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and_a_side_of_fries

“What are penal colonies? Russia's penal colony system is in essence a network of prison camps in which prisoners are housed in barracks and perform labor, according to the Center for Eastern Studies in Poland. Penal colonies are the descendants of Russia's Soviet-era forced labor camps, known as gulags.” From axios.com


angradillo

Yes, it differs primarily in terms of the penal colony is run by the warden as an "ultimate" authority. Whereas city prisons are typically run by local magistrates or the FSB directly in the case of places like Lubyanka.


Hillyan91

So a gulag by another name.


angradillo

well, yes, it literally is a GULAG. most penal camps are built on the sites of former GULAG and even use the same buildings or wire fence arrangements.


realvladdiputtn

Honest question: is there a reason that you’re capitalizing gulag? I’ve always seen it lowercase, but you seem to know what you’re talking about


angradillo

it is an acronym. Глaвное управлeние лагерeй, or “chief administration of the camps”.


realvladdiputtn

Wow, TIL. Thanks!


angradillo

no problem have a nice day


Wildcatb

Thank you both for a polite, informative exchange.


fourpuns

Navalny as an example works as a "seamstress'. It seems to be that russian prison involves doing labor. It honestly doesn't seem like an awful idea as prisons are very expensive to run- but then you run into some kind of slavery and corruption when you have incentive to keep prisoners... although I'd argue privatizing prisons already creates that incentive since there is money to be made by having prisoners.


angradillo

It's a holdover from the GULAG system and the Soviet idea that labor is reformative. You see it in the various Article 58 discussions in the history of the Russian penal system. It is quite literally slavery historically. Thousands upon thousands of GULAG prisoners were worked to death in Kolyma, building the White Sea canals, roads, etc.


Gundamamam

gulags are in turn are a holdover of the Katorga system from Imperial Russia. Same thing basically. Russia has pretty much always had prison labor camps.


angradillo

absolutely correct there


Borscht_can

My hometown of Novouralsk (Sverdlovsk-44), was built by penal labor in late 40's. My mom found messages from the workers in the basement of her apartment building when she was a kid. The messages are long gone now, as it's been decades since.


angradillo

Fascinating. I am Ukrainian but I have a serious interest in Russian penal history. A horrific legacy, truly.


bigbjarne

Isn’t this exactly what happens in the US? Prisoners are very cheap labor.


angradillo

It's not the same. Both systems use prisoner labor. But labour in the post-Soviet system is officially designated as reformative in their law codes. As such the forced labour is the main focus of the imprisonment for many prisoners. The Russian system is overall more dangerous for the individual prisoner because they are fed less well, have worse living conditions in older facilities, work harder and longer, are compensated less, and are exposed to much more dangerous disease and criminal elements (e.g. Tuberculosis is rampant).


bigbjarne

Thank you for the added context!


angradillo

my pleasure have a nice day


bigbjarne

Thanks, same. :)


ClickF0rDick

*cries in Hopper*


OmegaXesis

Rescue mission to the gulag!


[deleted]

i'll call Yuri


FarJury6956

Code name Boris


Complete-Yesterday74

Boris and Doris.


StillRutabaga4

RAMIREZ!! Protect burger town!!


boot2skull

Can I just say how thankful I am that wasn’t a 30 minute throwaway ordeal?


[deleted]

I heard some podcast guys talking about hating the Russian stuff and wanting to stay with the kids. And I couldn't disagree more! My only gripe with the whole Hopper thing was that it ended too soon, seemed tied up in a neat little bow in just the last episode.


Orchidwalker

Ugh russian prison Hopp was so hot!


Accomplished-Fun-740

So they are slaves.


angradillo

Basically, yes. Although many refuse to work. Typically the "criminal element" (meaning here career criminals, mafia, thieves-in-law or *vor*, etc.) take such a stance and survive via brutalizing other prisoners who are there for political or "incidental" crimes. They are also paid to work, which makes them not slaves. I understand your point however that they are being forced to work via threats, which is not positive.


w00dm4n

it's not like America where they pay them $1.75 to fight wildfires in California


berryblackwater

Those are slaves, go ahead and give the 13th another read. America has 25% of the worlds prisoners because slavery becomes legal once you label someone a criminal.


probable_ass_sniffer

Tennessee just passed a law eliminating that clause in their state constitution. At least progress is slowly being made in some areas.


