Russia continues to tighten restrictions on political opponents of President Vladimir Putin, who approved a law last week allowing treason charges against anyone who possesses state secrets.
One such dissident, Pavel Stroilov, is a Russian historian living in London after he stole more than 50,000 secret Kremlin documents from the Gorbachev Foundation in 2003. He edited a book with Alexander Litvinenko, a critic of Putin who was poisoned in London in 2006.
Stroilov’s latest book is called “Behind the Desert Storm: A Secret Archive Stolen from the Kremlin that Sheds New Light on the Arab revolutions in the Middle East.” He recently sat down with The Daily Caller’s Ginni Thomas.
One of the documents he obtained showed that a 1979 U.S. Senate delegation, led by Joe Biden, assured Soviet Union negotiators that the United States was bluffing when it expressed concerns over human rights of USSR dissidents during the Cold War.
In the interview, Stroilov alleged a Soviet connection with al-Qaida leader Ayman al-Zawahiri and discussed President Barack Obama’s foreign policy, the facade of the Arab Spring, whether Russia remains a threat to the United States and how modern-day Russia silences dissidents.
Click the links below to fast-forward to each question:
What does President Obama’s re-election mean for the cause of liberty around the world?
Why did you steal documents from the Gorbachev Foundation?
What documents did you find on Sens. Joe Biden and Richard Lugar?
Is communism still a threat to liberty?
Do you agree with Mitt Romney that Russia is still a threat to the U.S.?
How do you assess the Arab Spring?
Explain what happened to Russian dissident Alexander Litvinenko in 2006
How do Americans react today to Gorbachev?
How is al-Zawahiri, the head of al-Qaida, connected to Russia?
For more information:
Stroilov’s book
Related column on Gorbachev’s recent speech in Houston
Note: The linked documents are dated “19-20 April 1979,” but the delegation met with USSR officials on Aug. 29, 1979, according to an Associated Press story published at the time.
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