JRL NEWSWATCH: “Russia’s Military Buildup Near Ukraine Is an Open Secret” – WSJ
Satellite images, social media posts and flight-tracking data allow private analysts to track details governments once classified […]
» Read moreTag: Nonprofits
The Week In Russia: The Shifting Shape Of The Past
Here are some of the key developments in Russia over the past week and some of the takeaways going forward […]
» Read moreJRL NEWSWATCH: “Russia clamps down on historical memory and justice” – Financial Times
“The threat to liquidate the research group Memorial is an assault on a brave outpost of post-Soviet civil society.” “… Putin’s crackdown on dissent is inextricable from a desire to control Russia’s past. … Memorial has [painstakingly] compiled a database of more than 3m victims of Soviet political repression, mostly … executed, imprisoned, sent to labour camps or exiled during […]
» Read moreRUSSIALINK: “Moscow Court Begins Hearings on Closing Top Rights Center” – Moscow Times
A court in Moscow on Tuesday began hearings into a request by prosecutors to shut down a key center of Russia’s leading rights group Memorial […]
» Read moreRUSSIALINK: “Navalny, associates charged with extremist network establishment, participation – Russian Investigative Committee” – Interfax
MOSCOW. Sept 28 (Interfax) – The Russian Investigative Committee has opened a criminal case against opposition activist Alexei Navalny, who is serving time in a penitentiary in Russia, and his close associates on counts of establishing and participating in the activity of an extremist network. “The Main Investigative Department of the Investigative Committee has opened a criminal case under Part […]
» Read moreU.S. State Department: “The Russian Federation’s Duma Elections”
The September 17-19 Duma elections in the Russian Federation took place under conditions not conducive to free and fair proceedings […]
» Read moreGood News and Bad about Upcoming Elections, Golos Leader Says
… he [indicates] there are several reasons to think … the upcoming Duma elections will be subject to more falsification than ever before and even more reason to think that the regime … may simply decide[] not to hold elections anymore [….]
» Read moreRUSSIALINK: “Russia Brands Independent Monitor ‘Foreign Agent’ Ahead of Election” – Moscow Times
… Created in 2000, Golos had notably denounced election rigging in the 2011 parliamentary election and the 2012 presidential vote which saw Putin return to the Kremlin […]
» Read morePoll Says Nearly Half Of Russians See ‘Foreign Agent’ Law As Pressure Tool
[T]he “foreign agents” law has been modified and toughened repeatedly and used increasingly against independent groups ahead of elections[…]
» Read moreRussian Lawmakers Take Step Toward Ban Of Navalny Supporters From All Elected Posts
… The measure appears aimed at neutralizing the foundation of jailed opposition politician Aleksei Navalny, which Russian authorities are seeking to have declared “extremist” ahead of parliamentary elections […]
» Read moreJRL NEWSWATCH: “Russia’s Navalny Fights to Stay in Public Eye in Putin Standoff” – Wall Street Journal
“Imprisoned dissident’s supporters are looking for new ways to maintain his visibility and, they say, keep him alive.” “… Russian authorities are moving to have [Navalny’s] political movement, including his anticorruption foundation, declared an extremist organization, putting it on a par with terrorist groups such as al Qaeda or violent religious cults. The move would choke off funding and provide […]
» Read moreRUSSIALINK: “Navalny Has ‘Recovered’ After Hunger Strike — Prisons Chief” – Moscow Times
(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – May 20, 2021) Jailed Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny has recovered after he ended a 24-day hunger strike last month demanding adequate medical treatment, a top aide and the head of Russia’s prison service said Thursday. Navalny, President Vladimir Putin’s best known domestic critic, is serving two-and-a-half years in a penal colony outside Moscow on old […]
» Read moreThe Inconvenient Sakharov: His legacy is a moral challenge to the Kremlin, to Western elites and to many of Russia’s oppositionists
Subject: THE INCONVENIENT SAKHAROV Date: Thu, 20 May 2021 From: DDGlinski <DDGlinski@alumni.harvard.edu> THE INCONVENIENT SAKHAROV His legacy is a moral challenge to the Kremlin, to Western elites and to many of Russia’s oppositionists by Dmitri Glinski Dmitri Daniel Glinski, Ph.D., a member of the council of the Democratic Russia Movement in the early 1990s and of Russia’s Constitutional Consultative Assembly […]
