Published On: Mon, May 23rd, 2022

I’m Proudly Joining the List of Americans Banned From Russia and I Hope You Will Join with Me!

That’s me in Moscow in 2012 probably for the last time

Yes, I urge my fellow countrymen to join the 963 government officials and Americans whom the Russian Foreign Ministry has banned from entering Russia. 

While this self-imposed ban I’m proposing is symbolic, my hope is that it will send a clear message that we Americans are against autocrats invading other countries and is in reaction to the Russian Ministry’s banning nearly a thousand Americans from entering Russia.

The ministry’s ban is largely in retaliation for America’s supporting Ukraine against Russia’s unprovoked attack and our sanctions on Russia for having done so with such brutality amid a plethora of war crimes allegedly being committed.

The last time I was in Russia was in 2012.  I loved walking in Red Square in Moscow, which I’ll probably never see again, but I’ll be in good company.   Hopefully yours.

This self-imposed ban I’m proposing is voluntary and you may join by sending an email to BannedfromRussia@gmail.com.  In the meantime, we have reserved  www.BannedFromRussia.org and will be building a website there. 

So, I invite you to voluntarily join me and others on an expanded list of the banned Americans, including one of my Hollywood heroes, actor Morgan Freeman, to show Vladimir Putin we’re united in our disapproval and outrage over this authoritarian’s waging such a savage attack on a sovereign nation.  This unprovoked war has killed and maimed thousands of civilians, many of them innocent children, for no good reason other than an inflated pride and hunger for power. 

Morgan Freeman is accused by Moscow of having recorded a video in 2017 in which he claimed Russia was plotting against the United States.

The list comprising the 963 Americans already banned from entering Russia was published on May 21 and includes U.S. President Joe Biden, business leaders such as Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, and Jamie Fly, president of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, along with several current or former members of the board that oversees RFE/RL.

Also on the list are Vice President Kamala Harris, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, along with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (Democrat-California), and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (Democrat-New York).

Some like Jamie Fly say they are “proud to be included on this list” as his organization is accustomed to being attacked by authoritarians. “We know that history is on the side of the Russian people. We’ll continue to expand our reporting for Russian audiences at this critical moment,” he said.

Russia has even banned three former senators who will never visit Russia again.

They are John McCain (Republican-Arizona), Harry Reid (Democrat-Nevada), and Orrin Hatch (Republican-Utah), now all deceased, but at their last resting places probably proud to be on the list.   The Russian ministry also banned 26 more Canadians, including Sophie Trudeau, the wife of the Canadian prime minister.

The Russian Foreign Ministry said the move was in response to “the constantly imposed anti-Russian sanctions” and said it aimed “to constrain the U.S. which is trying to impose a neocolonial ‘world order’ on the rest of the planet…to change its position and recognize new geopolitical realities.”

Besides an inveterate blogger, Tom Madden is an author of countless published articles and five books, including his latest, WORDSHINE MAN, available now on Amazon. He also creates TV series like his latest Xtra Terresla whose main character is modeled after Tesla founder Leon Musk, soon to own Twitter. Madden is the founder and CEO of TransMedia Group, an award-winning public relations firm serving clients worldwide since 1981 and has conducted remarkably successful media campaigns and crisis management for America’s largest companies and organizations.

About the Author

- Sharing timely, newsworthy weekly blogs by the one and only Thomas J. Madden at https://maddenmischief.com and other newsworthy topics from his mighty PR firm TransMedia Group.

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