In twenty-four hours, the verdict will be read out, and I’d like to say a couple of things before it is. To, so to speak, “put the numbers in context.” The sentence will be a long one. What people call a “Stalinist” sentence (evoking the harshly punitive sentencing of the Stalin era). The formula for calculating it is simple: whatever the prosecutor asked for, minus 10–15%. They asked for 20 years, so they’ll give me 18 or something like that. It doesn’t matter much, because right behind it, moving ahead at full speed, is the terrorism case. That can easily add another 10 years. So here is my first request. When the number is announced, please don’t show solidarity with me by lamenting and exclaiming, “Just like under Stalin.” Instead, show solidarity with me and with other political prisoners by taking a minute to think. Think about why such an ostentatiously huge sentence is needed. Its main purpose is intimidation. You are the target, not me. I’ll put it even more plainly: you personally, the one reading these lines.