The Persecution of Azat Miftakhov Is Designed to Silence Russia’s Left
Russian anarchist Azat Miftakhov is spending his fifth year in jail for “hooliganism” — and now faces being framed on fake terrorism charges. His persecution is part of the Russian state’s campaign to intimidate the Left and silence opposition to the war.
A protester standing in support of mathematician Azat Miftakhov outside the prosecutor general’s office in Moscow, Russia, June 3, 2019. (Natdemina / Wikimedia Commons)
It seems that a new case is being fabricated against leftist youth in Russia — the case of the so-called Moscow cell of the “Network” organization. For five years, the case against the supposed Network cells in Penza and St Petersburg has been the most high-profile case used to intimidate anti-fascists in Russia. Today, it is part of a campaign to intimidate the antiwar part of Russian society.
Despite the billing, there are no young leftists in the said cell — and nor does any such cell exist at all. Official reports mention only the name of Azat Miftakhov.
Miftakhov is a thirty-year-old Russian mathematician and anarchist of Tatar origin. He graduated magna cum laude from the faculty of mechanics and mathematics at Moscow State University (MSU). He was engaged in science, took part in political actions, and participated in anarchist campaigns against unscrupulous employers and corporate raiders throwing tenants out of apartments and dormitories. Winner of the All-Russian Mathematical Olympiad, at the time of his arrest, he was about to defend his PhD thesis.
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