III 

Calendar No. 52 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. CON. RES. 7 

Condemning Russia’s unjust and arbitrary detention of Russian opposition 

leader Vladimir Kara-Murza who has stood up in defense of democracy, 

the rule of law, and free and fair elections in Russia. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 23, 2023 

Mr. CARDIN (for himself, Mr. WICKER, Ms. KLOBUCHAR, Mr. DURBIN, Mr. 

KAINE, Mr. MARKEY, Mrs. MURRAY, Mr. COONS, Mr. HICKENLOOPER, 

and Mr. MENENDEZ) submitted the following concurrent resolution; 

which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

MAY 4, 2023 

Reported by Mr. MENENDEZ, with an amendment and an amendment to the 

preamble 

[Strike out all after the resolving clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

[Strike the preamble and insert the part printed in italic] 

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 

Condemning Russia’s unjust and arbitrary detention of Russian opposition leader Vladimir Kara-Murza who has 

stood up in defense of democracy, the rule of law, and 

free and fair elections in Russia. 

Whereas, on April 11, 2022, Vladimir Kara-Murza was unjustly detained by Russian authorities for spreading supVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:39 May 04, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SC7.RS SC7

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posedly ‘‘false information’’ in a speech in March 2022 

to the Arizona House of Representatives; 

Whereas Mr. Kara-Murza in his March 15, 2022, speech presented a defiant condemnation of Vladimir Putin’s policies and leadership outlining his corruption and malign 

intentions, and condemning the illegal war of aggression 

Putin has unleashed against Ukraine; 

Whereas, prior to his arrest in April 2022, Mr. Kara-Murza 

was poisoned twice by agents of the Russian Government 

and the Russian Federation in 2015 and 2017 with a 

military-grade agent banned internationally, likely in retaliation for his defiant stance in support of rule of law 

and democracy in Russia; 

Whereas, despite having survived two assassination attempts 

and the subsequent side effects of these poisonings, Mr. 

Kara-Murza regularly returned to Russia to advocate for 

democratic representation in Russia; 

Whereas Mr. Kara-Murza has consistently advocated for democracy in Russia and insisted that democracy in Russia 

must be advanced by Russians for all those living in Russia; 

Whereas, in August 2022, new charges were brought against 

Mr. Kara-Murza for ‘‘carrying out the activities’’ of an 

‘‘undesirable foreign organization’’ and his arrest was extended for his work as a leading member of Russian civil 

society; 

Whereas, in October 2022, Mr. Kara-Murza was further 

charged unjustly with ‘‘high treason’’ in part due to his 

public condemnations of the Kremlin’s military aggression on Ukraine and domestic repressions; 


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Whereas Mr. Kara-Murza remains in pretrial detention and 

faces a prison sentence of up to 24 years on high treason 

and other charges; 

Whereas the state of Mr. Kara-Murza’s health has deteriorated and in addition to losing over 45 pounds, he was 

diagnosed with polyneuropathy, a condition that under 

Russian law should preclude him from his current detainment; 

Whereas, as a result of his diagnosis, he has lost feeling in 

both his feet and has experienced symptoms similar to 

those he experienced following his 2015 poisoning due to 

peripheral nerve damage; 

Whereas section 5599F of the James M. Inhofe National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023 (Public 

Law 117–263) condemned Mr. Kara-Murza’s unjust detention, expressed solidarity with Mr. Kara-Murza, his 

family, and all individuals imprisoned in Russia for their 

beliefs, and urged the United States and other ally governments to work to secure the release of Mr. KaraMurza and other citizens of the Russian Federation imprisoned for opposition to Vladimir Putin’s regime and 

his illegal war in Ukraine; 

Whereas, in April 2022, Vladimir Kara-Murza was presented 

the McCain Institute’s Courage and Leadership Award 

for his unwavering commitment to fundamental values 

and his acts of selfless courage which have inspired the 

world; 

Whereas, in October 2022, Mr. Kara-Murza was awarded the 

Vaclav Havel Prize honoring outstanding civil society action in defense of human rights; 


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Whereas the late Senator John McCain said Mr. Kara-Murza 

‘‘is a brave, outspoken, and relentless advocate for freedom and democracy in Russia’’ and introduced Mr. KaraMurza as ‘‘a personal hero whose courage, selflessness, 

and idealism I find awe-inspiring’’; 

Whereas, in March 2023, the Department of the Treasury 

and the Department of State imposed Global Magnitsky 

and other targeted sanctions on six Russians involved in 

Mr. Kara-Murza’s ongoing arbitrary detention, recognized his role as ‘‘a major advocate for the adoption of 

