--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There are several dozen political…" description: "\"There are several dozen political prisoners in Russia. When I cite that number people are often very surprised. They often think there are more. Well -..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/132/masha-gessen-2322_amnesty_there-are-several-dozen-political-prison_540378.png" --- # There are several dozen political prisoners in Russia… ![“There are several dozen political prisoners in Russia. When I cite that number people are often very surprised. They often think there are more. Well - there are hundreds of thousands of people who haven't had a fair trial, who are victims of the political system. But in the Amnesty International…” quote by Masha Gessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/132/masha-gessen-2322_amnesty_there-are-several-dozen-political-prison_540378.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/132/masha-gessen-2322_amnesty_there-are-several-dozen-political-prison_540378.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/132/masha-gessen-2322_amnesty_there-are-several-dozen-political-prison_540378.png) > “There are several dozen political prisoners in Russia. When I cite that number people are often very surprised. They often think there are more. Well - there are hundreds of thousands of people who haven't had a fair trial, who are victims of the political system. But in the Amnesty International sense of the word, most of them are not political prisoners because they are not going to prison for protesting.” [Masha Gessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masha-gessen/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Many people underestimate the scale of unjust detentions, confusing broader legal abuses with formal political imprisonment. **In simple terms:** People often misjudge how many are truly political prisoners. Key Takeaway Recognize the broader injustice beyond official labels. Themes human rights justice political repression Mood concerned urgent Type activist informative When to use this quote - advocacy work - policy analysis - public awareness campaigns Key Concepts legal abuse state power civil liberties Questions to Reflect On - How can we broaden support to those denied fair trials? - What criteria should define political imprisonment? A Different Perspective Not all victims are classified as political prisoners, limiting aid focus. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Amnesty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/amnesty/) [Amnesty international](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/amnesty-international/) [Fair trial](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fair-trial/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Political](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/political/) [Political prisoners](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/political-prisoners/) [Political system](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/political-system/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [Prison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prison/) [Prisoner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prisoner/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Victim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/victim/) ## Related quotes > [Writing is powerful. Whether it's a little girl hiding from the Nazis in an attic, or Amnesty International writing letters on behalf of political…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erin-gruwell/writing-is-powerful-whether-it-s-a-little-girl-hiding-from-the-nazis/) [Erin Gruwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erin-gruwell/) > [With Pussy Riot - this was a prank! It was a brilliant, artistically gifted prank. But they didn't expect to go to prison! They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masha-gessen/with-pussy-riot-this-was-a-prank-it-was-a-brilliant-artistically/) [Masha Gessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masha-gessen/) > [I dream that someday the United States will be on the side of the peasants in some civil war. I dream that we will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-parenti/i-dream-that-someday-the-united-states-will-be-on-the-side-of-the/) [Michael Parenti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-parenti/) > [I retweet Amnesty International tweets a lot. It isn't just, 'This person is incarcerated unjustly.' It's also, 'This person was just released.' Those are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nazanin-boniadi/i-retweet-amnesty-international-tweets-a-lot-it-isn-t-just-this/) [Nazanin Boniadi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nazanin-boniadi/) > [Amnesty International adopted me as a prisoner of conscience, and that led to my - it touched me in a way that really led…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maajid-nawaz/amnesty-international-adopted-me-as-a-prisoner-of-conscience-and-that/) [Maajid Nawaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maajid-nawaz/) > [Growing up, I was a little hippie kid. I went to some good concerts... Amnesty International with Bob Dylan and Tracy Chapman... The best…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/summer-sanders/growing-up-i-was-a-little-hippie-kid-i-went-to-some-good-concerts/) [Summer Sanders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/summer-sanders/) > [“The humanitarian philosophies that have been developed (sometimes under some religious banner and invariably in the face of religious opposition) are human