London says Russia ‘increasingly reliant on methods of coercion’ as convictions for ‘treason’ rise

He emphasizes that Moscow “preferred more subtle ways to control dissent” before launching the invasion of Ukraine

Nov. 1 () –

The United Kingdom Intelligence services have stated this Friday that the Russian authorities “increasingly depend on methods of coercion” to “maintain control” over critics of the authorities, amid the increase in convictions on charges of ” betrayal”, “extremism” and “disinformation”.

Thus, they have indicated that independent Russian media suggest that the number of people convicted of “treason” is at its highest levels in nine years, with more convictions in the first half of 2024 than in all of 2023, according to data published by the Ministry of Justice of Russia.

“Similarly, there has been a significant increase in sentences under articles relating to extremism, terrorism and disinformation,” they highlighted, according to a statement published by the British Ministry of Defense through its account on the social network X.

In this sense, they have argued that these data “illustrate the Russian Government’s growing dependence on coercive measures and deterrent methods to maintain control over elements of the population hostile to the regime.” “Before Russia’s large-scale invasion of Ukraine, the regime preferred more subtle ways to control dissent,” they concluded.