22 December 2025 – 4 January 2026
by Aleksandr Podrabinek
Source: Facebook
22 December 2025
At about this time, exactly 50 years ago, I signed my first human rights document – a protest against the sentence of human rights activist Sergei Kovalev. Since then, I have put my name on numerous protest letters, written books and articles, participated in democratic movements, twice been convicted of ‘slandering’ the Soviet system, and spent five and a half years in Soviet prisons, exile camps, and labour camps. All these years, I fought tooth and nail for what I believed was right: the ideals of freedom, democracy and human rights
Today when our country is reverting to its former, totally calamitous historical path, it seems that my experience of opposing a totalitarian regime may be of use to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. I know that only those who have left Russia are permitted to participate in the Russian Opposition Platform. I find this absurd, and hope that PACE will either amend this requirement or make an exception for me. In the hope of this, I sent this letter to PACE today.
БЮРО ПАРЛАМЕНТСКОЙ АССАМБЛЕИ СОВЕТА ЕВРОПЫ
Я хотел бы принять участие в работе Платформы для диалога с российскими демократическими силами в ПАСЕ. Я разделяю ценности и принципы Совета Европы, включая изложенные в Берлинской декларации 2023 года. Я живу в России, поэтому хорошо знаю реальную ситуацию в стране. Думаю, что смогу быть полезен Парламентской Ассамблее, представляя интересы, мнения и надежды тех моих соотечественников, которые вместе со мной видят будущую Россию свободной и демократической страной.
Александр Подрабинек
Москва, 22 декабря 2025 г.
Мои биографические сведения: https://ru.wikipedia.org/…/%D0%9F%D0%BE%D0%B4%D1%80%D0…
Bureau of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe
I would like to participate in the work of the Platform for Dialogue with Russian Democratic Forces in PACE. I recognize the values and principles of the Council of Europe, including those set out in the Berlin Declaration of 2023. I live in Russia, so I am aware of the real situation in the country. I believe I can be of assistance to the Parliamentary Assembly by representing the interests, opinions, and hopes of those of my compatriots who, like me, envision a future Russia as a free and democratic country.
Alexander Podrabinek
Moscow, December 22, 2025
My biographical information: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Podrabinek
Source: Facebook
26 December 2025
It’s a strange thing, upon arriving in Israel, one experiences a sort of homecoming. And yet, upon arriving in Russia, it’s like arriving at work. True, over the course of time things fall into place and you come to see Russia as home and Israel as where you go on holiday. These are such contradictory feelings. I guess blood will tell, as they say.
Source: Facebook
3 January 2026
The US military operation in Venezuela is, of course, a violation of international law. But the suppression of civil liberties and the terror perpetrated against its own people by the socialist regimes of Chávez and then Maduro are also a violation of international law. Throughout 27 years of socialist dictatorship, international law failed, or was unwilling, to protect human rights in Venezuela. Today, the dictatorship has been crushed, and rightly so. It’s hard to say what motivated America’s erratic president in this case, but the result so far has certainly been positive.
After all, even a stopped clock is right twice a day. Intensive aid to Israel and the end of Maduro’s dictatorship are two right decisions.
Source: Facebook
4 January 2026
The arrest of dictator Maduro by the Americans raises a more general question: is it permissible to break the law for the sake of justice? Any lawyer will tell you it’s impossible; any victim of terrorism will tell you that it is. Both will be right, because each has their own truth. A lawyer values the inviolability of the law, while a victim values personal protection. When the law fails to provide protection, a situation like the present one arises.
Three weeks’ ago, two terrorists killed 15 people in Sydney. Police took ten minutes from the first shots being fired to arrive on the scene. Many more would have been killed were it not for the fact that 43-year-old Syrian native Ahmed al-Ahmed, the owner of a local fruit and vegetable store, happened to be walking by. He disarmed one of the assailants, injuring himself in the process. He may not have had any police authority to do so, but it is unlikely anyone would argue he should be held accountable on that basis.
The same is true for Maduro: international law enforcement has long been unable to prosecute the dictator’s criminal activity, but then a country came along that decided to do that which the ‘international police’ could not.
Of course, this is a slippery slope and risks leaving too much scope for arbitrary interpretation. Some will want to repeat it, citing precedent. Therefore, terrorist regimes must first be confidently condemned by international law—this provides some legal basis for further forceful decisions.
Source: Facebook
Translated by Nathalie Wilson
