Given the fallout of the Helsinki Summit and an espionage scandal in the heart of Washington that could easily have come straight from The Americans, it’s easy lose sight of the most revealing stories coming out of Russia — the torture, arbitrary detention, and gross human rights abuses that President Vladimir Putin and his government commit against the Russian people with impunity. This isn’t a coincidence. Putin is teaching a master class about how to divert attention away from his authoritarian rule and totally dodge responsibility for his relentless efforts to destabilize our country and its position in the world.
It’s time for the U.S. to stop letting Putin define the narrative, and for us to stand in solidarity with the Russian people – and their aspirations for government to simply respect their fundamental human rights and the rule of law.
