side of truth and justice, defending Russians’ honor. And Kapustin died fighting for just that, not for xenophobia or any other obscurantism.
If someone with the most unpleasant views and the most unpleasant biography gives his life to save a drowning child or pull him out of a fire, it is more than natural to give him his due of gratitude and respect. And giving him this due does not necessarily imply agreement with all the rest.
Source: Facebook
29 December 2025
I have written a survey of political repressions during the full-scale war for the respected publication Riddle. Primarily for foreigners, who do not fully appreciate the scale and nature of these repressions.
The link is here.
Source: Facebook
30 December 2025
In the story of the young musicians of Stoptime and especially Naoko, the good news would be the very fact that young people are singing songs not approved by the censor, and other young people gather without permission to listen to them and even sing along.
The fact that the regime is so afraid of them is just one more argument in favor of the importance of this news, and there would be no grounds whatsoever for throwing stones at the musicians if, under pressure, they had formally admitted they were wrong and apologized.
The fact that the young people were also steadfast against repressive pressure and did not repent was, rather, a pleasant surprise and made this a story of steadfastness and resistance, substantially adding to its symbolic meaning.
When it became clear that they had also safely escaped the dragon’s maw, the story acquired an optimistic finish nearly on a par with a Christmas tale.
All this would have been more than enough for a story about 18-year-old musicians, but Diana’s inerview with Dud showed that she is also sensible, a bold and responsible young woman.
That the regime’s minions, from anonymous trolls to State Duma deputies, have been enraged and spewing poison the whole way is to be expected.
But now the fact that there are people who after the interview are reproaching Naoko because she said the war started in 2022, when she was 15, and not 2014, when she was 7, and because somewhere at some point she performed a song approved by the censor has taken me aback, although I should be used to that by now, of course.
Source: Facebook
31 December 2025
Happy New Year!
I wish Ukraine victories and peace, political prisoners freedom, and Russia democracy!
And everyone goodness, love, health, and progress!
And for him to drop dead, of course.
Last year we did try to support political prisoners, but personally I can’t help but boast of continuing a tradition: once again over the course of the year I ran if not a lot then a little more than in the past.
Source: Facebook
Translated by Marian Schwartz
