Treason
One can hardly know the meaning of "civil society,"
As it pertains to modern-day Putin/Medvedev Russia,
Without recalling Josef Stalin's totalitarian "justice"
From the 1930s through the '50s,
That time of the Great Terror,
When "enemies of the people" were tried, convicted,
And summarily executed, before firing squads,
Or sent to Siberian labor camps,
Based on mere hearsay and anonymous allegations,
For "treasonous" acts that, today, would be judged
As having "harmed the security of the Russian Federation."
These ominous, opaque days of 2009,
The Kremlin's most educated, sophisticated politicians,
Many graduates of the flagrantly barbarian KGB,
Are expanding the ambiguous definition of treason,
To include even innocuous protests against the state,
For its infringement on freedoms of speech, assembly,
Its threats to incarcerate those who question
"Constitutional order," "sovereignty or territorial integrity" —
Anyone daring to impugn Moscow's authority,
Which is sworn to deny its citizenry
The very democratic yearnings that gave birth to it.
02/09/09 - (2)
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