Vladimir Kara-Murza, a fierce critic of Vladimir Putin who was sentenced to 25 years in a Russian prison, was on his way to freedom after he was released during a prisoner swap when an FSB agent shared ominous parting advice.
"'Be careful about what you eat. You know how these things happen,'" Kara-Murza said he was told.
Kara-Murza had already survived two poisonings — first in 2015 and then again in 2017. He was then arrested in 2022 and tried for treason last year after denouncing Putin's war on Ukraine.
Kara-Murza knew the risks that come with speaking out against Putin, but he did it anyway.
"There are causes larger than ourselves. And to me, the cause of a free, peaceful, civilized and democratic Russia is certainly much larger than I could ever be," he said.
"It's amazing how fast the human body just loses everything, just loses all the strength and you just have to start anew," he said.
Freed Putin critic Vladimir Kara-Murza says Russia deserves better than "criminal, archaic KGB-led dictatorship"
Two years later, in 2017, he was poisoned again. This time, he went to the U.S., where his wife and three children live, to recover. Kara-Murza is a U.S. permanent resident.
But once he recovered, he returned to Russia.
"How could I not go back to Russia? I am a Russian politician. A politician has to be in their own country," Kara-Murza said. "How could I call on my fellow citizens and my fellow Russians to stand up and oppose this dictatorship if I myself was too scared to do it? How is that possible?"Kara-Murza continues speaking out as Putin cracks down
Kara-Murza says all of Putin's opponents are either in exile, in prison, or dead.
Shortly after Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine in 2022, lawmakers passed a law imposing a 15-year prison sentence for those who criticize the war.
"We tried to warn the world. We tried to shout," Kara-Murza said. "We tried to get the message out that this regime is dangerous, that this man is dangerous."
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/vladimir-kara-murza-says-he-got-warning-during-russian-prisoner-swap/ar-AA1rqxH0?ocid=msedgntp&pc=HCTS&cvid=d3ceb2538f75454882eb45936b79d434&ei=40
