[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 43 (Monday, March 11, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Page S2343]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                                 RUSSIA

  Mr. WELCH. Madam President, an article in the February 29 New York 
Times, entitled ``5 Convicts Familiar With Navalny's Prison Confirm 
Hellish Conditions,'' describes the horrifyingly cruel treatment of 
political prisoners in Russia. Anyone who reads the article could 
easily mistakenly assume that they were reading about the shocking ways 
that prisoners were dehumanized, brutalized, starved, and murdered in 
the Middle Ages, except this is 2024.
  What the article describes is not new, but it has received renewed 
attention since the murder, on February 16, of Aleksei Navalny, who 
bravely challenged Putin's corrupt and ruthless crusade to destroy any 
semblance of democracy and freedom in Russia today.
  I want to quote a few passages from the article for the benefit of 
those who have not read it:

       Locked in an Arctic prison, Aleksei A. Navalny is likely to 
     have spent his final days in some of the most inhumane 
     conditions within Russia's extensive penitentiary system, 
     according to five men who have served sentences in the same 
     penal colony as the Russian opposition leader.
       The men described in phone interviews unbearable cold, 
     repulsive food, unsanitary conditions, and beatings in Penal 
     Colony No. 3 of the remote Yamalo-Nenets region, where Mr. 
     Navalny arrived in December to serve out the remainder of his 
     19-year prison sentence. The former inmates said the 
     conditions were especially brutal in the solitary cells where 
     Mr. Navalny is believed to have been confined on the day he 
     was pronounced dead.
       But what made the prison, known as IK-3 or the Troika, 
     dreaded even by Russia's hardened inmates was the exceptional 
     psychological pressure and loneliness, they said. It was a 
     system devised to break the human spirit, by making survival 
     depend on total and unconditional obedience to the will of 
     guards.
       ``It was complete and utter annihilation,'' said a former 
     inmate named Konstantin, who spent time in the prison's 
     solitary confinement cells. ``When I think about it, I still 
     break into cold sweat,'' he said, adding that he has 
     struggled with mental illness since his release.
       Set in the tundra, the Troika is built to hold about 1,000 
     prisoners in some of the most remote, strict and harsh 
     conditions in Russia, which former convicts say can cross 
     into torture.
       ``You had to make peace with the fact that no one will help 
     you, that you're on your own,'' Aleksandr added.

  The article includes a photograph of a sign at the entrance to the 
penal colony, reminiscent of Auschwitz, with the words ``Happiness not 
far off.''

       According to a former inmate, ``You could spend 10 years 
     there, and not see and not know anything about anyone else.''
       When asked about the convicts' reaction to Mr. Navalny's 
     death, he said: ``No one gives a damn about anyone else 
     there, because everyone only thinks about themselves and when 
     they can get the hell out of there.''
       Still, he noted that any disruption of routine, such as the 
     arrival of federal officials to the prison following an 
     inmate death, would be welcome as a small respite. He 
     recalled a time in 2022 when another inmate had died.
       ``It may sound callous, you know, but his death stopped the 
     beatings and somewhat lightened the daily routine,'' the 
     person said.

  Vladimir Putin, who Donald Trump has praised for being a strong 
leader, is today's version of Joseph Stalin, who killed millions of his 
own citizens and destroyed any vestige of freedom or prosperity in 
Russia. Aleksei Navalny was Putin's latest victim. Navalny possessed 
all the attributes that Putin lacks: honesty, charisma, an inspiring 
vision for Russia's future, and of course, the admiration, love, and 
gratitude of millions of Russian citizens.
  Countless other Russian prisoners who have dared to stand up for 
democracy and human rights, like Vladimir Kara-Murza, are at risk of 
the same fate as Navalny, at any time.
  In many respects, the people of Ukraine are no better off. Every day, 
if they survive the night, they wake up not knowing if it will be their 
last, the latest casualties of Putin's relentless attacks against 
civilian targets.
  Vladimir Putin reminds us of the massive death and destruction that a 
single cruel individual, devoid of morality and motivated by ideology, 
greed, and a lust for power, can inflict on millions of innocent 
people. That is not a sign of strength. It is the worst form of 
criminality. It is what Putin will be remembered for. It will be his 
legacy.

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