Magnitsky-style sanctions authorities by the United 

States, Canada, European Union, and United Kingdom 

to target human rights abusers and corrupt actors in 

Russia’’, and called for his immediate release; and 

Whereas Mr. Kara-Murza remains a political prisoner and a 

victim of Vladimir Putin’s authoritarian state: Now, 

therefore, be it 

Whereas, on April 11, 2022, Vladimir Kara-Murza was unjustly detained by Russian authorities for spreading supposedly ‘‘false information’’ in a speech in March 2022 to 

the Arizona House of Representatives; 

Whereas, on February 24, 2022, Vladimir Putin launched another unprovoked, unjustified, and illegal invasion into 

Ukraine in contravention of the obligations freely undertaken by the Russian Federation to respect the territorial 

integrity of Ukraine under the Budapest Memorandum of 

1994, the Minsk protocols of 2014 and 2015, and international law; 

Whereas, since February 24, 2022, Mr. Kara-Murza has used 

his voice and platform to join more than 15,000 citizens 

of the Russian Federation in peacefully protesting the war 


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against Ukraine and millions more who silently oppose the 

war; 

Whereas, on March 5, 2022, Vladimir Putin signed a law 

criminalizing the distribution of truthful statements about 

the invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation and 

mandating up to 15 years in prison for such offenses; 

Whereas Mr. Kara-Murza, in his March 15, 2022, speech presented a defiant condemnation of Vladimir Putin’s policies 

and leadership outlining his corruption and malign intentions, and condemning the illegal war of aggression Putin 

has unleashed against Ukraine; 

Whereas, prior to his arrest in April 2022, Mr. Kara-Murza 

was poisoned twice by agents of the Russian government 

and the Russian Federation in 2015 and 2017 with a 

military-grade agent banned internationally, likely in retaliation for his defiant stance in support of rule of law 

and democracy in Russia; 

Whereas, despite having survived two assassination attempts 

and the subsequent side effects of these poisonings, Mr. 

Kara-Murza regularly returned to Russia to advocate for 

democratic representation in Russia; 

Whereas independent investigations conducted by Bellingcat, 

the Insider, and Der Spiegel found that the same unit of 

the Federal Security Service of the Russian Federation responsible for poisoning Mr. Kara-Murza was also responsible for poisoning Russian opposition leader Alexei 

Navalny and activists Timur Kuashev, Ruslan 

Magomedragimov, and Nikita Isayev; 

Whereas Mr. Kara-Murza has consistently advocated for democracy in Russia and insisted that democracy in Russia 


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must be advanced by Russians for all those living in Russia; 

Whereas, on May 26, 2022, the United States Senate unanimously agreed to Senate Resolution 632 (117th Congress) 

calling for the immediate release of Mr. Kara-Murza, 

Alexei Navalny, and other citizens of the Russian Federation imprisoned for opposing the regime of Vladimir Putin 

and the war against Ukraine; 

Whereas, on July 27, 2022, the Investigative Committee of the 

Russian Federation charged Mr. Kara-Murza for his engagements with Free Russia Foundation and Open Russia, 

both of which are nongovernmental organizations targeted 

by the law of the Russian Federation on undesirable organizations; 

Whereas, in August 2022, new charges were brought against 

Mr. Kara-Murza for ‘‘carrying out the activities’’ of an 

‘‘undesirable foreign organization’’ and his arrest was extended for his work as a leading member of Russian civil 

society; 

Whereas, in October 2022, Mr. Kara-Murza was further 

charged unjustly with ‘‘high treason’’ due to his public 

condemnations of the Kremlin’s military aggression on 

Ukraine and domestic repressions; 

Whereas, on April 17, 2023, Mr. Kara-Murza was sentenced to 

25 years in prison, one of the highest sentences given to 

any Russian opposition figure; 

Whereas, since Mr. Kara-Murza’s arrest, the state of his health 

has deteriorated and in addition to losing over 45 pounds, 

he was diagnosed with polyneuropathy, a condition that 

under Russian law, should preclude him from incarceration; 


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Whereas, as a result of his diagnosis, he has lost feeling in both 

his feet and has experienced symptoms similar to those he 

experienced following his 2015 poisoning due to peripheral 

nerve damage; 

Whereas section 5599F of the James M. Inhofe National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023 (Public Law 

117–263) condemned Mr. Kara-Murza’s unjust detention, 

expressed solidarity with Mr. Kara-Murza, his family, and 

all individuals imprisoned in Russia for their beliefs, and 

urged the United States and other ally governments to 

work to secure the release of Mr. Kara-Murza and other 

citizens of the Russian Federation imprisoned for opposition to Vladimir Putin’s regime and his illegal war in 

