Sergey Davidis, a longtime Memorial activist now in emigration, says that the main cause behind the decision to declare Memorial an extremist organization is connected “with the decline in Putin’s rating and in general of trust in the government” in the Russian Federation.

Putin’s lack of success in Ukraine and the deterioration of the economy, he says, has led to “the growth of dissatisfaction among broad swath of the population, including those who until now have supported the war”........

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