The video highlights the dangerous political climate in Russia under Vladimir Putin's leadership as experienced by opposition leader Vladimir Karamurza. Over the years, Karamurza has become a vocal critic of Putin's regime, advocating for democracy and freedom in Russia. Despite enduring two poisoning attempts and imprisonment, Karamurza remains committed to his cause, which he believes is much larger than himself.

Karamurza's relentless pursuit of democracy has made him a target for the Putin regime. His poisoning twice by Kremlin agents and subsequent imprisonment for treason underscore the oppressive environment in Russia, where political opposition is met with severe repercussions. Nevertheless, Karamurza continues to emphasize the need for global recognition of Russia's internal struggles against authoritarianism and the international threat posed by Putin.

Main takeaways from the video:

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Key Vocabularies and Common Phrases:

1. dictator [ˈdɪkteɪtər] - (noun) - A ruler with total power over a country, typically one who has obtained control by force. - Synonyms: (tyrant, autocrat, despot)

Because that is what dictators do.

2. oppression [əˈprɛʃən] - (noun) - Prolonged cruel or unjust treatment or control. - Synonyms: (persecution, tyranny, subjugation)

...faced election challenges. And the easy answer was no. In the end, you had to do a deal with the devil.

3. detained [dɪˈteɪnd] - (verb) - Kept in custody or confinement. - Synonyms: (imprisoned, held, arrested)

You've been wrongfully detained for a long time, and we're glad you're home with President Biden.

4. sanctioned [ˈsæŋkʃənd] - (verb) - Officially penalize or restrict as a punishment. - Synonyms: (penalized, punished, restricted)

...the case had been among the first officials ever sanctioned by the magnitsky act.

5. repressive [rəˈprɛsɪv] - (adjective) - Inhibiting or restraining personal freedom or the expression of ideas. - Synonyms: (restrictive, authoritarian, tyrannical)

I think Russia deserves so much better than to live under a corrupt, repressive, criminal, archaic, KGB led dictatorship.

6. conviction [kənˈvɪkʃən] - (noun) - A formal declaration that someone is guilty of a criminal offense. - Synonyms: (sentence, judgment, finding)

Last year, after his treason conviction, he was hit with the longest sentence ever for a political prisoner.

7. dissidents [ˈdɪsɪdənts] - (noun) - People who oppose official policy, especially in an authoritarian state. - Synonyms: (rebels, protesters, opposition)

...eight russian criminals and spies were traded for several Germans, the three Americans, and eight russian dissidents.

8. solitary confinement [ˈsɒlɪˌtɛri kənˈfaɪnmənt] - (noun) - A form of imprisonment where an inmate is isolated from any human contact, except guards. - Synonyms: (isolation, segregation, seclusion)

He was sent to Siberia and solitary confinement.

9. pulitzer prize [ˈpʊlɪtsər praɪz] - (noun) - An award for achievements in newspaper, magazine and online journalism, literature, and musical composition. - Synonyms: (award, accolade, recognition)

He's a pulitzer prize winning columnist for the Washington Post and Cambridge educated historian.

10. magnitsky act [mæɡˈnɪtski ækt] - (noun) - A U.S. law that sanctions individuals involved in human rights violations by freezing their assets and banning them from the U.S. - Synonyms: (sanction law, legislative measure, human rights act)

...the late senator John McCain fought for the so called magnitsky act.

Putin critic Vladimir Kara-Murza speaking out after prisoner swap | 60 Minutes

You were never meant to hear the voice of Vladimir Karamurza ever again. The russian opposition leader had warned for years that Vladimir Putin would threaten the peace of the world. And at the UN General assembly in New York this past week, leaders were debating how to stop Putin in Ukraine without a world war. Putin poisoned Keri Mirza twice, then sent him to die in prison. But last month, he was traded for a prize that Putin could not resist.