Ukraine; 

Whereas, in April 2022, Vladimir Kara-Murza was presented 

the McCain Institute’s Courage and Leadership Award for 

his unwavering commitment to fundamental values and 

his acts of selfless courage which have inspired the world; 

Whereas, in October 2022, Mr. Kara-Murza was awarded the 

Vaclav Havel Prize honoring outstanding civil society action in defense of human rights; 

Whereas the late Senator John McCain said Mr. Kara-Murza 

‘‘is a brave, outspoken, and relentless advocate for freedom 

and democracy in Russia’’ and introduced Mr. KaraMurza as ‘‘a personal hero whose courage, selflessness and 

idealism I find awe-inspiring’’; 

Whereas, in March 2023, the Department of the Treasury and 

the Department of State imposed Global Magnitsky and 

other targeted sanctions on six Russians involved in Mr. 

Kara-Murza’s ongoing arbitrary detention, recognized his 

role as ‘‘a major advocate for the adoption of MagnitskyVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:39 May 04, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\SC7.RS SC7

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style sanctions authorities by the United States, Canada, 

European Union, and United Kingdom to target human 

rights abusers and corrupt actors in Russia,’’ and called 

for his immediate release; 

Whereas, in April 2023, 81 Members of Congress sent a letter 

to Secretary of State Anthony Blinken urging that Mr. 

Kara-Murza be designated under the Robert Levinson Hostage Recovery and Hostage-Taking Accountability Act (22 

U.S.C. 1741 et seq.) as ‘‘unlawfully and wrongfully detained’’; and 

Whereas Mr. Kara-Murza remains a political prisoner and a 

victim of Vladimir Putin’s authoritarian state: Now, 

therefore, be it 

1 Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives 

2 concurring), That Congress— 

3 (1) condemns in the strongest possible terms 

4 the unjust and arbitrary detention of Russian demo5 cratic opposition leader Vladimir Kara-Murza; 

6 (2) calls on the Russian Federation to imme7 diately release Mr. Kara-Murza and all other Rus8 sian opposition leaders who are detained as a result 

9 of their opposition to the Putin regime; 

10 (3) calls on all Russian citizens to outright con11 demn Russia’s illegal and unjust invasion of Ukraine 

12 in the spirit of Mr. Kara-Murza’s defiant opposition 

13 stance in front of the Arizona House of Representa14 tives in March 2022; 


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1 (4) expresses solidarity and calls for the release 

2 of all political prisoners in Russia and Belarus as 

3 well as Ukrainian citizens illegally held as prisoners 

4 by Putin’s regime in violation of the rule of law as 

5 a result of their support for liberal democratic val6 ues; and 

7 (5) calls on the President of the United States 

8 and leaders from across the free world to work tire9 lessly for the release of political prisoners in Russia 

10 and increase support for those advocating for democ11 racy in Russia as well as independent media and 

12 civil society which Mr. Kara-Murza has worked to 

13 further. 

14 That Congress— 

15 (1) condemns in the strongest possible terms the 

16 unjust and arbitrary detention of Russian democratic 

17 opposition leader Vladimir Kara-Murza; 

18 (2) calls on the Russian Federation to imme19 diately release Mr. Kara-Murza and all other Russian 

20 opposition leaders, including Alexei Navalny, who are 

21 detained as a result of their opposition to the Putin 

22 regime; 

23 (3) calls on all Russian citizens to outright con24 demn Russia’s illegal and unjust invasion of Ukraine 

25 in the spirit of Mr. Kara-Murza’s defiant stance in 


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1 front of the Arizona House of Representatives in 

2 March 2022; 

3 (4) expresses solidarity with and calls for the re4 lease of all political prisoners in Russia and Belarus, 

5 as well as Ukrainian citizens illegally held as pris6 oners by Putin’s regime in violation of the rule of law 

7 as a result of their support for liberal democratic val8 ues; and 

9 (5) calls on the President of the United States 

10 and leaders from across the free world to work tire11 lessly for the release of political prisoners in Russia 

12 and increase support for those advocating for democ13 racy in Russia, as well as independent media and 

14 civil society which Mr. Kara-Murza has worked to 

15 further. 


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Calendar No. 52 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. CON. RES. 7 

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 

Condemning Russia’s unjust and arbitrary detenin Russia. racy, the rule of law, and free and fair elections Murza who has stood up in defense of democ- tion of Russian opposition leader Vladimir KaraMAY 4, 2023 

Reported with an amendment and an amendment to the 

preamble 


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