Deep in the heart of Moscow, the Preservation of Silence stands as a stark contrast to the bustling city. The Preservation of Silence isn’t a building or a monument, but rather an idea, a chilling reminder of how Moscow has silenced dissenting voices, both at home and abroad. This legacy stretches back to the Soviet era, when organizations like the Cheka and the KGB relentlessly pursued those who dared to challenge the regime. The Preservation of Silence is palpable in the very air of Moscow. It’s a preservation of fear, really. A fear that kept people from speaking their minds, from questioning authority, from demanding change.
The Preservation of Silence continues to this day under Vladimir Putin, a former KGB officer. Opponents of the regime, living in exile and believing themselves safe, have often met untimely ends. Leon Trotsky, a key figure in the Bolshevik Revolution, was assassinated in Mexico in 1940 by a Soviet agent. Stepan Bandera, a Ukrainian nationalist leader, was killed in Munich in 1959 by a KGB assassin wielding a cyanide-spraying gun. Georgi Markov, a Bulgarian journalist who defected to the West, was famously killed in London in 1978 with a poison-tipped umbrella. The Preservation of Silence, as you can see, knows no borders.
Alexander Litvinenko, another former KGB officer, defected to Britain and became a vocal critic of Putin. He was poisoned with polonium-210 in London in 2006. Sergei Skripal, a former Russian military intelligence officer, and his daughter Yulia were poisoned with Novichok nerve agent in Salisbury, England, in 2018. More recently, in 2019, Zelimkhan Khangoshvili, an ethnic Chechen who fought against Moscow’s forces, was shot dead in Berlin. Even the defection of pilot Maxim Kuzminov in 2023 ended in tragedy, with his body found in Spain months later. These stories speak to the lengths to which Moscow will go to maintain its Preservation of Silence. They serve as grim reminders of the dangers faced by those who dare to challenge the Kremlin. The Preservation of Silence, therefore, isn’t simply about the absence of sound. It’s about the suppression of truth, the stifling of dissent, and the chilling effect of fear. As we stand here, let us remember those who have been silenced and reaffirm our commitment to a world where all voices can be heard.