Category: Human Rights

Georgy Satarov: ‘The Opposition Needs to Put the Authorities in Zugzwang’

Human Rights, Nonprofits, Activists, NGO's, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
Map of Russia and Russian Flag adapted from images at state.gov

(Institute of Modern Russia – imrussia.org – August 12, 2015) As part of the Institute of Modern Russia’s ongoing interview series with Russian and Western experts, imrussia.org editor-in-chief Olga Khvostunova sat down with INDEM Foundation president Georgy Satarov to talk about social discontent, the consequences of the law on ”undesirable organizations,” the principle of simplification in Putin’s politics, and the […]

» Read more
Leave a comment , , , , , , , , , ,

Kremlin Forms NGO Expert Group

Human Rights, Nonprofits, Activists, NGO's, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
Kremlin and River

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – August 11, 2015) The Kremlin has announced the creation of an expert group to consider changes to a controversial law that labels NGOs receiving funding from abroad as “foreign agents,” the RBC news agency reported Monday, citing deputy presidential chief of staff Vyacheslav Volodin. The group will work within the presidential administration and will consist […]

» Read more
Leave a comment , , , , , , , , , ,

BOOK REVIEW: “We are in power; that is democracy”

Human Rights, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
Boris Yeltsin and Vladimir Putin

(Business New Europe – bne.eu – Chris Weafer in Moscow – August 11, 2015) “Boris Yeltsin was able to have a constitution adopted in a referendum that guaranteed him broad powers and an almost complete lack of checks and balances – the first major step toward the poisoning of Russia’s political institutions and guaranteeing the transition to Vladimir Putin”. That […]

» Read more
Leave a comment , , , , , , , ,

‘Is your mum a foreign agent?’

Human Rights, Nonprofits, Activists, NGO's, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
File Photo of Kremlin Tower, St. Basil's, Red Square at Night

Russian NGOs, large and small, are facing closure after the blacklisting of their foreign funders. Colta.ru speaks to some of the organisations affected. (opendemocracy.net/Colta.ru – EKATERINA SELIVANOVA, NADEZHDA KONOBEYEVSKAYA, and YAKOV KAPITONOV – August 11, 2015) Ekaterina Selivanova is a Moscow-based journalist. She writes for Colta.ru and The New Times. Nadezhda Konobeyevskaya is an independent journalist, and writes for Novaya […]

» Read more
Leave a comment , , , , , , ,

Faced with Any Kremlin Action, Russians Want Explanations Not Change, Kirillova Says

Human Rights, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
File Photo of Kremlin Tower, St. Basil's, Red Square at Night

(Paul Goble – Window on Eurasia – Staunton, August 9, 2015) Many analysts in Russia and the West are speculating about whether the burning of food at the Russian border will finally be enough to spark major protests in Russia.  But they are missing the point: faced with any Kremlin action, no matter how absurd and immoral, Russians want explanations […]

» Read more
Leave a comment , , , , , ,

Most Russians Like Soviet Symbols But Lack Knowledge about Soviet Past – and That is Dangerous

History, Soviet Union, Human Rights

(Paul Goble – Staunton, August 7, 2015) A VTsIOM poll shows that the overwhelming majority of Russians have a positive attitude toward Soviet symbols but that a significant share of them do not know what those symbols stand for, a measure of the extent to which the Soviet past is being rapidly transformed for many of them from a harsh […]

» Read more
Leave a comment , , ,

Moscow Times/VTsIOM/Penn: Six in Ten Russians Would Support Internet Censorship During a Crisis

Human Rights, Media, Internet, Social Media, Television, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
File Image of Stylized Eye Surrounded by Binary Code

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Anna Dolgov – August 4, 2015) Nearly six in 10 Russians would support the government if it decided to pull the plug on Internet access inside the country in a crisis situation, a recent poll indicates. Support for online censorship or cutting off Internet access altogether was the highest among Russians who never or rarely […]