» Read moreRUSSIALINK: “Russians’ Views of Navalny Protests Increasingly Negative – Poll” – Moscow Times
… Young people and new media readers were more likely to view the protests positively, while older age groups and television viewers held more negative attitudes […]
» Read moreJRL NEWSWATCH: “Moscow court restricts Navalny’s anti-corruption foundation” – AP
“A Moscow court … restricted … an organization founded by … Navalny, pending a decision on whether it and his offices across Russia should be outlawed as extremist groups. … another step in the sweeping crackdown on Navalny, his allies and his political infrastructure. The Moscow prosecutor’s office … [has] petitioned the court to label the foundation and Navalny’s network […]
» Read moreJRL NEWSWATCH: “Jailed Russian Dissident Alexei Navalny Ends Hunger Strike” – Wall Street Journal
“Opposition leader says doctors advised him to end the hunger strike because it was threatening his life.” “… Navalny announced Friday that he would end a weekslong hunger strike after he received medical treatment and his doctors warned that continuing to refuse food could kill him. … Navalny … started his hunger strike … to protest poor treatment in prison […]
» Read moreJRL NEWSWATCH: “House of the dead: Does the Kremlin want Alexei Navalny to die in prison? It is beginning to look like it” – The Economist
“… Putin may have hoped that locking up … political opponent [Navalny] in a harsh [Pokrov] penal colony would finally put him out of sight and out of mind. … [Navalny] has been on a hunger strike … protesting … the appalling conditions of his confinement … deprived … of sleep and … medical care. … [with] a fever and […]
» Read moreHouse Arrest Of Navalny Associates Replaced With Milder Restrictions
… The Memorial Human Rights Center in Moscow has recognized the group as political prisoners […]
» Read moreRussia’s Navalny Says Risks Solitary Confinement Over Prison Infractions
Jailed Kremlin critic Aleksei Navalny says he fears the possibility of solitary confinement in a punishment cell after being accused of minor infractions. … six reprimands within two weeks at the correctional colony where he is being held. […]
» Read moreRussian Oversight Commission Meets Navalny In Prison
Members of the Public Oversight Commission in the Vladimir Region have met with jailed opposition leader Aleksei Navalny following … complaints about … declining health and poor medical treatment […]
» Read moreVIDEO: JRL NEWSWATCH: “How Putin keeps his grip over Russia, even with support waning” – ABC
“How much of a challenge does Alexey Navalny pose to the Russian leader?” “[VIDEO FOLLOWS BELOW:] … [After] Navalny … survived a nerve agent poisoning … [and returned to] Moscow … The Kremlin[] … swiftly sentenced [him] to … prison in a trial condemned internationally as … politically motivated. … [Subsequent] large protests … were swiftly and robustly suppressed … […]
» Read moreNavalny Moved To Penitentiary In Pokrov, Says Russian News Agency
Russia state news outlet TASS has been reporting that opposition politician Aleksei Navalny is being held in a penitentiary in … Pokrov, though the anti-corruption campaigner’s staff say they have not received official confirmation of his whereabouts […]
» Read moreProminent Russian Rights Group Shuts Down Over ‘Foreign Agent’ Laws
Veteran Russian activist Lev Ponomaryov has shut his well-respected human rights organization due to the country’s controversial laws on “foreign agents” […]
» Read moreRussian Duma OKs Bill To Fine Violators Of Controversial ‘Foreign Agents’ Law
… First passed in 2012 and expanded …, the law gives authorities the power to brand nongovernmental organizations, human rights groups, news media, and individuals working for organizations deemed to receive foreign funding for political activity as a “foreign agent” […]
» Read moreBy Attacking Navalny, Yavlinsky Confirms Him as Opposition Leader of the Future, Gallyamov Says
(Paul Goble – Window On Eurasia – Staunton, Feb. 8, 2021) Grigory Yavlinsky’s diatribe against Aleksey Navalny is “yet another confirmation” that Navalny’s position as leader of the opposition is solidifying, something Yavlinsky, an opposition leader from the 1990s, cannot bear but that is only good news for Navalny, Abbas Gallyamov says. For Russian voters, who attacks someone is often […]
» Read moreRUSSIALINK: “1 in 4 Russians Watched Navalny’s ‘Putin Palace’ Investigation – Poll” – Moscow Times
… Young people were more likely to have watched the video … with 37% of those in the 18-24 age group watching it […]
» Read moreAndrei Liakhov: “Subject: Navalny saga: What does it mean?”