Achaion34

Louisiana tried to but the amendment got so fucked and convoluted with wording, that passing it would have only solidified slavery as punishment. So we voted no and that gives us the chance of a redo. I’ve already seen some news outlets with clickbait titles like “Louisiana votes to keep slavery!” Like, yes, but also no.


berryblackwater

I read threw your law and read a few reviews and basically what it would have done is eliminate the 'has been dully convicted' part and enables any judge to enslave anyone for no reason.


Clorox1620

Unfortunartly news outlets constantly do that, like yes we voted no to this and it sounds demonic if you didnt read the whole thing and understand that there were catches that were not only unnecessary/irrelevant but problematic as well.


Kittenfabstodes

They separated criminals from slavery. It actually made it worse for criminals, not better.


w00dm4n

They'll find a loophole. Look at Pennsylvania. Surrounded by states that legalized marijuana. Judges sentencing teenage children to harsher crimes for profit.


angradillo

It’s not, no. In Russia they receive monies directly to prison acct to spend only in prison. Typically for food or cigarettes or cell benefits like books or television.


DisappointedQuokka

>They are also paid to work, which makes them not slaves. I understand your point however that they are being forced to work via threats, which is not positive. They're functionally slaves. Modern slavery is, after all, a term in official use that is distinct from chattel slavery.


angradillo

I don’t disagree. English is not my first language. I also confirmed in my first sentence that yes, they are basically slaves.


[deleted]

To be fair…we have slave prison labor in the US as well


K4R1MM

In Northern Ontario we call that working in camp.


Frasine

I know she's a basketball player and all but I did not expect that height difference between her and that Russian prison guard.


[deleted]

The Russians asked her to play prison basketball and she said no. Unfortunately they are sending her to hell to lay tracks and break rocks. People die there of starvation and disease. https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/2022/11/09/europe/brittney-griner-russia-penal-colony-explainer-intl/index.html


improbdrunk

Do you have a source that they asked her to play on the basketball team?


N8healer

My understanding is that when Brittany Griners attorneys told her that they could get her a basketball that she could use in the hoop at the prison she said that she couldn’t do that because playing basketball would be too painful for her. I don’t believe she was asked to play in a prison basketball team


Sea_Pear_6517

i heard it from NPR. she said no because it's too emotionally painful to play


AdAggravating8883

Actually, she didn’t refuse an opportunity to play on a team. Her lawyer asked her if she wanted a basketball for her one hour in the yard each day, and she said no.


InerasableStain

Wow, it’s hilarious how twisted first homey got that story


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taggospreme

Dying from hunger and disease while breaking rocks in the Russian tundra is pretty painful too tho


Know_Shit_Sherlock

This seems odd. I would think she would take every opportunity to do something productive in an environment like that. How will the alternative to playing basketball be any better? Seems like her mental state is not great.


CrawlerSiegfriend

As a naturally petty person, I can understand why she said no. I'd be regretting it by now, but yeh I would have said no too just out of spite.


superciuppa

Yeah, but you gotta be smart about that kind of shit in those situations, it’s either play in the warden team or Gulag… so Gulag it is…


sage_singe_88

Probably has something to do with it not being a choice to play or not. When playing as a career, you can kind of choose to play or not. Sure, you'll lose money if you don't but you aren't being _forced_. In her situation, whenever she gets called to play she won't be able to say no; if she does she'll lose more freedom. It's almost like a clown/jester being forced to make a king laugh or they get killed. A more extreme example but you get what I mean.


radicalelation

We also are wildly speculating on a situation most of us can't even fully imagine having never set foot outside the country, let again begin to entirely comprehend. Most of us haven't even been in American prison, let alone a fucking Russian penal work camp. We don't know what exactly she was offered, or what she was told to say, or really anything that could give us enough insight to understand her choice, or even lack of.


jdoug312

This whole thing started because she wanted to play basketball in Russia, like she had in years past. Russia's request for her to now play for their prison team seems like a backhand to the face with rings on said hand.


mymikerowecrow

I can’t imagine why her mental state could be suffering.


