Russia and the Soviet Union, sadly, have a long history of authoritarianism and government repression. One ramification of that history is the continuing flow of Russian-speakers into the community your library serves. A second result is that Russia also has a vibrant history of political dissent and protest.

As today's Russia struggles with war and economic crisis, that protest movement is as active as ever. The assassination of dissident politican Boris Nemtsov in late February is only the latest event to spur those protests on.