Kremlin critic:

Russia “only knows how to steal and kill”

Yevgeniya Kara-Mursa in the "ZIB 2" interview

(Bild: Screenshot ORF)

The Russian opponent of the regime Vladimir Kara-Mursa has many parallels with the late Alexei Navalny. He is also being held in a penal colony under terrible circumstances. The politician and journalist has already survived two poison attacks. His relatives fear that Russian President Vladimir Putin could now be targeting him.

After the murder of the Kremlin's biggest critic Alexei Navalny, the shock still runs deep. Opposition in Russia is being suppressed with increasing brutality. What motivates people to continue fighting despite these conditions? Why do they do it?

"Because they are true Russian patriots," explains the wife of Vladimir Kara-Mursa, Jewegenija Kara-Mursa, in the "ZIB 2" interview with Armin Wolf. The driving force behind this is her belief that Russia deserves better. Vladimir believes that it is the duty of a Russian politician to stand by those who risk their lives and to show that it is possible to overcome fear.

Particularly harsh prison conditions
Last April, Vladimir Kara-Mursa was sentenced to 25 years in prison on charges of "high treason". This is the highest sentence ever imposed on an opposition activist in Russia. Internationally, he is classified as a political prisoner. Vladimir must serve his sentence under particularly harsh conditions. His cell is only a few square meters in size, his bed is fixed to the wall and the regime there is extremely strict, says Yevgeniya.

With regard to the murder of Kremlin opponent Alexei Navalny, Yevgeniya has no doubt that it was a planned assassination. Navalny had been tortured and tormented for the previous three years. "Putin overstepped all boundaries in those years," she states.

Yevgeniya Kara-Mursa with her husband

(Bild: AFP)

Virtually no contact possible
She hasn't heard from her husband for a long time. Last summer, she was granted a 15-minute phone call. However, she did not speak to him, but gave the time to her three children. She stood next to him with a stopwatch so that she could divide the five minutes exactly between them.

A week ago, Yevgeniya and Vladimir celebrated their 20th wedding anniversary. However, the requested telephone call was refused - the prison authorities did not consider the occasion exceptional enough to allow the conversation.

Putin probably wants to rule for life
Today, she lives in constant fear for her husband. However, she cannot allow these emotions to prevent her from doing the work that is so important to Vladimir. Russia is a "murderous regime that only knows how to steal and kill", says Yevgeniya. She hopes for the day when everything collapses.

This horror is unlikely to end any time soon. According to Yevgeniya, Putin will want to rule for as long as he lives. The upcoming election has nothing in common with a democratic process. Putin is not a legitimate ruler of the Russian Federation.

The wife of the imprisoned opposition figure wants unity from the West. Unity in supporting Ukraine and in condemning Putin's crimes.