Recently, Dagbladet mentioned that Foreign Minister Anniken Huitfeldt (Ap) believes that “The Putin regime has gone from being authoritarian to increasingly totalitarian features”. Then answered The Russian Embassy in Norway in a statement to Dagbladet that they take note of such schemes and notify the Russian government about it.
Now the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has sent a comprehensive statement signed by State Secretary Eivind Vad Petersson (Ap) to Dagbladet in which they elaborate on their view. Among other things, Petersson refers to hate speech on state-run Russian TV, which he experiences as a characteristic of a totalitarian regime.
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Norway’s settlement with Russia
State Secretary Petersson begins his statement by pointing out the first of a total of three signs that the Putin regime is becoming increasingly totalitarian.
“I think we must be able to say that lately, especially since Russia’s attack on Ukraine in February, the Putin regime has become increasingly totalitarian. The regime has long tried to silence critical voices, but this policy has reached new heights after Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine.
“The country’s last independent news media, including Novaya Gazeta, Ekho Moskvy and Dozjd, have been forced to shut down their operations. In March, the Russian parliament passed a law that makes it illegal to spread ‘fake news’ about the war in Ukraine, with penalties of up to 15 years in prison.”
“You can be jailed for using the word ‘war’ about the so-called ‘special operation’ in Ukraine, and for criticizing the Russian armed forces. Demonstrators carrying placards with the words ‘No to war’, or even placards without text, are immediately arrested”.
“This extreme alignment and gagging of critical voices are clear signs of a totalitarian system of government.”
“Increasingly tougher rhetoric”
Petersson also deals with hate speech, including from commentators and presenters on state-run Russian TV.
“This is accompanied by increasingly harsh rhetoric. President Putin has advocated a ‘self-purification’ of society. Parliament President Vyacheslav Volodin calls Russians who have chosen to travel abroad ‘traitors’. On state-run Russian TV, commentators and presenters call for merciless treatment of the ‘fascists’ in Ukraine on a daily basis”.
“This type of hateful rhetoric from the regime’s leading representatives is another characteristic of a totalitarian regime.”