Subject: Navalny saga: What does it mean? Date: Sat, 6 Feb 2021 From: Andrei Liakhov <gaffriloff@yahoo.co.uk> [About: third-rome.com/en/team/] In its article dated 9 December 2011 New York Times described Navalny as a representative of the movement uniting skinheads and neonazis and mentioned an early Nalavny video where he called for physical elimination of Caucasian militants. I think it is the […]
» Read moreRUSSIALINK: “True Beliefs and Opportunism: Navalny’s Tangled Political Development” – Moscow Times
… Navalny, who has channeled the frustrations of Russians … to rally tens of thousands to protests …, has been on a complex ideological journey throughout his two decades in Russian politics […]
» Read moreNavalny’s Supporters have Tripled since 2013 but his Opponents Still Consolidated Behind Putin, Levada’s Denis Volkov Says
… Navalny enjoys particular popularity among the young who formed a large share of those taking part in [recent] demonstrations […]
» Read moreJRL NEWSWATCH: “Russian opposition activist Navalny calls for supporters to take to the streets this weekend” – bne Intellinews/ Ben Aris
“Jailed anti-corruption blogger and opposition activist Alexei Navalny has called on Russians across the country to take to the streets this weekend …. Navalny appears to be hoping for a repeat of the 2013 demonstrations where thousands … gathered outside the Kremlin … to protest against his arrest at that time. … [T]he Kremlin backed down and released him, but […]
» Read moreJRL NEWSWATCH: “Navalny Goes on Trial in Police Station Following Return to Russia” – Moscow Times
“Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny will be kept in custody until mid-February, a court ruled Monday, following his detention Sunday evening at Moscow’s Sheremetyevo airport. The 44-year-old opposition leader flew back to Moscow after spending several months in Germany recovering from a poisoning attack that he said was carried out on the orders of President Vladimir Putin. In the hearing Monday, […]
» Read moreJRL NEWSWATCH: “Navalny Returns to Russia” – Moscow Times
“Chief Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny returned to Russia from Germany … and was immediately detained. The 44-year-old opposition leader flew back to Moscow after spending several months in Germany recovering from a poisoning attack that he said was carried out on the orders of President Vladimir Putin. …” Click here for: “Navalny Returns to Russia” – Moscow Times [Navalny image […]
» Read moreJRL NEWSWATCH: “‘Meet Me,’ Alexei Navalny Wrote; The opposition leader is setting up a showdown with both Putin and the people. Who will rise to the occasion?” – Moscow Times/ Sam Greene
“‘Meet me.’ With those … words … just one word in Russian … Navalny announced his return to Russia [Jan. 17], after … recuperating in Berlin from an attempt to poison him with … nerve agent Novichok. … Opposition supporters … have clearly taken his message as an invitation to show up … [despite winter weather]. Most commentators … expect […]
» Read moreJRL NEWSWATCH: “Russia’s authorities increase pressure on NGOs with plans to strengthen ‘foreign agent’ laws” – Meduza
“… Russia’s Government Cabinet … submitted a bill to the State Duma … strengthening the Justice Ministry’s control over NGOs … [designated as] foreign agents[.] [The bill would] empower[] … authorities to dissolve these organizations or … hinder their work. … requir[ing them] to inform Russia’s Justice Ministry of all of … [planned] programs and events … [T]he Justice Ministry […]
