A few days ago Lev Shlozberg, member of the council of the Pskov region, stood up and addressed a silent audience. They all listened in awe. He attacked the prevailing mood in Russia, comparing the attacks on “people’s traitors” and the mass patriotic hysteria with the atmosphere in the 1930s under Stalin. And if that was not enough, he continued to expose the corruption in the governor’s office, the deal and tricks that allowed the ruling class to enrich itself and keep the rest of the population in poverty. “These are the real people’s traitors,” he said, “these are the people that ruin our country.”

Dear colleagues. Over the last week, in our country and namely in Pskov oblast, the high-ranking government officials, including the acting governor, for the first time in decades, spoke about the enemies of the society, of the enemies Russia, about the fifth column and the traitors. This attempt to…