It has been a nasty couple of weeks for pro-Bitcoin / anti-Putin activists in Russia. First, on August 20, opposition chief Alexei Navalny was pois
It has been a nasty couple of weeks for pro-Bitcoin / anti-Putin activists in Russia. First, on August 20, opposition chief Alexei Navalny was poisoned, after which on August 31, a outstanding blogger Yegor Zhukov was crushed close to his dwelling by unknown assailants.
Not solely are they two of the nation’s most ardent critics of president Putin, however they have additionally accepted Bitcoin (BTC) donations previously — although their help of cryptocurrency might be not the inciting issue behind these assaults. Extra doubtless, they’re being silenced as a result of they’re political activists who oppose the Russian authorities, and fears over having their donations seized have led to their acceptance of cryptocurrency as a facet impact. If true, this may not be dissimilar to WikiLeaks, which selected to simply accept Bitcoin after the U.S. authorities coerced PayPal into suspending its accounts.
Navalny has been perceived as the largest (and maybe solely) challenger to Putin for over a decade. He has been subjected to quite a few bodily assaults and authorized incriminations through the years.
Zhukov is barely 22 and a religious libertarian; he first acquired public recognition in 2019 for his YouTube movies supporting political protests in Moscow. Quickly after, he was arrested for taking part in unauthorized protests. Subsequently, he was sentenced to 3 years’ probation, which was perceived as a victory by the opposition.
Many imagine that the Kremlin conspired to hold out this latest wave of assaults on political dissidents. The state of affairs may additionally have been agitated by the state of affairs in neighboring Belarus, the place tens of 1000’s have been protesting towards what they understand to be rigged presidential elections. Belarus’ president Alexander Lukashenko could also be in actual hazard of shedding his energy for the primary time since coming to energy 26 years in the past.
Although each males could have turn out to be Bitcoin supporters out of necessity, it simply goes as an instance the highly effective, viable different to authoritarianism which decentralization offers.