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A Kremlin critic with a British passport who is facing up to 25 years in jail has compared his trial to one of Joseph Stalin’s purges.

Vladimir Kara-Murza, 41, who denies charges of treason and discrediting the military, has been a political opponent of Vladimir Putin for years.

He has lobbied foreign governments and institutions to impose sanctions on
Russia and individual Russians for purported human rights
violations.

Russian state prosecutors requested a quarter-century prison sentence for Mr Kara-Murza, a father of three, with a verdict expected on April 17.

He told a Moscow court the current environment was not so much like the
1970s – a period when the state faced off against Soviet
dissidents – as the 1930s, when Stalin conducted a series of
show trials and purges of his opponents. 

“For me, as a historian, this is cause for reflection,” said Mr Kara-Murza. 

“Criminals are supposed to repent of what they have done. I, on the other hand, am in prison for my political views. I also know that the day will come when the darkness over our country will dissipate.”

His speech was made available by his wife and lawyer, while the trial itself took place behind closed doors.