Russia: Foreign Office “strongly” advises against traveling

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Arbitrary arrests
The Foreign Office “strongly” advises against traveling to Russia

Russian police officers take a stand at the funeral of Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny in Moscow

© Imago Images

The Russian authorities are taking increasingly harsh measures against opposition members, and arbitrary arrests are the order of the day. The danger also exists for German citizens. The Foreign Office is reacting to this.

The The Foreign Office has tightened its travel advice for the country and now “strongly” advises against travel. The change was made “due to the continuing deterioration of the situation, including arbitrary arrests that are occurring more and more frequently,” the ministry said on Wednesday. The travel advice expressly states that there is also a risk of arbitrary arrests for German citizens and German-Russian dual nationals. “In connection with unauthorized rallies and demonstrations, massive, sometimes violent actions by security forces can occur throughout the country.”

Russia takes tough action against critics

The Foreign Office had previously advised against traveling to Russia; the word “urgent” was added on Wednesday. There has been a travel warning for the administrative regions of Belgorod, Kursk, Bryansk, Voronezh, Rostov and Krasnodar bordering Ukraine since the Russian invasion of Ukraine two years ago.

Especially since the beginning of the war of aggression against Ukraine, the Russian government has taken tough action against critics and dissidents in its own country. In the past two and a half weeks alone, hundreds of people have been arrested who wanted to place flowers at memorials for Kremlin opponent Alexei Navalny, who died in a prison camp.

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DPA

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