(Paul Goble – Window on Eurasia – Staunton, August 24, 2019) Many Russians believe that the anonymity policemen and Russian Guards feel in the uniforms they wear when moving against protesters gives the siloviki the feeling that no one will be able to identify the individual officers responsible and hold them accountable. Indeed, they suspect that is one of the […]
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(Window on Eurasia – Paul Goble – Staunton, November 23, 2014) De-Stalinization will have occurred not when everyone denounces Stalin in a chorus at the direction of the state but rather when each person can assess him in his or her own way and have debates about him, Vladimir Lukin says. Unfortunately, Russia has not succeeded in taking that step […]
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(RIA Novosti – Slovyansk, May 3, 2014) The Russian president’s special envoy Vladimir Lukin has commented on an audio recording, posted online by the Security Service of Ukraine [SBU], which, according to the SBU, was Lukin’s telephone conversation with leader of the Slovyansk defence forces Igor Strelkov. According to Lukin, this conversation did take place but its content has nothing […]
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(RIA Novosti – March 18, 2014) The Russian parliament voted Tuesday to appoint Ella Pamfilova to the post of Human Rights Ombudsman. President Vladimir Putin formally nominated Pamfilova, an outspoken Kremlin critic, for the post last month. The position, established in 1994, has powers to sue state agencies and the parliament on behalf of people whose rights have been violated. […]
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(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – March 6, 2014) Russian human rights ombudsman Vladimir Lukin called crackdowns on unsanctioned opposition protests illegal. According to Russia’s Supreme Court decisions, unauthorized protests were not necessarily illegal, Lukin said, Interfax reported. He added that often the protests pose no disturbance to citizens and that violations should only be pursued when the actions “create a […]
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(Kremlin.ru – February 13, 2014) Vladimir Putin met with Russian Human Rights Ombudsman Vladimir Lukin and Chairperson of the Presidium of the Civil Dignity national public movement Ella Pamfilova. Mr Lukin’s term of office as Human Rights Ombudsman expires on February 18, and Ms Pamfilova has been nominated to this post. The new candidate must be approved by the State […]
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NOVO-OGARYOVO, February 13 (RIA Novosti) – The Russian president formally nominated an outspoken Kremlin critic as Russia’s next ombudsman on Thursday, saying he expected her to watch Russia’s political life with “a critical eye.” Vladimir Putin told rights activists on January 23 that he would formally nominate Ella Pamfilova, former head of the Kremlin human rights council, to the post […]
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MOSCOW. Jan 17 (Interfax) – Vladimir Lukin should stay in the post of federal ombudsman, Mikhail Fedotov, the head of the presidential human rights council, told Interfax on Friday. “The right thing to do will be to keep Vladimir Petrovich Lukin in this post. He is ideal for this job,” Fedotov said. Russian State Duma Speaker Sergei Naryshkin earlier told […]
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MOSCOW. Dec 30 (Interfax) – Russian human rights ombudsman Vladimir Lukin has condemned the calls for toughening the Russian legislation and lifting the moratorium on the death penalty as a reaction to the terrorist attacks in Volgograd. “We shouldn’t give in to all hysterical calls to toughen everything, close everything, and introduce the death penalty. It’s what our enemies are […]
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MOSCOW. Dec 12 (Interfax) – The State Duma may pass the amnesty bill before December 25, Russian Human Rights Ombudsman Vladimir Lukin told Interfax on Thursday. “We have reached an agreement with the State Duma administration: they hope to pass the draft resolution on the amnesty in the first reading on December 17. It will be possible to speak about […]
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(Kremlin.ru – December 4, 2013) Vladimir Putin discussed the declaration of an amnesty to mark the 20th anniversary of Russia’s Constitution at a meeting with Presidential Adviser and Chairman of the Council for Civil Society and Human Rights Mikhail Fedotov and Human Rights Ombudsman Vladimir Lukin. Also taking part in the meeting were Deputy Chief of Staff of the Presidential […]
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(Interfax – Moscow, November 12, 2013) Pussy Riot punk group member Nadezhda Tolokonnikova has been placed at the medical unit of a prison colony in the Krasnoyarsk Region, human rights ombudsman Vladimir Lukin told Russian Interfax news agency. “Tolokonnikova has arrived in the Krasnoyarsk Region, where she will serve the remainder of the sentence. As I have been told, at […]
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(Interfax – November 5, 2013) Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, one of the convicted performers of the feminist punk group Pussy Riot, who is currently being transported to a new penitentiary, is feeling well and eating properly, Russian human rights commissioner Vladimir Lukin told Interfax on Tuesday. “Acting at the request of several human rights campaigners, I got in touch with the administration […]
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(Interfax – MOSCOW. September 24, 2013) Russia’s human rights commissioner Vladimir Lukin said he expected that the Russian authorities would not punish the activists of the Greenpeace environmental organization too severely for their protest rally against oil extraction in the Pechora Sea. “I hope that our authorities will realize that they nevertheless had admirable and noble motives and that they […]
