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Ahead of an annual meeting of Russian President Vladimir Putin's hand-picked human rights council on Wednesday, Putin reportedly prohibited members from asking questions on four issues.
Two members of Putin's Human Rights Council (HRC) told independent Russian news outlet Nestka, on condition of anonymity, that the group was "forbidden" from discussing the Kremlin's stringent law about the military; protests by mothers of mobilized soldiers; soldiers' equipment; and the death of Yevgeny Nuzhin, a Wagner Group recruit.
HRC members were advised not to raise the topics "so as not to upset the president" during the video conference, the outlet reported.
In November, Putin hand-picked new members for the council after dismissing, among others, Igor Kalyapin, a human rights activist and founder of the "Committee against Torture" and journalist Nikolai Svanidze, independent news outlet MediaZona reported. Their replacements had publicly expressed support for Putin's war in Ukraine.
One new member of the council selected by Putin was Alexander Kots, an employee of the pro-Kremlin media outlet Komsomolskaya Pravda, who claimed that "Ukrainian Nazis" were responsible for the Bucha massacre, the mass murder of Ukrainian civilians by Russian forces in the Ukrainian city of Bucha.
Russia's Draconian Law
In March, Russia's parliament passed a new law that cracks down on dissent over the war in Ukraine, imposing jail terms of up to 15 years for intentionally spreading "fake news" about Russia's army.
The Kremlin has used the law to crack down on those who veer away from Putin's narrative of the war.
In September, Russia charged two of its own servicemen with "discrediting" the country's armed forces.
Russian Mothers
The mothers and wives of Russian soldiers sent to fight in Ukraine have publicly slammed Putin for holding a meeting in November with a handpicked group of women.
Members of the Council of Mothers and Wives, a grassroots movement, accused the Kremlin of staging and orchestrating the meeting with women who would not openly criticize Putin and his partial mobilization decree.
Equipment
On October 26, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Russia doesn't have enough equipment for the for the hundreds of thousands of soldiers drafted under Putin's September 21 mobilization decree.
Peskov said a newly formed council created by Putin is working on resolving problems with equipment, and that regional authorities are working on providing "the missing gear."
It was the first time Russia admitted it has issues with equipment.
Yevgeny Nuzhin
Yevgeny Nuzhin, a former Russian convict, was recruited in July by the Wagner Group, a notorious mercenary unit founded by Putin ally Yevgeny Prigozhin.
Footage of his killing was published in November by the Wagner-linked Telegram channel Grey Zone. The clip showed an unidentified man hitting Nuzhin, 55, with a sledgehammer.
Nuzhin had given a string of interviews after he was captured by Ukrainian forces in September in which he criticized Russian officials and said he wanted to switch sides.
Prigozhin said the footage was "excellent directorial work that's watchable in one sitting," while Peskov said "it was not our business."
Newsweek has contacted Russia's foreign ministry for comment.
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About the writer
Isabel van Brugen is a Newsweek Reporter based in Kuala Lumpur. Her focus is reporting on the Russia-Ukraine war. Isabel ... Read more