» Read more
Leave a comment , , , , , , , , , ,

Human rights activists fear Soros Foundation to leave Russia

Human Rights, Nonprofits, Activists, NGO's, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
Kremlin and Saint Basil's File Photo

(Interfax – August 3, 2015) The Soros Foundation could follow the MacArthur Foundation and National Endowment for Democracy and leave Russia, veteran of the human rights movement and head of the Civil Assistance committee Svetlana Gannushkina said. “I am afraid that the Soros Foundation is leaving Russia,” she said. According to Gannushkina, the probability exists that the Soros Foundation will […]

» Read more
Leave a comment , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Russian Poll Shows Strong Support For Internet Censorship

Human Rights, Media, Internet, Social Media, Television, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
File Image of Stylized Eye Surrounded by Binary Code

(RFE/RL – rferl.org – August 3, 2015) A new poll shows that nearly three-fifths of Russians would support “shutting off the Internet” in the event of a national emergency. According to the poll by the All-Russian Center for the Study of Public Opinion (VTsIOM), 58 percent of Russians would support such a move, while 49 percent support the idea of […]

» Read more
Leave a comment , , , , , , , ,

US expands sanctions day after Russia vetoes MH17 UN tribunal

Aviation, Drones, Disasters, Human Rights, Military, Sanctions, Terrorism, Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
Portion of U.S. Treasury Department Building Facade, North Side, with Sculpture of Alexander Hamilton

(Business New Europe – bne.eu – bne IntelliNews – July 31, 2015) [DJ: US Department of Treasury press release here http://www.treasury.gov/press-center/press-releases/Pages/jl0133.aspx] The US Department of Treasury announced on July 30 it would expand the sanctions against Russian and Ukrainian companies, officials and individuals, which “underscores US commitment to maintain the strength of existing sanctions and the unity of the international […]

» Read more
Leave a comment , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

NEWSWATCH The Economist: Russia’s prisons. Putin v Punk Pussy. A brave, brassy singer highlights the plight of Russia’s other inmates.

Corruption, Law, Police, Courts, Crime, Human Rights, JRL NewsBlog, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
Map of Russia and Russian Flag adapted from images at state.gov

The Economist magazine covers prisoners rights activism by Pussy Riot member Nadia Tolokonnikova. At the last count there were 657,000 Russians behind bars, one of the world’s highest ratios of prisoners to population. … The frequency of deaths in custody amounts to a ‘Russian Ebola’. Tuberculosis is the commonest killer, she says, followed by HIV-AIDS, which may affect 75,000 prisoners. … … prisoners routinely […]

» Read more
Leave a comment , , , , , , , ,

Ukrainian refugees in Russia receive a mixed welcome; Many people took refuge in Russia after fleeing eastern Ukraine last summer. Their experiences are far from uniform

Human Rights, Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War
Map of Commonwealth of Independent States, European Portion

(opendemocracy.net – Dmitry Okrest – July 28, 2015) Dmitry Okrest is a former staff writer with The New Times and currently works as an independent journalist. While the West thinks Russia is fighting a war with Ukraine, and Moscow calls the conflict a ‘civil war’, civilians continue to flee the combat zone in eastern Ukraine. Last summer, many people made […]

» Read more
Leave a comment , , , , , , , , ,

Russian human rights activists lodge appeals against law on “foreign agent” NGOs

Human Rights, Nonprofits, Activists, NGO's, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
File Photo of Kremlin Tower, St. Basil's, Red Square at Night

(Interfax – July 22, 2015) A number of Russian human rights advocacy organizations have lodged court appeals against their classification as “foreign agents”, privately-owned Russian news agency Interfax reported on 22 July. Earlier the Russian Justice Ministry released a statement saying it had sent messages to a number of NGOs working in the human rights sector and included on the […]

» Read more
Leave a comment , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

MacArthur Foundation to close office in Russia over restrictive new laws

Human Rights, Nonprofits, Activists, NGO's, Nuclear, Missile Defense, United States, U.S.-Russian Relations
Kremlin and Saint Basil's File Photo

