Someone is Blinding Russian Opposition Activists with Chemicals. -Austin Wallace

Recently, two Russian opposition bloggers have been horrifically attacked with a caustic chemical known as zelyonka, and doctors now say their sight may never recover. This is part of a long history of chemical attacks in Russian politics, however, they seem to be moving onto hasher chemicals. The Kremlin has issued an order for the police to put an end to these illegal attacks, however, the reasoning may not be as simple as you may think. These kinds of attacks have shown to actually help rally support for the opposition movement, and many activists are now painting their faces green (a side effect of the green dye in the chemical) in solidarity for the victims, and as a symbol of the movement.

While these attacks are horrible, it says something about the resilience of the opposition movement and it's leadership to have been able to come out all the stronger for it. The ability to take your opponents ammunition and use it against them is an important skill for any movement to have. Russia is changing, and while the opposition movement may have a long and bloody battle ahead of them, from what they have all ready shown the kremlin and the world, I am confident they will succeed.

This can be synthesized to the Hamilton-Burr duel. People used to settle their political differences through violence, but as time progressed, political attacks took the form advertisements. Now it seems, like many things in Russia, time has gone backwards.

https://themoscowtimes.com/articles/someone-is-blinding-opposition-activists-with-chemicals-57866