It is imperative that those who value freedom and justice unite in opposition to illiberal regimes and in defense of liberal democracy around the globe.
Russian courts today handed down a 12-year prison sentence to Russian-American Ksenia Karelina for a $50 charitable donation made in support of Ukraine in 2022. Opponents of liberalism at home and abroad often idolize illiberal regimes like those of Putin, Orban, and Maduro. They project onto those foreign strongmen a singularity of purpose that they wrongly assume aligns with their core values and beliefs – beliefs they hope a domestic strongman will come to power and similarly impose.
What the enemies of liberal democracy here in the United States so often take for granted, as so many do, are the very protections afforded them by the liberal values they seek to overturn. Values like the freedom of conscience to support causes of one’s choice, the market freedom to do so financially, the freedom of movement to travel without arbitrary detention, the security in one’s person and property against arbitrary seizure and search.
The foul injustice in the treatment of Ksenia Karelina, the violation of her natural rights, and now the grave injustice of her sentence bring these differences between illiberal authoritarian regimes like Putin’s Russia and the liberalism of the democratic world into sharp contrast.
We hope that, in light of Karelina’s US citizenship, the full force of diplomatic efforts will be mobilized to secure her prompt return. Russian citizens in similar positions, however, can expect no such relief from the deprivation of justice. The only permanent remedy is the wholesale end to Putin’s authoritarian regime.
It is imperative that those of us who value our freedoms and the freedoms of others reject and oppose threats to liberal democracy at every turn. The largest such threat at this moment is unambiguously Russia’s invasion and crimes against the people of Ukraine.
Just two days ago, Ukraine received another 4.2 billion euros from the liberal democracies of Europe, who continue to rally support for its defense. As this statement is being drafted, Ukraine has announced its full control over the city of Sudzha. These latest efforts have also purportedly resulted in significant numbers of Russian troops redeploying out of Ukraine.
Public and private support for Ukraine from the United States does not place American lives in harm’s way, nor does it represent a unilateral effort to police the world. America, with its support, is participating in a broad coalition of liberal democracies aiding Ukraine in its defense against authoritarian invasion and the alleviation of a humanitarian crisis. It is noble, it is just, and it should continue until the threat to liberal democracy presented by Russia’s invasion has ceased.