(Russia Beyond the Headlines – rbth.ru – Anna Sorokina, RBTH, combined report – July 22, 2015) The U.S.-based MacArthur Foundation has announced that it is to cease its work in Russia in connection with new legislation that seeks to limit the activities of foreign organizations seen as a threat to national security. The MacArthur NGO, which receives no funding from […]

» Read more
Leave a comment , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Will the patriotic stop list kill Russia’s NGOs? Since 2012, Russian NGOs receiving funding from abroad have had to register as ‘foreign agents’. A new patriotic ‘stop list’ might shut this funding off forever.

Human Rights, Nonprofits, Activists, NGO's, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
File Photo of Kremlin Tower, St. Basil's, Red Square at Night

(opendemocracy.net – Vyacheslav Kozlov – July 22, 2015) Vyacheslav Kozlov is a journalist for daily newspaper Kommersant. He writes on international relations, nationalism, extremism, narco-politics, the Russian opposition and the problems facing Russia’s NGOs. He has at various times worked for Vremya Novostei, Moskovskiye Novosti and the online publication Gazeta.ru. His work has also appeared in Novaya Gazeta and Lenta.ru. […]

» Read more
Leave a comment , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Human rights NGOs hope to prove they are not foreign agents after Justice Ministry warning

Human Rights, Nonprofits, Activists, NGO's
File Photo of Kremlin Tower, St. Basil's, Red Square at Night

(Interfax – July 22, 2015) Leading Russian human rights organizations that have received warnings from the Justice Ministry intend to go to court to seek their removal from the register of NGOS classed as foreign agents. “We disagree with being entered on this register. We will go to court,” Svetlana Gannushkina, the head of the committee Civil Assistance, told Interfax […]

» Read more
Leave a comment , , , , , , , ,

Interfax: MH17 investigators have yet to establish type of missile – Dutch prosecutors

Aviation, Drones, Europe, EU, Human Rights, Military, Terrorism, Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War
Ukraine Air Crash Scene with Uniformed Security Personnel, Flames, Smoke

(Interfax – July 17, 2015) An international group of investigators probing the crash of the Malaysian Boeing in eastern Ukraine have yet to find out whether the plane was shot down from the ground or from the air, according to the Dutch prosecutor general’s office. “We are investigating the scenario of the ground-to-air missile that downed MH17 and the other […]

» Read more
Leave a comment , , , , , , , , ,

The Day Putin Became A Pariah

Human Rights, Terrorism, Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War
Ukraine Air Crash Scene with Uniformed Security Personnel, Flames, Smoke

(RFE/RL – rferl.org – Brian Whitmore – July 16, 2015) It was the day Moscow’s dreams of empire cost European lives. It was the day the Kremlin lost its last vestiges of credibility. It was the day when it became impossible to continue even pretending that Vladimir Putin’s regime was anything close to respectable. It was the day the mask […]

» Read more
Leave a comment , , , , , , , , , , , ,

UN: At least 5 million Ukrainian citizens in need of humanitarian aid

Health, Epidemics, Substance Abuse, Human Rights, Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War
UN Building file photo

(Interfax – July 10, 2015) At least 5 million Ukrainian citizens are in need of humanitarian aid, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said on July 10. And 1.4 million of them are internally displaced persons. According to the information of the UN, the most vulnerable group is people living in the area of the so-called “contact […]

» Read more
Leave a comment , , , , , , ,

Russian Presidential Council for Human Rights slams law on “foreign agents”

Human Rights, Nonprofits, Activists, NGO's, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
File Photo of Kremlin Tower, St. Basil's, Red Square at Night

(Interfax – Moscow, July 7, 2015) The Russian Presidential Council for Human Rights insists on the immediate cancellation of the Justice Ministry decision to include Dynasty [Dinastiya] and Liberal Mission foundations in the list of NGOs that are foreign agents and review of the law on NGOs. “Since the first days of the existence of this very approximate and therefore […]