» Read moreJRL NEWSWATCH: “Alexei Navalny Supporters Probe How the Russian Opposition Leader Was Poisoned” – Wall Street Journal/ Thomas Grove, Ann M. Simmons
“Team scoured his hotel room and found a water bottle they say has traces of Novichok, a nerve agent” “… [A]fter … Navalny collapsed … on a plane over Siberia with signs of poisoning, his supporters rushed to [his] hotel room ….. bagg[ing] everything they could find … in the hopes of solving the mystery …. Days later, German doctors […]
» Read moreJRL NEWSWATCH: “Post about Love” – Alexey Navalny/ Instagram
“Julia and I had our anniversary … 20 years of being wed … You, of course, have seen this a hundred times … one loving person lies in a coma … the other brings him back to life with her love and incessant care […]”
» Read moreJRL NEWSWATCH: “What Navalny’s Poisoning Really Says About the Current State of Putin’s Russia” – The New Yorker/ Joshua Yaffa
“… This guessing game, though tempting, is not only unsolvable; it misses the insight that attacks like Nemtsov’s murder and Navalny’s poisoning really offer about Putin’s Russia — the most pernicious and terrifying fact is not whether Putin did or did not issue orders to his underlings to off perceived enemies but that anyone from the ruling circle can use […]
» Read moreWhere U.S. Sees Democracy Promotion, Russia Sees Regime Change
In the aftermath of the revelation of Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election … Putin rejected those claims and accused the U.S. of interfering in Russian elections instead […]
» Read moreVIDEO JRL NEWSWATCH: “Virtual Event: Russian Civil Society in the Time of COVID-19 proceedings” – The Harriman Institute at Columbia University
“… Russia’s restrictions of movement and extensive use of surveillance technologies during the coronavirus pandemic have raised concerns about possible damage to civil society and community organizing. Has the coronavirus pandemic disrupted civil society development in Russia, or has this peculiar time drawn more attention to the need for citizen-run efforts to better life in the country? … [The] panel […]
» Read moreContagious Solidarity: As Russia Faces Growing COVID-19 Crisis, Independent Activists Gear Up To Help
(Article text ©2020 RFE/RL, Inc., Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty – rferl.org – Lyubov Chizhova, Aleksandr Litoi, Robert Coalson – ST. PETERSBURG, Russia, March 25, 2020 – article text also appeared at rferl.org/a/contagious-solidarity-as-russia-faces-growing-covid-19-crisis-independent-activists-gear-up-to-help/30509363.html) Aleksandra Krylenkova is a human rights activist with a long track record. In recent months, she has been campaigning in support of the defendants in the so-called Network […]
» Read moreRUSSIALINK: “Navalny Links $50M Jet to Russian PM Medvedev’s Wife” – Moscow Times
(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Dec. 4, 2019) Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev’s wife jetsets on the government’s dime, prominent Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny has said in a new video published ahead of Medvedev’s annual end-of-year interview with reporters from 20 television channels. [https://navalny.com/p/6276/] Medvedev, the subject of Navalny’s viral 2017 investigation into corruption that has been viewed 32.7 million […]
» Read moreWhy does Russia need a new “foreign agent” law? Russia’s parliament has passed a law that will allow individual citizens to be labelled “foreign agents”. What effect will it have on the country’s most active citizens?