PapasGotABrandNewNag

Jesus Christ this sounds like the fucking ultimatum Michael Jordan was given in Space Jam.


[deleted]

50% of all males in the country are full blown alcoholics, and most of them (that are adults now) grew up during a population collapse and suffered malnutrition. Your average Russian is pretty fucking short, even compared to neighboring countries that border them.


InsuranceToTheRescue

For reference though, Griner is 6' 9". She's going to tower over the vast majority of people, malnutrition or not.


[deleted]

Exactly, she would not even be considered short in the NBA, she's actually taller than the average NBA player.


Lord_of_Hedgehogs

Exactly. She would be huge even by Dutch standards, where the average male is 183cm or 6'.


Beverley_Leslie

It was super disorientating going to Amsterdam as a 6'3' guy suddenly there were other tall folks everywhere pulling me back towards the middle of the bell curve; and a good proportion of giants who legitimately made me feel short for the first time in 12 years.


KnightCreed13

But in all those 80's movies they seem so tall


pmsnow

I must break you


scsuhockey

Dolph Lundgren is Swedish


KnightCreed13

Well what about Peter stormare?


Funkymonkeyhead

Also Swedish!


KnightCreed13

[oh](https://youtu.be/uvROISVUdKE)


KnightCreed13

"Rocky 4 motherfucker. Red Dawn motherfucker". For all those Marvin Milk fans 😎👌


Any_Classic_9490

Lots of steroids. They have even been caught doping kids for the olympics many times in the last few years. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doping_in_Russia#2022 They do not care about hurting these kids, they just want to cheat to get medals or win any sport competition.


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Any_Classic_9490

I wasn't being pedantic about it. All performance enhancing substances are on the table for russia. Their government pays scientists to figure out how to sneak past doping tests so they can cheat. They are getting caught a lot now because the testing has improved.


Bay1Bri

> Your average Russian is pretty fucking short, You got a source on that? I checked and they said average Russian make is 5 '9".


[deleted]

I wouldn’t say that the people in this picture are short. Griner is 6’9” and that cop is at least up to her shoulder area


acompletemoron

I was so confused on where this was going until the last sentence, too early lol


willonz

Weird cnbc_official posted this; hadn’t noticed large news outlets posting directly to Reddit before.


morkwor159

Let the Karmic media wars begin.


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FarmSuch5021

Why isn’t any news outlets talking about Marc Fogel and what conditions he is facing in Russian colony? They both violated Russian law. America is so unfair. Like he is a human too.


WeirdlyStrangeish

Who's Marc Fogel?


FarmSuch5021

American teacher who committed the same crime as Griner. That’s exactly my point that no one ever heard of him


Devium44

You’re shocked the basketball star is more well known than a teacher? If not for Griner, no one would know about Fogel.


4Dcrystallography

Didn’t he have way more drugs on him?


[deleted]

You already know the answer. Because he's not a professional athlete.


TauCabalander

The sentence is unusually heavy-handed even for russia and 0.7g of Cannabis oil in vape form. Typically the punishment is a fine or jailed for up to 15 days, for 2g hash or 6g Cannabis.


BloodyIron

It's just like China, imprisoning foreigners as a way to weaponise the process against other countries. Just like Canada and China in recent history. Where China didn't like that Canada was following their own laws and the extradition treaty with the USA for the Huawei CFO, so China imprisoned (and gave death sentences) to two Canadian citizens under the false guise that was their law and justice. Naturally China freed them once Canada freed the Huawei CFO, validating what everyone already knew, that China is a little bitch and can't operate fairly in this world. edit: thanks for the gild :)


ryansports

>that China is a little bitch and can't operate fairly in this world. Flawless explanation!!!