» Read more
Leave a comment , , , , , , , , , , ,

Federation Council to present ‘patriotic stop-list’ of 12 NGOs to Prosecutor General’s Office, Foreign Ministry

Corruption, Law, Police, Courts, Crime, Human Rights, Nonprofits, Activists, NGO's, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections, Regions, Cities, Municipalities
Russia Regions Map

(Interfax – July 7, 2015) The ‘patriotic stop-list’ drawn up by the Federation Council consists of twelve foreign NGOs, Federation Council Chairperson Valentina Matviyenko has said at a press conference. “At our meeting tomorrow we will pass a related appeal to the Prosecutor General’s Office and the Russian Foreign Ministry and will present our patriotic stop-list consisting of twelve foreign […]

» Read more
Leave a comment , , , , , , , , , , ,

NEWSLINK Euromaidan Press: Putin regime can’t be reformed, only replaced, like its Soviet predecessor, Yakovenko says

Human Rights, Newslinks, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
Vladimir Putin file photo with VOA logo; screen shot from video still

“Having unleashed the imperial self-consciousness of the population, Yakovenko continues, ‘Putin not only does not want but cannot stop this insanity. He already lacks the powers to stop the war he began in Ukraine, even if he wanted to. He lacks the power to stop the hysteria of hatred in the media.’

» Read more
Leave a comment , , , , , , , , ,

Consumer-Rights Advocate Calls Putin ‘Paranoid’ After ‘Foreign-Agent’ Slur

Human Rights, Nonprofits, Activists, NGO's, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections, Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War
Vladimir Putin file photo with VOA logo; screen shot from video still

(RFE/RL – rferl.org – Tom Balmforth – MOSCOW, June 24, 2015) A Russian consumer-protection group lambasted by President Vladimir Putin as a “foreign agent” after giving cautionary advice to Russians traveling to annexed Crimea has accused Putin of “paranoia” and called him “badly informed.” Mikhail Anshakov, chairman of the Moscow-based Society for the Protection of Consumer Rights (OZPP), said his […]

» Read more
Leave a comment , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Moscow Edges Closer to First Referendum Since Soviet Collapse

History, Soviet Union, Human Rights, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections, Spies, Spy Allegations
FSB Building file photo

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Daria Litvinova – June 23, 2015) Moscow looks set to get its first referendum in post-Soviet times – and one of the burning issues on the ballot will be the restoration of a monument to the founder of the secret police to central Moscow. On June 11, the Moscow election committee approved the Communist Party’s […]

» Read more
Leave a comment , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Interfax: Chechen leader on Nemtsov murder, investments, oil, Ukraine, marriage

Assassinations, Beatings, Threats, Chechnya, Dagestan, North Caucasus, Human Rights, Nonprofits, Activists, NGO's
Caucasus Map of Chechnya and Caucasus Environs

(Interfax – June 18, 2015) The Kremlin-backed leader of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov, has suggested that the murderers of Russian opposition politician Boris Nemtsov should be sought in Ukraine, rather than in Chechnya. He praised his region’s economic potential and oil reserves. Kadyrov also slammed Committee Against Torture Russian human rights organization, accusing them of following the West’s guidelines to Russia’s detriment. […]

» Read more
Leave a comment , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Nearly 90% of Russians Oppose Polygamy, Poll Shows

Human Rights, Religion
Caucasus Map of Chechnya and Caucasus Environs

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Jennifer Monaghan – June 3, 2015) Weeks after a Chechen police chief took a 17-year-old local girl as his second bride, a state-run pollster has revealed that 87 percent of Russians stand opposed to the practice of polygamy among the population as a whole. The figure, based on a poll conducted by VTsIOM, represents a […]

» Read more
Leave a comment , , , , , , , , , , ,

Kremlin Critic Emerges From Coma

Assassinations, Beatings, Threats, Chechnya, Dagestan, North Caucasus, Human Rights, Media, Internet, Social Media, Television, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
File Photo of Kremlin Tower, St. Basil's, Red Square at Night