(Opendemocracy.net – Ivan Davydov – Dec. 4, 2019) Ivan Davydov is a Russian journalist and writer. His articles can be seen at The New Times, Republic, Inliberty and Gazeta.ru, among other publications. In case you missed it, Russian MPs have spent the past several years debating amendments to media and information legislation which would allow the state to give individual […]
» Read moreRUSSIALINK: “‘Where Is Our Land?’: Challenges for Indigenous Groups in the Russian Arctic” – Kennan Institute/ Arbakhan K. Magomedov
(Kennan Institute – wilsoncenter.org/program/kennan-institute – Arbakhan Magomedov – Nov. 14, 2019) Arbakhan Magomedov is visiting professor at the Russian State University for the Humanities. (RSUH). His fieldwork in the Far North was done as part of the project “Rising Voices of Northern Indigenous People in the Context of Growing Pressure of Russian Nationalism,” for which he received financial support through […]
» Read moreRUSSIALINK: “Supreme Court decision on movement For Human Rights shows authorities are not ready for criticism, compromise – HRW” – Interfax
MOSCOW. Nov 1 (Interfax) – The Russian Supreme Court’s decision on the liquidation of the movement For Human Rights led by Lev Ponomaryov indicates the flaws of the Russian judicial system and the position of the Russian authorities, which are not ready to take criticism and achieve compromises, Tanya Lokshina, associate director for Human Rights Watch’s Europe and Central Asia […]
» Read moreRussia Used $50 U.S.-Based Donation To Help Brand Navalny Foundation ‘Foreign Agent’
(Article text ©2019 RFE/RL, Inc., Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty – rferl.org – Todd Prince – October 10, 2019 – article text also appeared at rferl.org/a/russia-used-50-dollar-us-donation-to-help-brand-navalny-foundation-foreign-agent/30209400.html) A Russian citizen living in Florida says he donated $50 to an opposition politician seeking to run for a Moscow city-council seat. Now the Justice Ministry is using that as part of the reason to […]
» Read moreRUSSIALINK: “Serebrennikov’s house arrest prolonged by another 3 months” – Interfax
MOSCOW. April 2 (Interfax) – The Meshchansky Court of Moscow has extended the house arrest of the Gogol Center’s artistic director Kirill Serebrennikov, who has been charged as part of the Studio Seven case, until July 3, an Interfax correspondent reported. “The court finds that the state prosecutor’s request shall be granted and rules that defendant Serebrennikov’s house arrest shall […]
» Read moreSharon Tennison: “Video: Russian Journalist Dimitri Babich Speaks to CCI Group”
Subject: Video: Russian Journalist Dimitri Babich Speaks to CCI Group Date: Thu, 24 Jan 2019 From: Sharon Tennison <sharon@ccisf.org> Video: Russian Journalist Dimitri Babich Speaks to CCI Group: youtube.com/watch?v=Np0XktwyekQ&feature=youtu.be I want to share with you my favorite young news journalist in Moscow, Dmitri (Dima) Babich. He is one of our “CCI Experts.” I’ve known Dima a long, long time. He […]
» Read moreRUSSIALINK: “Russian Justice Ministry begins inspection of Memorial research center as foreign-agent NGO – Memorial” – Interfax
MOSCOW. Jan 14 (Interfax) – The Russian Justice Ministry is beginning to inspect the Memorial Scientific Research and Education Center on January 14 to see if it is fulfilling the functions of a foreign agent NGO, International Memorial’s press service said. The organization has provided all the documents the ministry requested, the press service said. “The Memorial Scientific Research and […]
» Read moreJRL NEWSWATCH: “In former Soviet states, a new tech-savvy resistance is stirring; From Russia to Armenia to Belarus there has been a surge in online justice campaigns. And it’s making a difference”- The Guardian/ Barbara von Ow-Freytag
“… innovative activism is emerging across the former Soviet Union. I work for an organisation that supports civic activists and I see a new energy, self-belief and creativity that defies the pessimism permeating western debates about civil society in the region. … these Generation Z activists … [have] linked … with designers, tech experts and artists to test new forms […]
» Read moreRUSSIALINK TRANSCRIPT: “[Putin at] Meeting of the Council for Civil Society and Human Rights; The President held a meeting of the Council for Civil Society and Human Rights” – KremlinRu
(Kremlin.ru – December 11, 2018) The Presidential Council for Civil Society and Human Rights is a consultative body that assists the President in exercising his constitutional authority in the area of protecting human and civil rights and freedoms. Speech at the meeting of the Council for Civil Society and Human Rights President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Colleagues, Today, we bid […]
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