David Ramseur

Aug 7, 2024 | newsminer.com | David Ramseur

Every day for nearly a year and a half, I’ve prepared myself for the worst possible news about a jailed Russian dissident I befriended more than a decade ago. Yet just a few days ago, on Aug. 1, my trepidation turned to celebration at the release of Vladimir Kara-Murza as part of the 24-person Russian prisoner swap negotiated by the Biden administration.

Aug 5, 2024 | adn.com | David Ramseur

Every day for nearly a year and a half, I’ve prepared myself for the worst possible news about a jailed Russian dissident I befriended more than a decade ago. Yet just a few days ago, on Aug. 1, my trepidation turned to celebration at the release of Vladimir Kara-Murza as part of the 24-person Russian prisoner swap negotiated by the Biden administration.

Feb 27, 2024 | newsminer.com | David Ramseur

In recent days as brave Russian citizens risk arrest to lay flowers at makeshift memorials honoring the latest slain dissident, Alexei Navalny, I experienced a déjà vu moment from nearly a decade ago. In late February 2015, another popular and perceived threat to Russian President Vladimir Putin was walking with his girlfriend just below St. Basil’s Cathedral in Moscow’s Red Square. Suddenly, up to eight gunshots rang out. The 55-year-old Boris Nemtsov was hit four times and died almost instantly.

Feb 23, 2024 | adn.com | David Ramseur

In recent days, as brave Russian citizens risk arrest to lay flowers at makeshift memorials honoring the latest slain dissident, Alexei Navalny, I experienced a déjà vu moment from nearly a decade ago. In late February 2015, another popular and perceived threat to Russian President Vladimir Putin was walking with his girlfriend just below St. Basil’s Cathedral in Moscow’s Red Square. Suddenly, gunshots rang out. The 55-year-old Boris Nemtsov was hit four times and died almost instantly.

Oct 27, 2023 | adn.com | David Ramseur

Thanks to Vic Fischer’s visionary work helping write Alaska’s constitution and his enormous accomplishments as a city, state, federal, and university official, everyday Alaskans are better off. What is less appreciated is that Fischer also bettered the lives of thousands of Russians, primarily Indigenous peoples. As Mikhail Gorbachev opened up the Soviet Union in the mid-1980s, Fischer was among the first Alaskans to step foot in the Russian Far East after four decades of prohibited contact.