(RFE/RL – June 2, 2015) Friends and allies of prominent Russian opposition activist Vladimir Kara-Murza, Jr., who mysteriously fell ill with poisoning symptoms in Moscow, say he has regained consciousness after a weeklong coma. “Vladimir has come out of a coma,” former Russian oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky said in a June 2 tweet. Kara-Murza, 33, is a coordinator for Open […]

» Read more
Leave a comment , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Interfax: Probable Nemtsov murder weapon found

Assassinations, Beatings, Threats, Human Rights, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
Nemtsov March of Mourning

(Interfax – June 3, 2015) The police have found a handgun which probably killed opposition politician Boris Nemtsov, a source familiar with the situation has told Interfax. “The murder weapon has been found and enclosed in materials in the proceeding, examinations are in progress,” he said. The source added that the detectives had found several handguns, each of which was […]

» Read more
Leave a comment , , , , , , , , ,

Russian Constitutional Court says election monitor not “foreign agent”

Corruption, Law, Police, Courts, Crime, Human Rights, Nonprofits, Activists, NGO's
Russian Constitutional Court file photo

(Interfax – May 27, 2015) Russia’s Constitutional Court has again stated that a non-governmental organization (NGO) does not have to declare itself as a “foreign agent” if it has not used funds sent to its accounts from foreign sources, privately-owned Russian news agency Interfax reported on 27 May. The court made the statement, published on its website, in response to […]

» Read more
Leave a comment , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Russia Could Use Prison Labor For 2018 World Cup

Economy, Business, Investment, Trade, Human Rights, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections, Sports, Olympics, World Cup
Men Sitting Around Long Oval Boardroom Table, File Photo of FIFA Officials Meeting with Vladmir Putin

(RFE/RL – Tom Balmforth – MOSCOW, May 25, 2015) A prominent member of parliament for the ruling United Russia party has drafted a bill to allow enterprises to employ thousands of convicts as a cheap workforce to build infrastructure for the 2018 FIFA World Cup. The legal amendments reported on May 25 in leading business daily Kommersant create a mechanism […]

» Read more
Leave a comment , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Rights Groups Condemn ‘Dangerous’ Russian Undesirables Law

Foreign Policy, Security, Visas, Human Rights, Nonprofits, Activists, NGO's, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
File Photo of Kremlin Tower, St. Basil's, Red Square at Night

(RFE/RL – rferl.org – Tom Balmforth – MOSCOW, May 26, 2015) Rights groups named as potential targets of a new law allowing the government to brand international organizations “undesirable” and shutter their Russia operations have criticized the legislation, calling it a “dangerous” new weapon in a Kremlin campaign to suppress civil society. Activists expressed concern on May 26 that the […]

» Read more
Leave a comment , , , , , , , , , , ,

NEWSLINK UNIAN: Ukrainian prisoners in Donbas made slaves in Chechnya, relatives say

Chechnya, Dagestan, North Caucasus, Human Rights, Newslinks, Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War
Map of Commonwealth of Independent States, European Portion

From 400 to 700 Ukrainians captured in the Donbas conflict zone have been taken to Russia, and many sold into slavery in Chechnya, Ossetia and Adygea, according to an open letter of the relatives of prisoners to the Russian human rights defenders published on the Web site of Open Russia public organization on Wednesday, a Ukrainian news broadcaster has reported. […]

» Read more
Leave a comment , , , , , , , , , , ,

NEWSLINK Reuters: Russia plans detailed discussion on raising retirement age: document

Economy, Business, Investment, Trade, Elders, Human Rights, Newslinks
File Photo of Elders Walking in Russia

The Russian government has for the first time said officially it will hold discussions on raising the retirement age, a step whose supporters say is vital because the country’s workforce is shrinking. http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/05/14/us-russia-crisis-pensions-idUSKBN0NZ27R20150514

