The Closing of the Russian Mind

All of this may seem like an outburst of anti-Americanism, but the real target is dissent at home. Domestic activists who receive funding from undesirable groups could face $10,000 fines and up to six years in prison. Two domestic civil-society organizations—the Dynasty Foundation, which funds Russian scientists, and the Committee to Prevent Torture—closed their doors this week after the Kremlin accused them of acting as “foreign agents” under a separate provision.

As for the popularity of these moves, honest views can be hard to come by in an increasingly repressive environment. But migration data suggest Russians are voting with their feet. From January to August 2014, some 204,000 Russians emigrated, according to official figures, up 40% from the same period in 2013. Meantime, capital outflows of $151 billion hit a record in 2014, three times higher than the previous year.

These columns have been warning about Mr. Putin’s authoritarian habits for as long as he’s been in power, and it’s nice to see some of our liberal friends belatedly coming around to our view. But the instinct to appease Moscow remains powerful, particularly in Europe where Russian money, energy and propaganda talk. The latest assault on Russian civil liberties won’t be the last one, but it is a fresh reminder of Mr. Putin’s authoritarian threat to democratic world order.