Vadim Prokhorov is an important person in Russia — a lawyer who defends critics of the Kremlin. Critics are not given fair trials, of course, but they still need lawyers. And Prokhorov has provided brave services. He was Boris Nemtsov’s lawyer. As you know, Nemtsov was the leader of the Russian opposition, murdered in 2015. Prokhorov was his lawyer from 2001 until the end. Then he served as lawyer to Nemtsov’s family.
Prokhorov was the lawyer of Ilya Yashin, another opposition politician, recently sentenced to eight and a half years. (I wrote about Yashin in a piece called “Russia Today.”) And he was the lawyer of Vladimir Kara-Murza, yet another opposition politician, who this week was sentenced to 25 years for high treason. (Kara-Murza, like Yashin, had criticized the Ukraine war.)
Before Kara-Murza’s sentence was announced, Prokhorov had to flee Russia. He got wind that the authorities were coming after him next. He has given an interview to Voice of America, here (in Russian). RFE/RL — i.e., Radio Free Europe and Radio Liberty — has an item here.
People such as Nemtsov, Yashin, and Kara-Murza are defenders of Russia — defenders of people’s rights. They are the truest patriots in the country. And they, the defenders, need defenders. Vadim Prokhorov has played an invaluable role, and, again, a very brave one. Now he himself has been hounded out.
A great many of Russia’s best are behind bars, or in exile. I hope that one day they will be free and home. And that their names will be honored by their countrymen. They can certainly be honored now, by us all.