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(Interfax – Moscow, July 18, 2013) Russian human rights commissioner Vladimir Lukin hopes that the appeal will lead to a serious change in the sentence given to opposition activist Aleksey Navalnyy, whom a court in Kirov jailed for five years. “I have no right to comment on the political aspect of the events. However, there will, most likely, be an […]
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(Interfax – MOSCOW, July 11, 2013) Russian Human Rights Commissioner Vladimir Lukin has denounced the postmortem conviction of late Hermitage Capital auditor Sergei Magnitsky by Moscow’s Tverskoi Court. “I object to trying people post mortem. There is an element of some ancient pagan mentality in this,” Lukin told Interfax on Thursday. “Then let’s arrange the trial of Ivan the Terrible […]
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(Interfax – July 9, 2013) Russia’s human rights ombudsman, Vladimir Lukin, has said he hopes the controversy over Russia’s “foreign agent” NGO law will subside if the legislation is amended to clearly distinguish between organizations engaged in political activity and those working on social issues, Russian privately-owned Interfax news agency reported on 9 July.(1) “Everything depends on which amendments are […]
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(Interfax – MOSCOW, July 10, 2013) The Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees’ (UNHCR) intervention would be the best way to break the deadlock in which former U.S. intelligence leaker Edward Snowden has found himself after being stuck at the transit area of Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport, Russian presidential Human Rights Council Chairman Mikhail Fedotov told Interfax on Wednesday. […]
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(Interfax – MOSCOW, July 2, 2013) Russian human rights commissioner Vladimir Lukin said he expected the economic amnesty, declared by the Russian State Duma on Tuesday, to have positive effect. “Any amnesty of not very serious criminals is a positive deed. I welcome this amnesty,” Lukin told Interfax on Tuesday. “Arguments on how wide and deep the amnesty is are […]
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(Interfax – June 28, 2013) Russian Human Rights Commissioner Vladimir Lukin does not think Russia should grant political refuge to CIS intelligence leaker Edward Snowden, and he sees his emergence at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport as not accidental. “Should we grant him political refuge? I can’t answer this question by saying ‘Yes’ or ‘No.’ I have doubts,” Lukin told Interfax on […]
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(Interfax – MOSCOW, June 22, 2013) Russian Human Rights Commissioner Vladimir Lukin described as arbitrary the eviction of the organization For Human Rights from its office in Maly Kislovsky Street in Moscow by city law enforcement agencies early on Saturday. “We will discuss with lawyers how to react to what happened,” Lukin told Interfax on Saturday. “Moscow authorities and police […]
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(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Igor Rozin, based on Interfax – June 12, 2013) Both opposition activists and the Russian human rights ombudsman Vladimir Lukin seemed satisfied with the results of the protest and did not advance any complaints concerning the police’s behavior. Some 6,000 people took part part in the opposition march in central Moscow on Wednesday, […]
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(Interfax – June 11, 2013) Russian human rights commissioner Vladimir Lukin said that he feared “unwise” application of a bill banning propaganda of non-traditional sexual relations, which the Russian State Duma could pass in the the second and third readings on Tuesday. “The main issue will be the administration of the law. Cruel and unwise administration could lead to human […]
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(Interfax – MOSCOW, April 2, 2013) Russian Human Rights Commissioner Vladimir Lukin has called for granting parole to the women from the Pussy Riot female punk band, who were earlier sentenced to two years in prison each for their stunt at the Christ the Savior Cathedral. “We expressed our disagreement with the court ruling convicting these two ladies, because we […]
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(Interfax – MOSCOW, April 2, 2013) Russian Human Rights Commissioner Vladimir Lukin has called on non-governmental organizations (NGO) to assess their ongoing inspections by law enforcement and tax agencies. “We have asked human rights organizations that have been subjected to inspections to send us documents and tell us how the inspections were conducted, how the law was abided by, and […]
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(Interfax – March 28, 2013) Russia’s rights ombudsman Vladimir Lukin presented a report on the observation of human rights in Russia in 2012 to President Vladimir Putin, the Interfax news agency reported on 28 March. He highlighted that not enough attention was paid to rights issues in some regions and expressed concern about pressure on regional ombudsmen. Lukin said that […]
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(Interfax – March 21, 2013) Russian human rights ombudsman Vladimir Lukin said he will continue insisting that the court reverse the conviction of members of the feminist punk group Pussy Riot. “No doubt, the case will go higher and will reach the Supreme Court. We have worded our position and it is unchanged,” Lukin told Interfax on Thursday. It was reported […]
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SOCHI, Russia. Dec 7 (Interfax) – Russia’s human rights ombudsman argued at a meeting with President Vladimir Putin on Thursday that the country’s prison system needs reforming, citing increasingly frequent protests by prison inmates, and asked for measures to prevent accidental explosions at military training sites. “This year there has been no big difference between the quantity and quality of […]
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