Abstract
Modern systems of political repression increasingly extend beyond direct action against individuals who publicly express dissent. An expanding body of evidence suggests that state pressure may also target family members who themselves have not engaged in unlawful or political activity. This article examines the phenomenon of indirect political coercion through pressure exerted on relatives of political opponents, journalists, anti-war activists, and individuals who have left the Russian Federation following political persecution.
The study argues that pressure on family members performs several institutional functions simultaneously: increasing psychological costs of dissent, encouraging self-censorship, discouraging emigration, and creating incentives for political conformity. Particular attention is devoted to informal administrative practices, including repeated police visits, questioning of relatives, involvement of child welfare authorities, searches of family residences, and threats concerning parental rights. Although many of these actions formally remain within existing legal procedures, their cumulative effect transforms family relationships into instruments of political pressure.
The article further examines the psychological consequences of such practices for entire families, including forced migration, chronic anxiety, family separation, and difficulties of adaptation abroad. It concludes that collective pressure on relatives represents an increasingly important mechanism of contemporary authoritarian governance because it expands the perceived risks of political participation beyond the individual actor.
Keywords:
political repression; collective punishment; family members; authoritarian governance; Russia; forced migration; child protection authorities; political persecution; psychological coercion; adaptation of political emigrants.
Author: Gulnara Idrisova ORCID: 0009-0006-9996-3684
DOI: pending
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