» Read more
Leave a comment , , , , , , , , , , ,

Putin Declares War on Russians’ Health

Budget, Health, Epidemics, Substance Abuse, Human Rights, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections, Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War
Medical Symbol with Pole, Serpents, Wings, adapted from image at lanl.gov

(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Marc Champion – May 14, 2015) At what point will Russians begin to question the choices being made by their government? Maybe when those choices start killing them. As Bloomberg’s Ilya Arkhipov and Henry Meyer report, Russia’s health system has suffered a severe reversal as a lower oil price has reduced government revenue and spending. Forced to pick […]

» Read more
Leave a comment , , , , , , , ,

NEWSLINK Washington Post: Boris Nemtsov’s last act of courage

Assassinations, Beatings, Threats, Human Rights, Newslinks, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections, Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War
Nemtsov March of Mourning

IN THE final years of his life, Boris Nemtsov never gave up on politics in Russia, even when many others were discouraged or frightened away from standing up to President Vladimir Putin. Mr. Nemtsov, once in the front ranks of Russia’s post-Soviet reformers, in the last decade and a half became a persistent Putin critic. To some, he was a […]

» Read more
Leave a comment , , , , , , , , , , ,

NEWSWATCH Reuters: Russian Court Quashes Latest Bid to Jail Kremlin Critic Navalny.

Corruption, Law, Police, Courts, Crime, Human Rights, JRL NewsBlog, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
Alexei Navalny file photo

Reuters covers the latest attempt to jail Russian lawyer, whistleblower and opposition figure Alexei Navalny. A Moscow court on Wednesday rejected a bid by law enforcement officials to have Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny jailed for violating the terms of his suspended five-year sentence on embezzlement charges. Navalny, who led mass street protests against President Vladimir Putin in 2011-2012, denies any […]

» Read more
Leave a comment , , , , , , , , , , ,

In Putin’s Russia, Universal Health Care Is for All Who Pay

Economy, Business, Investment, Trade, Health, Epidemics, Substance Abuse, Human Rights, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
Medical Symbol with Pole, Serpents, Wings, adapted from image at lanl.gov

(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Ilya Arkhipov and Henry Meyer – May 13, 2015) Expectant mothers in Moscow must wait as long as six weeks for ultra-sound scans, up from three days last year. Hospital outpatients pay for blood tests and X-rays that were free 12 months ago. And Marif Alekberov, a 27-year-old fireman with leukemia, is being told to find […]

» Read more
Leave a comment , , , , , , , ,

Nemtsov Report Says More Than 200 Russian Soldiers Killed In Ukraine War

Assassinations, Beatings, Threats, Human Rights, Military, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections, Spies, Spy Allegations, Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War
File Photo of Kremlin Tower, St. Basil's, Red Square at Night

(RFE/RL – rferl.org – May 12, 2015) [Report here https://openrussia.org/] More than 200 Russian military personnel have been killed in fighting in eastern Ukraine, according to a report based on research begun by slain opposition leader Boris Nemtsov. The estimated death toll is one of the main findings of the much-anticipated report on Russia’s involvement in the Ukraine conflict, which […]

» Read more
Leave a comment , , , , , , , , , , ,

Moscow Times: More Than 80% of Russians Favor State Censorship of Literature, Film, Art

Human Rights, Life in Russia, Culture, Arts, Media, Internet, Social Media, Television, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
File Photo of Kremlin Tower, St. Basil's, Red Square at Night

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Gabrielle Tétrault-Farber – May 8, 2015) Fourteen percent of Russians do not support state intervention when it comes to the content and dissemination of artistic creations, the survey also showed. A vast majority of Russians think the state should censor artistic creations believed to be vulgar, immoral or harmful to society, according to a survey […]

» Read more
Leave a comment , , , , , , , ,

Russian ombudsman checks reports of servicemen being coerced to fight in Ukraine

Human Rights, Military, Ukraine, Russo-Ukrainian War
Map of Commonwealth of Independent States, European Portion