inventions, as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-kroto/the-humanitarian-philosophies-that-have-been-developed-sometimes/) Harry Kroto > [“Sedition was therefore explicitly intended as an instrument to terrorize Indian nationalists: Mahatma Gandhi was amongst its prominent victims. Seeing it applied in democratic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shashi-tharoor/sedition-was-therefore-explicitly-intended-as-an-instrument-to/) [Shashi Tharoor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shashi-tharoor/) > [Today, aid to Colombia is given under the pretext of a drug war. That's pretty hard to take seriously. Ten years ago, Amnesty International…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/today-aid-to-colombia-is-given-under-the-pretext-of-a-drug-war-that-s/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [“The radical Islamic movement has availed itself of the PC mentality to convince good-hearted people around the world that the Jews, Israel, and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brigitte-gabriel/the-radical-islamic-movement-has-availed-itself-of-the-pc-mentality/) [Brigitte Gabriel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brigitte-gabriel/) > [In Chicago, you have an absence of strong family units, and that absence gets filled by gangs. You have a failure in the school…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lupe-fiasco/in-chicago-you-have-an-absence-of-strong-family-units-and-that/) [Lupe Fiasco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lupe-fiasco/) > [You wouldn't know that if you talked to Human Rights Watch or Amnesty International or some of the international activist organizations. Certainly you wouldn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/you-wouldn-t-know-that-if-you-talked-to-human-rights-watch-or-amnesty/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [“Bonnie and her mum are both members of Amnesty International," said Abigail. "Of course they are," murmured Madeline. This must be how Jennifer Aniston…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liane-moriarty/bonnie-and-her-mum-are-both-members-of-amnesty-international-said/) [Liane Moriarty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liane-moriarty/) > [I was shocked when I heard that Farghadani had been sentenced to 12 years and nine months in prison on spurious charges, as Amnesty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nazanin-boniadi/i-was-shocked-when-i-heard-that-farghadani-had-been-sentenced-to-12/) [Nazanin Boniadi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nazanin-boniadi/) > [I was filled with hate and anger. But during my trial, something decisive happened: Amnesty International adopted me as a prisoner of conscience, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maajid-nawaz/i-was-filled-with-hate-and-anger-but-during-my-trial-something/) [Maajid Nawaz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maajid-nawaz/) ## More by Masha Gessen > [There's this American pretense, which is the pretense of the journalist with the view from nowhere - which has somehow morphed into the journalist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masha-gessen/there-s-this-american-pretense-which-is-the-pretense-of-the/) [Masha Gessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masha-gessen/) > [Where incompetence is prized, it is ever-present.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masha-gessen/where-incompetence-is-prized-it-is-ever-present/) [Masha Gessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masha-gessen/) > [Pussy Riot have certainly changed some people's assumptions about the role of political art and the relationship between the intelligentsia and the church. That's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masha-gessen/pussy-riot-have-certainly-changed-some-people-s-assumptions-about-the/) [Masha Gessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masha-gessen/) > [Trump, like Putin, has a demonstrably thin skin and short temper when it comes to being criticized by journalists.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masha-gessen/trump-like-putin-has-a-demonstrably-thin-skin-and-short-temper-when/) [Masha Gessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masha-gessen/) > [You risk everything if you so much as join a legal protest demonstration in Russia. It raises the stakes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masha-gessen/you-risk-everything-if-you-so-much-as-join-a-legal-protest/) [Masha Gessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masha-gessen/) > [Donald Trump creates word salads. And that is awful to language, because we try to parse out what he's saying and try to find…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masha-gessen/donald-trump-creates-word-salads-and-that-is-awful-to-language/) [Masha Gessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masha-gessen/) > [It is the first time since 1993 that Russians have come out into the streets without an explicit permission from the government to do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masha-gessen/it-is-the-first-time-since-1993-that-russians-have-come-out-into-the/) [Masha Gessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masha-gessen/) > [I think Donald Trump was brought to power by Americans. They voted for him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masha-gessen/i-think-donald-trump-was-brought-to-power-by-americans-they-voted-for/) [Masha Gessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masha-gessen/) > [In the 1990s, there was a lot of reform, and there was a lot of forward movement on a lot of fronts in Russia.