Repressive Russia: Consequences for Norway

Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the repressive development in Russia has accelerated dramatically. The Kremlin has widened its basis for legal prosecution of citizens, fostering a culture of intimidation, self-censorship, and violence, and is aiming for digital surveillance and full state control of the internet. Russia is developing into a totalitarian police state where state security services hold a prominent position and information control constitutes a crucial part of Putin’s basis of power. How does the Kremlin control the Russian public sphere and the media, and how has this developed over time? What is the relationship between domestic totalitarian developments and Russia’s increasingly assertive foreign policy posture? And what are the consequences of these developments for Norway as a neighboring state?