When democracy gets trampled

Growing up in early 2000s Russia, the authors watched as President Putin strengthened his grip, with riot police, media operatives, and oligarchs smothering civic life.

Authoritarianism hides in plain sight

Modern dictators don't wear military uniforms or openly reject democracy. They talk about freedom while their subjects enjoy technology and middle-class comforts, making oppression hard to recognize.

Language as resistance

Russian literature and language have long resisted oppression. Under the Tsars, satirists developed coded speech to communicate freely. This tradition continues under Putin.

Vlast: absolute state power

The Russian word vlast means power, but it specifically refers to state control and absolute authority. Politicians obsess over capturing vlast because it represents total dominion.

“We [democrats] have the power. Therefore, this is a democracy.”

Byudjetniki: the human machinery

Budget people are teachers, doctors, and bureaucrats whose livelihoods depend on the state. They are coerced into attending pro-government rallies and falsifying elections.

Forced attendance at rallies

Students are threatened with expulsion if they skip mandatory pro-government rallies. Workers are bussed in under threat of termination. Regional officials receive quotas for how many people to send.

Zona: spaces where violence rules

Zona means prison in Russian slang, but also refers to any restricted space where survival is not guaranteed. It includes gulags, Auschwitz, Gaza, and the Donbas.

Violence spreads beyond borders

Authoritarian violence never stays contained. What starts as limited brutality in one zona inevitably spreads throughout society, as happened with the Bolsheviks and Italian fascists.

Kadyrovization: testing ground for oppression

Ramzan Kadyrov rules Chechnya as a personal fiefdom where repressive policies are tested before spreading to Russia. He has overseen brutal manhunts against queer Chechens and forced public apologies.

Forced apologies as humiliation

Chechnya pioneered forced apologies where security services post videos of roughed-up suspects confessing crimes for humiliation. This practice has now spread across Russia.

Tsifrovoi gulag: digital prison

Russia's digital gulag is a prison with no walls. The Kremlin censors websites, controls internet infrastructure, and uses state apps to fine protesters and send draft notices.

Convenience comes with surveillance

Government mega-apps streamline services like doctor appointments and bank transactions, but the same apps charge fines for protesting and send military draft notices.

Tank stuck at circus gates

In June 2023, a tank got stuck in a circus archway during Yevgeny Prigozhin's failed rebellion. The absurd image became a meme symbolizing authoritarianism's chaotic farce.

Authoritarianism is fragile chaos

While authoritarian systems appear stable from outside, they are internally fragile and chaotic. Crises can brew for years before erupting suddenly, as Prigozhin's rebellion showed.

Prigozhin's swift end

Two months after his failed rebellion, Yevgeny Prigozhin was killed in a plane crash along with everyone else on board, illustrating the regime's ruthlessness.

Dna net: there is no bottom

This Soviet-era phrase means things can always get worse. Political norms are broken repeatedly until citizens stop being shocked by new violations of law and decency.

The Navalny precedent

Russians thought the regime would never ban opposition leader Alexei Navalny from elections, poison him, jail him, or kill him. But they did all of these things.

Knocking from below the bottom

Russians say s dna postuchali, or there is knocking from below the bottom. Whenever you think you have reached the bottom, authoritarians invent something new beneath it.

Authoritarianism spreads everywhere

The article warns that authoritarianism is not unique to Russia. Warning signs exist in the United Kingdom, Israel, the United States, and beyond.