Russia hawks want to make sure that there is an even harsher CRACK ON dissent after the death of blogger Vladlen Tatarsky

The killing of a Russian military journalist in protest of the return of the death penalty and a stricter stance against dissent in the country

The killing of a military journalist in Russia has led to demands for the return of the death penalty as well as a harsher stance against dissent in the country.

Tatarsky was killed when an improvised device exploded during an event in St. Petersburg on Sunday. The suspect in the case of the death of a man, who was 26 years old, has been charged under a section of the Russian criminal code that deals with terrorism.

The senior regional official on the Russian show “60 Minutes” said he was happy for the days of Stalin when the enemies of the people would get a pick and an axe.

The head of the private military company visited the cafe where the explosion occurred and joined the chorus calling for the return of the death penalty.

He said that there needs to be a return to the death penalty for those who participate in internal squabbling.

Hardliners in Russia want more than just harsher measures to stifle dissent and free expression. Dozens of NGOs and independent media outlets have been declared ‘foreign agents,’ a law that was expanded in December “to a point at which almost any person or entity, regardless of nationality or location, who engages in civic activism or even expresses opinions about Russian policies or officials’ conduct could be designated a foreign agent,” as Human Rights Watch has put it.

Hundreds and likely thousands of civic activists have left the country since the invasion began. Anti-war protests were met with force and mass arrests.

“There is no place like home”: the scoundrels of Russian dissent and opposition during WW II and the United Russia anti-terrorism committee

Another figure prominent in demanding draconian punishment for dissent and opposition is former president and current security council head Dmitry Medvedev.

In November he talked about how traitors were dealt with during World War II. “The verdict to such scoundrels was the same: execution by firing squad without trial. Right at the scene of the crime… If you are a traitor who committed such a crime… you’ve given up your right to life.”

After the killing of Tatarsky, Medvedev said on Telegram that “terrorism is back on our streets,” and blamed those championed in the west as “fearless knights of justice and anti-corruption,” a not-so-veiled reference to jailed opposition figure Alexey Navalny.

“These scoundrels not only openly wish defeat for Russia and the destruction of our homeland, but they are now executing their own compatriots,” he said.

“There is no negotiating with terrorists,” Medvedev continues. forgiveness and compassion shouldn’t apply to them and they should be wiped out like sick dogs.

The official national anti-terrorism committee claimed Monday that the “explosion was planned by the special services of Ukraine with the involvement of agents from among persons collaborating with the so-called Anti-Corruption Foundation Navalny, of which the detained Daria Trepova is an active supporter.”

A senior politician with the governing United Russia party picked up the theme, demanding that “stringent measures” must be taken against the informal opposition in Russia.

Andrei Isaev, deputy head of the “United Russia” faction in the Duma, said such opposition was “despite being relatively ideological, progressively turning into a gang of murders and terrorists during the war.”

A new charge of high treason was added in Russia in 2012 to include any assistance to a foreign state. It is being used against opposition activist Vladimir Kara-Murza who has been critical of Russia.

The death penalty is only allowed for grave crimes affecting life according to the Russian Criminal Code. The death penalty may not be imposed on women, persons under the age of 18, and men who have reached the age of 65 at the moment of sentencing.”

Russia has a rich history of imprisoning people on bogus charges for no purpose other than to help keep a dictator in power. At the height of the Stalinist purge, the secret police still insisted on giving a veneer of legality to the dragnet with formal charges, witnesses and trials. Nadezhda Mandelstam, wife of Russian poet Osip Mandelstam, said that they never asked what he was arrested for. The official crime was never the real reason.

An American journalist for the Wall Street Journal, Evan Gershko, has been held in Russia since late March to demonstrate the displeasure of Mr. Putin with the democratic institutions of the West.