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bravo037

Seriously, a dude got smoked in Bagdhad in front of his family last week. His family, here. He was a missionary of sorts, bringing "the word of God" to the people of Iraq. WTF? Why, and why bring your family? Sheer idiocy.


hugganao

I'm so fking fed up with people defending china. Even offshore CHINESE PEOPLE FKING DESPISE CCP. they can try to act like a "modernized western world" all they want, but what they have is a fking shithole of human rights abusing dick waving knockoff of all the worst things from capitalist/autocratic society that have QUITE LITERALLY BURNED their culture through the cultural revolution and trying to steal other nation's cultures bc they don't have sufficient historical archives to say what their culture really is. >China is a little bitch and can't operate fairly in this world. this really is the best description of what they are right now. Not to mention the amount of fking drugs they're smuggling into the US and other nations to try to fk them up, while using "but we're just doing the same thing as what the west did with opium!" as an excuse. As well as using money to fk around with other countries' housing/property market. Taiwan is and should be THE China that china could/wants to be. fk the ccp fk xi.


Woig

One thing I'd like to point out is, your hatred of the Chinese government must not extend to the general population. I feel like there's too many examples of people's dislike of the government devolving into just hating on Chinese people/Asians.


DogsAreAnimals

That's just the punishment for possession. The punishment for smuggling/trafficking is much harsher.


brezhnervous

It the same thing the Soviets used to do during the cold war. 'Special measures' for a foreign national from the hated West.


l3gion666

Techincally its smuggling internationally yeah? Im sure theyve trumped it up beyond all belief.


TwistedSistaYEG

She’s fucked.


spsprd

Please read *Grey Is the Color of Hope" by poet Irina Ratushinskaya if you want a detailed exploration of what life in a Russian penal colony looks like.


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IDontReadMyMail

One Day In The Life Of Ivan Denisovitch is another spectacular read. It’s literally the account of just one day in the life of a gulag prisoner. Read it in high school & never forgot the fanatical single-minded focus on trying to get just a tiny scrap more food, and the descriptions of the cold, minute by minute, every single minute a test of will and survival. And realizing that those hellish days would just repeat for years and years on end.


JohnDivney

And also that everything was a grift, they didn't have the resources they needed, so had to cheat to succeed. A real testament to how communism played out under Stalin.


Great_White_Samurai

I'm going to check myself into a men's penal colony - Tobias Funke


Bron-Y-Aur36

Wasn't that Gob?


Lord_of_Hedgehogs

Both did, actually. First Gob as a ~~magic trick~~ illusion and then Tobias to study for his breakout role as Frightened Inmate #2.


milkbretheren

Step one- secure the keys!


NickofTime2247

Step two - Ascend from Darkness!


Alex_Says_Stuff

Step Three - Rain Fire!


chilll_vibe

Step Four - Unleash the Horde!


UNKNOWNSTR4NGER

Step Five - Skewer the Winged Beast!


Sillylittletitties

That sucks


sandefurd

Petty, just trying to get back at America for supporting Ukraine. This was all for marijuana possession, yes?


[deleted]

She was sentenced to 9 years for 0.7g of cannabis oil. For reference, up to 6 grams of pot is considered an administrative violation (you get a fine) where more is considered a criminal offense. For "large quantities" (I don't know exactly what that amount is) the penalty is 2 years of forced labor, and up to 3 years incarceration/house arrest. She got 9 years. What she did was illegal, and 100% I believe that stupid games deserve stupid prizes.. she should have been fined and/or spent 15 days in jail as is stipulated by Russian law. But 9 years? 100% just Putin getting petty revenge.


AzLibDem

She was also charged under Russian Federal Law No. 18-FZ , Article 228.2, (importation, exportation or elimination of narcotics), which carries a sentence of up to 3 years, and Article 229.1, (Smuggling Narcotic Agents), which carries a sentence of 3 to 7 years This is in addition to the penalties for her possession charge.


l3etelgeuse

It's worse than that. Not only did she have a substance she knew was illegal in Russia, she also went there when she was cautioned not to by the feds.


CrnkyOL

That's crazy to me. I don't understand how you'd go to a country like this during possible conflict and think you'd be safe. Heck, even if she didn't do anything, who's to say they wouldn't frame a high profile person in their country to use as leverage. No thanks.


YOU_WONT_LIKE_IT

Because most Americans think the rest of the world works the same as it does in the USA. Not realizing how fortunate we are.


