Lost. Why Is This Century Worse?

The Russian Supreme Court has decided to reject the appeal against the closure of the Russian-Chechen Friendship Society (RCFS).

Let me put it bluntly: The Friendship organisation is closed. We lost: they, the human rights activists in both Russian and Chechnya, and so did we, all of us who signed the petition.

By the way, the headquarters of RCFS were in Nizhnyi Novgorov (hence the photo above).

Amnesty has condemned the decision. According to their press release: "Today's decision delivers a double blow - one to freedom of expression and another to civil society," said Nicola Duckworth, Europe and Central Asia Programme Director at Amnesty International.

"This ruling against the Russian-Chechen Friendship Society sends a chilling signal that other NGOs stepping out of line can share its fate. The Russian authorities have an obligation to guarantee a climate free of intimidation in which human rights activists can work."

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WHY IS THIS CENTURY WORSE


Why is this century worse than those others?
Maybe, because, in sadness and alarm,
It only touched the blackest of the ulcers,
But couldn't heal it in its span of time.

Else, in the West, the earthly sun endows
The roofs of cities with the morning light,
But, here, the White already marks a house,
And calls for crows, and the crows fly.

-- Anna Akhmatova, 1919