In the last 12 months there has been a series of political trials in Russia. First there was the punk rock group Pussy Riot. Then, demonstrators from the anti-Putin protest movement faced the court followed by the rising star of the opposition, Alexei Navalny. Some say Putin is using the justice system to shut down their political rivals and that this kind of injustice is accelerating.
When This Whole Thing Started
It began ten years ago with the arrest of the oil billionaire Mikhail Khodorkovsky. He has been in prison ever since. First, he was in Siberia. Now, he's at the edge of the Arctic. His mother travels vast distances to visit him.
Today on KUOW Presents, we join her on that long, cold train ride.
Full list of stories from KUOW Presents, June 20:
- BBC- Why Are Brazilians Protesting? Because Gov Spending On Stadiums, Not People
- Affirmative Action: Fall Down, Get Back Up Again
- The Keyboard Collector of Santiago
- Phin Dauphin’s “Baritone Without a Body”
- BBC- Mother Of Russian Billionaire Takes Train To Edge Of Arctic To See Her Son In Prison (story at 47:55)
- Seattle Opera's New Director Recalls His Student Days, When He Was Inspired By Singers Who Could Also Act
- Busted East Coast 7-11 Stores Compared To Modern Day Plantation System
- Watching Superman In Kolkata
- Writer's Almanac
- Greendays Gardening Advice
- Do Critics Still Matter?