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masha-gessen/in-the-1990s-there-was-a-lot-of-reform-and-there-was-a-lot-of-forward/) [Masha Gessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masha-gessen/) > [Poverty and scarcity are actually very good for totalitarian societies. They maintain that sense of mobilization that's essential for totalitarian societies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masha-gessen/poverty-and-scarcity-are-actually-very-good-for-totalitarian/) [Masha Gessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masha-gessen/) > [I think that Putin's strategy has been throwing a lot of money, fairly haphazardly, at a lot of projects aimed at disrupting Western relations…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masha-gessen/i-think-that-putin-s-strategy-has-been-throwing-a-lot-of-money-fairly/) [Masha Gessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masha-gessen/) > [Both Trump and Putin use language primarily to communicate not facts or opinions but power: it's not what the words mean that matters but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masha-gessen/both-trump-and-putin-use-language-primarily-to-communicate-not-facts/) [Masha Gessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masha-gessen/) > [I worked both as a Russian journalist and an American journalist and ran a bunch of magazines in Moscow over the course of about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masha-gessen/i-worked-both-as-a-russian-journalist-and-an-american-journalist-and/) [Masha Gessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masha-gessen/) > [I have no doubt that there are Russian efforts to disturb the fabric of American democracy, but they're disruption efforts. 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It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-coulter/why-don-t-republicans-spend-all-their-airtime-attacking-the-media-for/) [Ann Coulter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-coulter/) > [...we will not grant amnesty to illegal aliens in this Congress or, hopefully ever again. We did that once. Everybody said it was a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-gramm/we-will-not-grant-amnesty-to-illegal-aliens-in-this-congress-or/) [Phil Gramm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-gramm/) > [ I take the Constitution very seriously. The biggest problems that we're facing right now have to do with \[the president\] trying to bring more… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/i-take-the-constitution-very-seriously-the-biggest-problems-that-we/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [I worked 30 years to try to restore respect for the rule of law because of Ronald Reagan's amnesty in 1986. And I don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-king/i-worked-30-years-to-try-to-restore-respect-for-the-rule-of-law/) [Steve King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-king/) > [You are going to hear many things from Mr. Trump today in his speech on immigration. One, no amnesty. He is absolutely going to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kellyanne-conway/you-are-going-to-hear-many-things-from-mr-trump-today-in-his-speech/) [Kellyanne Conway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kellyanne-conway/) > [I supported this bill. I believe in the idea of amnesty for those who have put down roots and who have lived here even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/i-supported-this-bill-i-believe-in-the-idea-of-amnesty-for-those-who/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [Amnesty is a disaster, we need strong borders. We have no country if we have no border. In New Hampshire, the biggest complaint is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/amnesty-is-a-disaster-we-need-strong-borders-we-have-no-country-if-we/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [no study has brought out any solid evidence that the death penalty deters crime. In fact, Amnesty reports that 'the murder rate in states…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoinette-bosco/no-study-has-brought-out-any-solid-evidence-that-the-death-penalty/) [Antoinette Bosco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoinette-bosco/) > [We try it practically every time it comes up, be it amnesty, be it any other issue they want. We try and it gets…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/we-try-it-practically-every-time-it-comes-up-be-it-amnesty-be-it-any/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [ This bill \[Immigration Reform and Control act of 1986\] is a gamble, a riverboat gamble. There is no guarantee that employer sanctions will work… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-schumer/this-bill-immigration-reform-and-control-act-of-1986-is-a-gamble-a/) [Charles Schumer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-schumer/) > [ No one believed \[the 1986 amnesty for illegal aliens\] was tough enough on illegal immigration, and it didn't give enough flexibility on future legal immigration. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-schumer/no-one-believed-the-1986-amnesty-for-illegal-aliens-was-tough-enough/) [Charles Schumer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-schumer/) [Browse all 195 Amnesty quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/amnesty/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "There are several dozen political prisoners in Russia. When I cite that number people are often very surprised. They often think there are more. 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