,,iii #aaith ,,congress #b;d ,session ,s4 ,,res4 #hee ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,september #af1 #bjbf,mrs4 ,shaheen 7for herself1 ,mr4 ,wicker1 ,mr4 ,tillis1 ,ms4 ,collins1 ,mr4 ,kaine1 and ,ms4 ,murkowski7 submitted the following resolution2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,foreign ,relations ,,resolution ,acknowledging that it is in the national interest of the ,united ,states to support democratic actors in the ,russian ,federation1 commending the work of ,russian civil society and independent media to expose and respond to the crimes of the government of ,vladimir ,putin and pursue accountability for such crimes4 ,whereas the ,united ,states has sought to support democracy in the ,russian ,federation and with ,russian individuals since #aiia to support democracy1 economic growth1 health1 women1 and youth2 ,whereas numerous nongovernmental organizations in the ,united ,states1 including the ,national ,endowment for ,democracy1 ,american ,councils1 and the ,institute of ,international ,education1 have worked to support ,russian individuals and build ties between the people of the ,united ,states and the people of the ,russian ,federation2 ,whereas1 in ,may #bjae1 the ,russian ,federation enacted a law that permits ,russian authorities to extrajudicially shut down foreign and international organizations operating in ,russia to strengthen ties between people in the ,united ,states and people in ,russia1 including the ,national ,endowment for ,democracy1 ,american ,councils1 and the ,institute of ,international ,education1 by declaring such organizations to be undesirable2 ,whereas the ,russian ,federation launched an illegal and unprovoked invasion of ,ukraine in #bjad1 and a brutal1 full-scale invasion of ,ukraine in #bjbb1 which caused the ,north ,atlantic ,treaty ,organization to suspend cooperation with the ,russian ,federation2 ,whereas ,russian opposition leader1 pro-democracy activist1 and anti-corruption campaigner ,alexei ,navalny was killed in a ,russian prison on ,february #af1 #bjbd1 one day after he appeared in court in a healthy condition1 which followed a pattern of other high-profile murders of pro-democracy ,russians1 including journalist ,anna ,politkovskaya in #bjjf and opposition leader ,boris ,nemtsov in #bjae2 ,whereas1 according to the ,memorial ,human ,rights ,center1 more than #a1gjj political prisoners remain in ,russian jails as of ,september #bjbf1 including-- 7#a7 ,moscow municipal deputy ,aleksei ,gorinov2 7#b7 pensioner ,igor ,baryshnikov2 7#c7 the mother of a human rights lawyer1 ,zarema ,musaeva2 and 7#d7 journalist ,maria ,ponomarenko2 ,whereas the ,russian ,federation persecutes ,jehovah's ,witnesses1 ,baptists1 ,seventh ,day ,adventists1 and members of other minority religious groups within ,russia and in the occupied territories of ,ukraine1 including1 according to ,memorial ,human ,rights ,center1 by jailing nearly #ejj people in response to their exercise of the right of freedom of religion or their religious affiliations2 ,whereas more than #bj1jjj ,russians were detained by ,russian authorities between ,february #bjbb and ,february #bjbe for their opposition to the ,russian ,federation's war against ,ukraine2 ,whereas1 in the summer of #bjbf1 ,apple and ,google removed the ,russian state-backed apps that the ,european ,union determined had been operating as tools of the ,russian ,federation's ,federal ,security ,service1 including for the purpose of surveilling ,russian citizens2 ,whereas ,russian authorities have endeavored to cut off the ,russian people's access to independent information1 including by-- 7#a7 blocking ,united ,states-based platforms ,facebook1 ,instagram1 ,x1 ,whats,app1 ,signal1 ,discord1 ,snapchat1 ,face,time1 and ,linked,in2 7#b7 throttling other internet platforms1 including ,you,tube2 and 7#c7 pressuring companies to block hundreds of virtual private networks 7,v,p,ns72 ,whereas pro-democracy ,russian groups have helped ,ukrainian citizens find their family members who had been unjustly detained and had disappeared inside the ,russian ,federation by facilitating communication1 assistance1 moral support1 and legal services2 ,whereas ,russian independent media has-- 7#a7 exposed sanctions violations2 7#b7 ensured that the ,russian people understand the grim fate awaiting soldiers on the frontlines in ,ukraine2 7#c7 collected evidence of ,russian war crimes2 and 7#d7 reminded ,russian citizens opposed to the war that they are not alone2 ,whereas ,russian civil society has-- 7#a7 helped anti-war ,russians avoid being drafted into the ,russian military against their will2 and 7#b7 evacuated forcibly displaced ,ukrainians from the territory of the ,russian ,federation2 ,whereas nearly #a1jjj1jjj ,russians have left their home country since ,february #bjbb1 and at least #fej1jjj ,russians remain outside of ,russia1 largely due to fear from government reprisal in response to their anti-war and pro-democracy views2 and ,whereas the ,russian ,federation has wrongfully detained numerous ,united ,states citizens in recent years1 including ,paul ,whelan1 ,trevor ,reed1 ,brittney ,griner1 ,evan ,gershkovich1 ,alsu ,kurmasheva1 ,marc ,fogel1 ,ksenia ,karelina1 ,robert ,gilman1 and ,stephen ,hubbard while seeking to leverage the releases of these ,americans to free convicted arms traffickers1 drug traffickers1 murderers1 and cyber hackers3 ,now1 therefore1 be it ,that the ,senate-- 7#a7 condemns the efforts of the ,government of the ,russian ,federation-- 7,a7 to isolate its citizens from the rest of the world2 7,b7 to commit horrific war crimes in ,ukraine2 and 7,c7 to violently crack down on those voicing their dissent of such policies2 7#b7 calls on the ,department of ,state1 working through the ,democracy ,fund1 to renew and bolster efforts1 including consultations with the ,national ,endowment for ,democracy1 to engage with and support pro-democracy ,russian individuals and organizations1 many of which-- 7,a7 are opposed to the ,russian ,federation's unjust war against ,ukraine2 and 7,b7 believe in a democratic future for their country2 7#c7 recognizes the strategic imperative and national interest of the ,united ,states to support democratic actors in the ,russian ,federation who are exposing and pursuing accountability for the crimes of ,vladimir ,putin's government2 7#d7 stands with the ,russian people who have demonstrated their opposition to the war of aggression against ,ukraine2 and 7#e7 commits to engagement with ,russians living in exile who are working to support democracy in their country and opposing the war against ,ukraine4