Russia: Opposition politician Leonid Gozman arrested for comparing Hitler to Stalin

Opposition politician Leonid Gozman was arrested in Moscow for his Facebook post in which he identified Hitler with Stalin. His arrest was announced by Yulia Tregubova’s lawyer on the OVD-Info website.

In his post, which gave rise to the arrest of it, Gozman wrote: “Hitler is the ultimate evil, but Stalin is even worse. The SS are criminals, but the NKVD is even worse, because the Chekists were killing their own people. THE Hitler declared war on humanity. The communists have declared a universal war against their own people” (NKVD is the security service under Stalin, Chekists are the workers in it p.s.).

Guzmán told the SOTA website that officers met him at the hospital. He refused to follow them into the department, saying he doesn’t have his papers on him and must return to the hospital where he had an appointment. One of the police officers initially went with him to the hospital and then left. Guzmán contacted his lawyer, waited for her, then went to the police.

On July 25, there was an entry in the Interior Ministry database stating that Guzmán was wanted throughout the country. Russian territory. On the same day he was arrested in the Moscow subway and he was then released. Guzmán is also accused of he had not declared his second citizenship (of Israel). In this case, he can be sentenced to compulsory work of up to 400 hours or a fine of 400,000 rubles (6,565 euros), or a fine of the amount of his annual wages. Later the politician himself had announced that his wife had been accused of the same thing.

In 2021 the State Duma (lower house) passed a law signed into law by Russian President Vladimir Putin that prohibits equating communists with Nazis. The administrative law in question provides for the imposition of a prison sentence of up to 15 days and a fine of up to 2,000 rubles (32.83 euros).