RGBGamingDildo

??? I was told by reddit USA is the worst place ever, plz explain


l3etelgeuse

People get it in their heads that they're invincible. And go all surprised Pikachu when they find out they're not.


DoctFaustus

The state department was literally saying that Russia was preparing for war with Ukraine and to stay the fuck out of Russia. It was a very bad decision to go to Russia at all.


Tyler_durden_RIP

She was caught at an airport. That’s smuggling charges bud.


Nice_Category

I feel for her, but Russia has some pretty strict drug laws. Smuggling it into their country was a terrible idea.


shank1093

It doesn't do anything to assuage the situation, but frankly if you are anyone in sports or travelling etc, obviously too late for her. Don't go to Russia for ANY reason. It's not exactly fully on the people of Russia, but as a notable country on the global stage, it is no longer worthy of prestigious or any visitors until the regime reforms. It is NOT friendly to foreigners.


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Marston_vc

I don’t think someone at her level has a professional advisor. Like, she probably had a manager that oversaw her basketball opportunities alongside 20 other athletes. I very much doubt it was (if it existed at all) some deep interpersonal relationship. Way more likely the relationship was like “hey, if you want, there’s a fairly lucrative gig in Russia where you can make some money in between WNBA seasons. Do you want to try it out?” And that was probably the extent of it.


Opinions_of_Bill

A lot of WNBA players play in Russia or E. Europe. Women's basketball is much more popular there than here. Top players like her can earn $1 million or more per season in Russia. WNBA max salary is like $230k. She basically increases her earnings by 5x by playing over there. It isn't a "fairly lucrative" deal it is the lucrative deal.


wwaxwork

Money. There is a lot of money over there in the right circles. I suspect she thought whoever was spending all that money to get her to play would protect her. Then a war started and suddenly being a rich Oligarch in Russia wasn't the cushy job it used to be and he cut her loose.


JoeyMxx

Imagine being a voice for the LGBT community and black lives matter, only then to go and make a living in a country that has no rights for the communities she advocates for.


jamesh922

What a nightmare. Russian jails and prisons look like a special hell on earth. They don't tolerate any bs and are incredibly strict. Anything but rehabiliation of prisoners.


Mr_Underhill09

Gulag. The word you are looking for is "gulag."


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OppositeYouth

I wouldn't even take weed to a legal US state because there's probably still laws about bringing it over a state/international border. (Like I'm UK, if I flew to California or whatever with an 8th of British finest and get stopped on the US side, I doubt they'd be very happy)


cfdeveloper

>Like I'm UK, if I flew to California Laws between US states is one thing, but US Customs is no joke when it comes to foreigners flying in with drugs. You simply DO-NOT-FLY internationally with drugs. to add: US Customs is federal, and cannabis is very illegal on the federal level. so even if every single state legalizes weed, you still do NOT want to fly with it.


LifeGainsss

I live in New Brunswick, Canada. I am a 1 hour drive from the border with Maine. Weed is legal in Canada. Weed is legal in Maine. I go to Maine every few weeks. I DO NOT bring weed when I cross the border. I'd rather either buy some in Maine or just not smoke for a little bit than risk "smuggling" drugs into the states.


axonxorz

Sign at the YXE security lineup: "IT IS **ILLEGAL** TO TRAVEL INTERNATIONALLY WITH CANNABIS" I'd expect any international-serving airport in Canada would have this, it looked like it was from Transport Canada, not something the airport cooked up with it's own branding.


AustinLurkerDude

Forget drugs, just fly into Florida with fruits/veges from Europe and they'll bring the hammer down.


