Russia: “Asylums for Dissidence” · Global Voices
Veronica Khokhlova

Sean Guillory discusses an LA Times article by Kim Murphy, which claims that “the Soviet practice of condemning the political dissident to mental asylums continues in the cities like Moscow and St. Petersburg as well as in periphery of the Federation. Those seeking to pose an electoral challenge to local notables, speak out about corruption, women who want to divorce their powerful husbands, and those who complain about acts of labor, civil, and personal injustice are either condemned by local judges or are forced to sign consent forms to be institutionalized.”