Jacobin Radio: The Cost of Speaking Out Against Russia’s War w/ Simon Pirani

Suzi speaks with Simon Pirani about his book Voices Against Putin’s War: Protesters’ Defiant Speeches in Russian Courts and the film Try Me For Treason. Russian exile activist Aleksandra Zapolskaia also joins the conversation to discuss Azat Miftakhov’s case, one of thousands. Currently, there are more political prisoners in Russia than at any time since the post-Stalin thaw of the 1950s, and the state is killing them; at least seven political prisoners died in Russian custody in the first four months of 2026.

We will also hear actors from the film read courtroom speeches from Igor Paskar and Andrei Trofimov. Paskar, who was tortured after protesting at an FSB office, asked the court what future generations will be told about these times. Trofimov received three additional years of imprisonment for his initial courtroom statements; his second speech concludes with the line that gave the film its title: “Try me for treason. I betrayed your deranged state.”

Aleksandra Zapolskaya (Sasha) shares the story of Azat Miftakhov, the mathematician and anarchist who was tortured at an Arctic penal colony just down the road from where Navalny was killed. After his torturers were publicly identified, prison officials called Azat to their office and promised to treat him “respectfully” if he would stop talking to the media. “Being silent doesn’t help,” Sasha says. “Being loud helps.”

The discussion covers prisoner solidarity, the duration of the war, and the implications of Russia’s current trajectory. Sasha offers a warning to Western listeners regarding the speed of political shifts: “It changes very slowly. And then it happens very fast.”

Watch the film: youtube.com/watch?v=7FHacVH8tK8

Jacobin article: https://jacobin.com/2026/05/film-russia-ukraine-antiwar-prisoners

Jacobin Radio with Suzi Weissman features conversations with leading thinkers and activists, with a focus on labor, the economy, and protest movements.