Why does the russian dictator still fear Vladimir Karamurza? Here's why. The story will continue in a moment. I think Russia deserves so much better than to live under a corrupt, repressive, criminal, archaic, KGB led dictatorship. And change is not going to happen unless we do something to make it happen. And this is worth your life. I mean, look, there were people who stood up to apartheid in South Africa. There were people who stood up to the communist regime and the Soviet Union. There were people who stood up to the nazi regime in Germany. 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 has fought for that cause from the start of Putin's 25 years in power. He's a pulitzer prize winning columnist for the Washington Post and Cambridge educated historian. Last year, 43 year old Kara Mirza was tried for treason after denouncing Putin's war on Ukraine. We tried to warn the world. We try to shout. We try to get the message out that this regime is dangerous, that this man is dangerous, that even if you don't care about what happens to us in Russia, it's going to come to you sooner or later.

What is it like living in Russia today? Anybody who is a genuine opponent of Putin is either in exile, in prison, or dead. You have to think about even what you talk to your kids about at home, because children whose families are against this war in Ukraine would, for example, draw anti war images in school, and their parents would get visits from the police or they would be put in prison. You have to think about that as well if you live in Russia today.

Vladimir Karamirza has been high on Putin's list since 2012, when he and the late senator John McCain fought for the so called magnitsky act. The US law is named for a man murdered by Putin's police. The magnitsky act seized the overseas assets of more than 60 people who abused human rights in Russia. Kara Mirza says this is why he was poisoned by Kremlin assassins. I was in a coma for about a month. The first time this happened, in May of 2015, with a multiple organ failure. And as the doctors in Moscow were telling my wife, with about a 5% chance to survive. And after I came out of that coma, despite all the odds, I've literally had to learn everything in. You had to learn to walk again. You had to learn to eat again. It's amazing how fast the human body just loses everything, just loses all the strength, and you just have to start anew.

Two years later, he was poisoned again. This time, 2017, he rehabbed in the US. His wife and three children live in the states, and Kara Mirza has permanent resident status. But once he recovered, he returned to Russia. You were safe. How could I not go back to Russia? I'm a russian politician. A politician has to be in their own country. How could I call on my fellow citizens, on my fellow Russians, to stand up and oppose this dictatorship if I myself was too scared to do it? How is that possible?

Last year, after his treason conviction, he was hit with the longest sentence ever for a political prisoner. The judge in the case had been among the first officials ever sanctioned by the magnitsky act. And when you heard the sentence, 25 years, you thought what? So, frankly, I thought, it's a job well done. Job well done on my part, yes. I think that 25 year sentence was, frankly, a recognition that what we did over all those years mattered, that the magnitsky act mattered, that public opposition to the war in Ukraine mattered.

He was sent to Siberia and solitary confinement. In the two and a half years I've spent in russian prison, I was only able to once call my wife on the phone, and only twice I was able to speak on the phone to our three kids. It was a 15 minutes call, so five minutes per child. And as my wife later told me, she was standing there with a stopwatch to make sure that each of our kids doesn't get more than five minutes so that everybody could have an opportunity to speak with daddy.

Were you sitting in that cell thinking, I'm going to get out of here one day? No. To answer your question honestly, I did not believe I would ever get out. And so what happened on August 1? The only way I can describe that is a miracle. The miracle was in the making. For more than a year, negotiations began over Americans held by Putin, which eventually included Evan Gurshkovich, a reporter for the Wall Street Journal. But over the months, the deal grew to involve seven countries. We don't trust the Russians on anything. They lied about the war in Ukraine. They make a regular practice of lying and obfuscating. But one thing they have shown over time is when they say they're going to do an exchange, they do the exchange.

At the center of the negotiations was Jake Sullivan, President Biden's national security advisor. None of this happens overnight. None of it's straightforward. There's going to be twists and turns. There's going to be false starts. And so persistence, relentlessness, that's part of the name of the game of actually securing the release of these Americans. But there was only one thing Putin wanted, and that would be hard, maybe impossible, for the man who held the key, the leader of Germany, Olaf Schultz, was absolutely critical. Without him, this would not have happened, because a central piece of the puzzle was the release of a russian agent named Vadim Krasakov. Without Krasakov, there is no deal.