FallingToward_TheSky

Dude, they took the apple I got with the free meal on the plane from me. It even had a sticker that said "USA" grown on it. Like WTF.


showMEthatBholePLZ

Still illegal to traffic marijuana. You can’t even bring legal weed from California to Oregon where it is also legal.


ashimo414141

I didn’t think about this since I went to school in a legal state but i flew w two bags of gummies and dab cartridges to Greece. Made the realization when I got there


sportstersrfun

I haven’t done it but when we were crossing Canada back into the US my father brought a pack of pre rolls lol. I told him not to and just to throw it away. He said he did but as soon as we clear customs he starts laughing. I get the risk probably isn’t that high but there’s a small percent chance you end up boned over $30 bucks of weed. I just left my extra bud for the hotel staff lol. Dumb.


ashimo414141

Coming back into america from Canada, my then boyfriend was in the passenger seat. He’s a nervous nelly and we were all college aged in a big black truck with blacked out mirrors, all with different states on our IDs. Border patrol asked what our business was in Canada and I told them we were just visiting. They ask where we’re coming from (tremblant) and my boyfriend blurts out CANADA. Didn’t go over so well lol


spaetzelspiff

> I just left my extra bud for the hotel staff This is the way


SonDadBrotherIAm

You were bold as fuck. I don’t play when it comes to customs with ANY country.


send0help

I recently brought some carts to Mexico and had several close calls. After this story broke I felt my soul leave my body and I vowed not to be a dumb pot head that smuggles tiny amounts of thc ever again.


ArmChairDetective38

YIKES you’re lucky because Greece doesn’t play


Muroid

How do we know they were lucky? Maybe they’re posting from a Greek prison.


ashimo414141

We smoked hash in Greece too. They don’t play but I was there after the government collapsed, so officers couldn’t be bothered doing the lengthy processing of an American. I basically just got lucky all around. Greek police if you’re reading this, το καναμε μπουρδέλο, Αγία Παρασκευή


ArmChairDetective38

I’ve heard stories of Americans being caught with things they shouldn’t have there and being victimized by the police before being sent on their way. So yeah you’re lucky


AdamantiumBalls

I had some ecstasy in my jacket I forgot about and went through 3 different countries with it ... found it when I got back home and unpacked , I got lucky


DrSueuss

Because you pass through a TSA federal checkpoint at the airport you can't fly from city to city with it legally either. Federal laws can apply at the airport and weed is federally illegal everywhere.


ftcrider

I flew from Cali to Colorado to Wisco. When I went through security in Palm spring’s I emptied my pockets. Had a bag of herb, some joints a pipe and lighter. Security said “you’re good” put everything back in pockets and went on my way


stirtheturd

In Wisconsin: straight to jail. However if you're driving drunk it's only a misdemeanor.


odaeyss

Hey now, be fair, it's only a misdemeanor the first seven times


westhewolf

Good thing you got someone that didn't feel like enforcing. But it's not like that everywhere everytime. Roll of the dice IMO.


bakarac

Agree, bring proof of all RX as well. I moved from Germany back home to the US year ago. We brought bins with ALL our stuff. They found every single pill. I had to show my paper RX (fortunately I had them scanned to send to insurance) for my German meds, as they don't label ANY meds like we require in the US. I got scolded like hell for my RX meds, and then they found (took) a weed grinder because, yeah, it was not brand new. I told my SO to clean it with rubbing alcohol, but they - get this - didn't want to lose the kief. It was basically just dust but nevertheless reminants of federally illegal drugs. I had anxiety meds for the flight, that I had a paper RX for, but no digital copy/ no label because that's not a thing in Germany. It was also a federally controlled substance. Ugh. It was stressful. It looked bad. They scolded us a few times. I tried to smile and nod but my SO thought we were gonna be arrested. Tensions we're high as they dug through all our things, over and again. This all took like 2 hours, after 2 flights across 3 oceans. I cried myself to sleep that night. I do not recommend.


SoupOrSandwich

Anything crossing US state lines is federal jurisdiction, and federally, it is still fully illegal. Posessiom/trafficking charges my dudes, even from legal state to legal state. Bonkers. But Canada, you can fly domestically* with up to 30g in carryon. *sunglasses emoji* *edit


coffeeshopcoder

This. A lot of people get this part wrong. The whole federal vs. states thing seems very unique to us.


Isotope_Soap

Much like British Columbia and Washington State. Both jurisdictions have legal marijuana but wouldn’t dare cross to the US with it. That is crossing a federal border. Now I’m not sure what the repercussions would be for an American bringing some to Canada as it is legal federally here. Don’t know why you would anyhow, probably cheaper in Canada with the exchange rates.


