Jacobin Radio

The Russian Marxist Boris Kagarlitsky last spoke to us shortly after his release from nearly five months in prison. He was arrested on far-fetched charges of "justifying terrorism" for ironic remarks he made on his social media channel after the explosion on the Crimean Bridge in 2022. Boris was freed after a military court handed him a fine in December 2023, and spoke to Suzi two weeks later in the interview you are about to hear.Barely two months after Boris’s release there was an unexpected appeal trial at a military court in February 2024, and the prosecutors overturned the December verdict that freed him, citing "excessive leniency." He was sentenced to five years in a general regime penal colony and whisked from the courtroom to prison. Now three months later, after several moves, Boris has arrived at his final place of detention, Penal Colony No. 4 in Torzhok, 155 miles northwest of Moscow.Once again, Boris requires our solidarity. His final appeal will be heard on June 5 by Russia’s Supreme Court. An