But Krasakov is a notorious assassin and friend of Putin. In 2019, he was sent to Germany to kill an enemy of the Kremlin. The daytime murderous in the middle of Berlin was infamous. What was Schulz dilemma? Being able to look his people in the eye and say, we are releasing someone who has committed a grievous crime on german soil, and therefore I can deliver something for the people of Germany. And thats why we ended up thinking through enlarging the problem, not just trying to bring out Americans, but of course, bring out some german citizens as well. And then the critical move of being able to say to the german people, the american people in the world, we are also getting russian freedom fighters out, including people like Vladimir Karamurza. That was the fireside pitch to the german leader.

But Krasakov had served only three years of a life sentence. Shultzs fractious coalition government faced election challenges. And the easy answer was no. In the end, you had to do a deal with the devil. I made a deal with the russian president in Berlin. Chancellor Schultz told us he was brought to. Yes, by a man he considered a friend. It is not an easy decision. And I discussed with many people in my government and especially with Joe Biden, who asked me to help. And my view was that this is something which we could do while prepared, and if we do it on a large scale, he said, and I remember it very vividly on the phone with President Biden. For you, Joe, I will do this.

A large group of officers burst into my cell. I have no idea what's happening. It's the middle of the night, it's dark, and they tell me I have ten minutes to get up and get ready. And at this moment, I'm absolutely certain that I'm going to be let out and be executed. But instead of executed on August 1, eight russian criminals and spies were traded for several Germans, the three Americans, and eight russian dissidents. As he stepped off the plane in Turkey, Kara Mirza's captors had parting advice. He turned to me and said, be careful about what you eat. You know how these things happen.

He was telling you you might be poisoned again, even though you're free. Well, look, we know that attacks on opponents of the Kremlin have happened far beyond the borders of Russia. The next voice Karamerza heard spoke not of fear, but of freedom. At that moment, a lady diplomat came up to me with a cell phone, and she says, are you mister Caramou? I said, yes. And she gives me the phone and says, I'm from the american embassy in Ankara. The president of the United States is on the line. You've been wrongfully detained for a long time, and we're glad you're home with President Biden.

Was Kara Merza's family. We're in the Oval Office. You've done a wonderful thing by saving so many people. I think there are 16 of us on the plane. I don't think there are many things more important than saving human lives. It felt surreal. It felt more emotional than I had ever felt at any point in my life. There had been many emotions for Jake Sullivan, who for years could tell desperate families only to keep waiting. And most of the time, as you can imagine, those are tough conversations. But not today. Today. Excuse me. Today was a very good day.

You know, it's one thing to speak about protecting freedom or protecting human rights, but it's quite another thing to actually do something to protect them. And whatever else President Biden and Chancellor Schultz will be remembered for years from now. They will be remembered for this. Vladimir, Kara Mirza told us. He quoted a jewish scripture to you. He who saves one life saves the entire world. It was very nice to hear it, to be very honest with you. On the other hand, I don't feel that great. I did what I thought is the right thing to do.

We have traveled quite a bit through Ukraine. We have seen the destroyed hospitals. We have seen the shattered schools. We have seen the mass graves. Vladimir Putin has attacked a country that meant him no harm. And I wonder if you can explain why. Because that is what dictators do. Once they consolidate their control domestically, once they eliminate and destroy all the opposition at home, they start moving against others. This has always happened in Russia, whether under the tsars, under the Soviets, or now under Vladimir Putin.

Will Putin try to kill you again? Look, we know what it entails to be in opposition to Vladimir Putin. He's not just a dictator. He's not just an authoritarian leader. He's not just a strongman. He is a murderer. That man is a murderer.

Vladimir Karamurza remains in the US with his family. He told us, in solitary confinement, he learned there's no life without hope. True for those behind bars and for his imprisoned country. The amazing fact, and the fact that, frankly, makes me proud of Russia, is that there are thousands of people in Russia who have publicly spoken out against Putin's regime, who have publicly spoken out against the war in Ukraine, even at the cost of personal freedom. And I hope that when people in the west, when people in the United States, when people in the free world at large think about Russia, they will remember not only the aggressors and the war criminals who are sitting in the Kremlin, but also those who are standing up to them, because we are Russians, too.

How Vladimir Karamirza won the pulitzer prize from prison in Russia. The russian authorities let you write for the Washington Post at 60 minutes overtime.com dot.

Politics, Inspiration, Leadership, Vladimir Karamurza, Human Rights, Opposition To Putin, 60 Minutes