Heritage Florida Jewish News - Central Florida's Independent Jewish Voice

(JNS) — The news coming out of Russia these days sounds taken from a particularly gloomy dystopian novel, or perhaps from the Soviet era. The state — far from a model of democracy to begin with — has deteriorated in a matter of weeks into a genuine dictatorship, punishing citizens not just for their actions, but for their thoughts.

Employees who refuse to support the invasion of Ukraine are fired. Students who do not support Putin’s “special operation” are expelled. Border control agents check the phones of Russians heading overseas for text messages expressing subversive opinions. A Russian p...