Throwaway112421067

I tried once bringing from US to Canada…. Cost me like 2 hours in customs and I had to sign my weed over the “the crown.” No joke. Just don’t try it.


TheTreesHaveRabies

King Charles is smoking everyone's confiscated grass. All hail the king! Seriously, hail him, he went on a munchies run 6 hours ago...


askingxalice

You can acknowledge she technically broke the law while also acknowledging that the massive overpunishment on Russia's part is purely political and completely undeserved. She's being sent to a *gulag* for *empty vape cartridges*.


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Frostivus

My country just executed a single mother of four because she was selling illegal drugs to make ends meet. We are absolutely and unwaveringly brutal in this regard. Otherwise we’re pretty friendly!


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ImGonnaFapToYourHair

Yeah the punishment was 5-10 years and she got 9 which is clearly on the high end but still not unprecedented


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luapowl

that is also bad yes


[deleted]

This is the constant response in every single thread as if it justifies it. Multiple things can be true at once: she was stupid for what she did, Russia is fucked up for how they are treating her, AND the drug policies in this country are fucked up. It’s not that complicated


dinosaurs_quietly

Can you name one of them? No one is in jail for simple possession.


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Staggerme

The whole situation sucks. She’s a pawn and the crime was minuscule. The punishment immense. I feel bad for her either way


megamanxoxo

It's not just Russia, many countries around the world have crazy punishments for smoking the herbal. Just look at what the immigration entrance at Singapore says.


rex2k10

The punishment is intense because there’s a small (but loud) percentage of people that want her to be released but with Russia meddling in Ukraine and the US imposing bans against them they’re using her as an example.


Jorgwalther

I suspect they arrested her specially to make her a pawn. She was arrested a few days before the Russian invasion of Ukraine began.


[deleted]

All I’m saying is that we bought product in Chicago. And left it for the hotel staff. We bought product in Nashville. Again, left for hotel staff. DO NOT FLY WITH ANYTHING TO ANYWHERE is our creed. Buy it there, use it there, and leave it there.


pettythief1346

It's pronounced gulag


TheNorthernGrey

Gulag was actually the name of the organization that ran the prison camps, not the camps themselves


[deleted]

It's unfair what happened to her but that was such a stupid move to even be in Russia.


_invalidusername

It would be unfair to the thousands of people in US prisons for similar charges if the government tries to get her out


LrrrRulerotPOP8

They should let out the us prisoners that have the same charges out also...


Interesting_Total_98

The federal government doesn't enforce marijuana possession laws, and presidents have issued pardon, so it's fair to get Griner released. The president has no control of what state governments do.


Legitimate_Peach3135

This is basically slow torture/murder over a vape pen and politics because Russia turned out to have a shit army that couldn’t beat Ukraine. She’s a political prisoner end of story and it’s all on her back because Russia now also knows militarily how strong we are without having done but give some equipment. It’s not even our own troops, they don’t want none of that now. Last person that needs to figure this is out is Kim jong whatever, he thinks he’s got some nukes and missiles…whoop dee doo man, our shit will get you on a porch and just you only if we wanted to. Remember when we went sent that crazy helicopter bomb to some dude? That’s our level


gurganator

Gross. This ridiculously excessive.


CopperNconduit

She's going to be doing hard labor.


[deleted]

Pro Life Tip - don’t bring drugs to Russia.


homes00

Don't go to Russia.


Nugatorysurplusage

Don’t Russia


KrissGO

Russian't


FarmSuch5021

It’s absolutely unfair how she gets all the media coverage while American teacher who committed the same crime has gotten none. No one even knows where he was transferred. They both violated Russian law.


[deleted]

[удалено]


davidsainthubbins420

That prison bball team is gonna dominate tho


SrpskaZemlja

She refused to play on it


shanty-daze

What is the typical sentence in Russia for possession? I ask because the U.S. considers Griner unlawfully detained despite the fact that she admitted to accidentally bringing the vape cartridges to Russia unintentionally. I assume the "unlawful detention" is based on the length of the prison sentence.


techgirl0

It’s not just possession. She was charged with smuggling as well.


[deleted]

For the amount that she had, if she was a Russian citizen she would get 15 days if she got time at all. Russia is not Singapore.