(Interfax – Moscow, May 6, 2015) Russian Human Rights Ombudsman Ella Pamfilova has not confirmed reports of Russian servicemen’s presence on the territory of Ukraine. “Inquiries concerning each of the incidents mentioned in the press had been sent to military prosecutors of military districts and directly to the chief military prosecutor. It follows from the official replies received by the […]

» Read more
Leave a comment , , , , ,

Persecuted Russian Lawyer Finds New Ways Around Foreign Agents Label

Corruption, Law, Police, Courts, Crime, Human Rights, Nonprofits, Activists, NGO's, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
File Photo of Kremlin Tower, St. Basil's, Red Square at Night

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Sergey Chernov – April 29, 2015) The life of St. Petersburg human rights lawyer Ivan Pavlov has changed dramatically in the last 12 months. After his American wife was deported as a “threat to national security” in August, the family moved to Prague, but Pavlov returns regularly to lead high-profile cases and manage a group […]

» Read more
Leave a comment , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Civil Assistance NGO defies ‘foreign agent’ status, ready to go to ECHR

Human Rights
Map of Russia and Russian Flag adapted from images at state.gov

(Interfax – April 21, 2015) The Civil Assistance human rights organization will appeal the Russian Justice Ministry’s decision to assign it ‘foreign agent’ status. “Naturally, we will lodge an appeal against this decision with the district court,” the organization’s lawyer Kirill Koroteyev has said. “We will also request a suspension of the Justice Ministrys ruling because the filing of a […]

» Read more
Leave a comment , , , , , , , , ,

Sixty percent of Russian citizens deem death penalty acceptable – poll

Corruption, Law, Police, Courts, Crime, Human Rights
Map of Russia and Russian Flag adapted from images at state.gov

(Interfax – April 19, 2015) Sixty percent of Rusian citizens, compared to 80% in 2001, see the death penalty as an acceptable punishment, according to a poll conducted by the Public Opinion Foundation. The poll was held on April 11 and 12 among 1,500 respondents in 100 localities of 43 regions. Twenty-two percent of those polled, compared to 16% in […]

» Read more
Leave a comment , , , ,

Why Putin’s Next War Will Be at Home; A pollster and a former Putin adviser predict new popularity problems-and renewed focus on domestic enemies

Human Rights, Military, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
Vladimir Putin file photo with VOA logo; screen shot from video still

(Bloomberg – bloomberg.com – Leonid Ragozin – April 17, 2015) Vladimir Putin appeared this week in his annual marathon television broadcast to answer questions posed by viewers from across Russia. Of course, the four-hour show, Direct Line With Vladimir Putin, was carefully choreographed to avoid anything that could embarrass the Russian leader. But that doesn’t mean the broadcast shied away […]

» Read more
Leave a comment , , , , , , , , , , ,

‘Optimization’ of Health Reform Causing Russian Mortality Rate to Rise

Health, Epidemics, Substance Abuse, Human Rights
Medical Symbol with Pole, Serpents, Wings, adapted from image at lanl.gov

(Moscow Times – themoscowtimes.com – Anna Dolgov – April 15, 2015) Russia’s attempts to reform its health services have resulted in a larger number of people in hospitals dying and an increased mortality rate in the country in general, a report by the government’s accounting agency said. The hospital mortality rate increased by 2.6 percent last year compared to the […]

» Read more
Leave a comment , , , , ,

Why Russia watchers should listen to Glenn Greenwald

Human Rights, Politics, Government, Protests, Elections
Mercator Projection Satellite Image of Earth

(opendemocracy.net – Philip Evans, Associate Editor at oDR – April 2, 2015) Elites throughout the former Soviet Union are cracking down on dissent. But before Russia watchers start criticising the region’s repressive governments, they should first engage with the criticism, which has long been levelled at them. From Minsk to Astana, elites throughout the former Soviet Union are clamping down on dissent as […]

» Read more
Leave a comment , , , , ,
1 … 10 11 12 13 14 … 24