Human Rights - Institute of Modern Russia

Latest Articles

Vladimir Gelman: “Russia’s leadership is increasingly facing problems of succession and lack of perspective”
“They keep attempting to extract testimony in exchange for my life”
Whither legitimacy? Lessons of Russia’s rigged elections
Scholars discuss a new book on Navalny adding touches to a portrait of the Russian opposition leader
The Biden-Zelensky summit: security, threats, and “working on mistakes”

September 2021: Chelyabinsk anarchists, Navalny, Valentina Chupik

Details: Human Rights

September 2021: Chelyabinsk anarchists, Navalny, Valentina Chupik

Details: 07 October 2021; Diana Fishman

In September, the Russian government continued its persecution of two anarchist movement members: a Chelyabinsk court handed down prison sentences to Dmitry Tsibukovsky and Anastasia Safonova for displaying a banner opposing the FSB. New criminal cases on bogus charges of extremism were opened against opposition leader Alexei Navalny and his associates. And human rights activist Valentina Chupik, who had been living in Russia under refugee status, was expelled from the country for criticizing corruption in the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

August 2021: Liya and Artem Milushkin, Idrak Mirzalizade, the “sanitary case”

Details: Human Rights

August 2021: Liya and Artem Milushkin, Idrak Mirzalizade, the “sanitary case”

Details: 08 September 2021; Diana Fishman

In August, in the runup to Russia’s State Duma elections slated for mid-September, the pressure on opposition activists increased. Former members of the Open Russia movement Liya and Artem Milushkin were given lengthy sentences in a fabricated drugs case. Several defendants in the so-called “sanitary case” were handed down guilty verdicts. For “undesirable” jokes about xenophobia in Russia, standup comedian Idrak Mirzalizade was expelled from Russia.

July 2021: Attack on the media, Alexei Pichugin, Jehovah's Witnesses

Details: Human Rights

July 2021: Attack on the media, Alexei Pichugin, Jehovah's Witnesses

Details: 06 August 2021; Diana Fishman

July was marked by increased government pressure on independent journalism in Russia. The investigative publication Project was recognized as “an undesirable organization,” The Insider as a “foreign agent,” more than a dozen journalists were also included in the list of “foreign agents.” As part of the Yukos case, Alexei Pichugin, political prisoner and the company’s former head of security, was transferred to Moscow, presumably to testify against his ex-boss, Mikhail Khodorkovsky. Meanwhile, the mass persecution of followers of Jehovah’s Witnesses continues in the Russian regions..

June-2021: Purges of the opposition, Hizb ut-Tahrir, the “palace case”

Details: Human Rights

June-2021: Purges of the opposition, Hizb ut-Tahrir, the “palace case”

Details: 08 July 2021; Diana Fishman

In June, the Russian authorities focused on purging the political space ahead of the September elections: Criminal cases were opened against oppositionists Maxim Reznik, Ketevan Kharaidze, and Dmitry Gudkov. New guilty verdicts were given to participants in the January protests in support of Navalny and against the arbitrariness of the authorities. Persecution of Muslims associated with the Hizb ut-Tahrir party—an organization recognized as terrorist in Russia—continued in the regions.

May 2021: Activists of the Perpetual Protest, Nikolai Platoshkin, Daria Polyudova

Details: Human Rights

May 2021: Activists of the Perpetual Protest, Nikolai Platoshkin, Daria Polyudova

Details: 06 June 2021; Diana Fishman

In May, the Russian state continued to put pressure on civil society activists, as several cases against them ended in guilty verdicts on trumped-up charges. The Perpetual Protest activists Olga Missik, Ivan Vorobyevsky, and Igor Basharimov were convicted of vandalism; the opposition politician Nikolai Platoshkin of inciting mass riots and spreading false information about the coronavirus; and the Left Resistance movement leader Daria Polyudova of public justification of terrorism.

April 2021: Navalny’s team, IStories and DOXA, Ivan Pavlov and new treason cases

Details: Human Rights

April 2021: Navalny’s team, IStories and DOXA, Ivan Pavlov and new treason cases

Details: 03 May 2021; Diana Fishman

April has been the busiest month this year in terms of the volume and severity of political persecution in Russia. The Kremlin launched a procedural attack to recognize opposition leader Alexei Navalny’s organizations as extremist, leading to their decision to dissolve. Searches took place at the offices and homes of the editor-in-chief of the investigative project IStories and the editorial team of the independent student magazine DOXA. Show trials continue for treason charges, with pressure mounting on Ivan Pavlov, the lead attorney in these cases.

March 2021: Navalny, Open Russia, Perpetual Protest

Details: Human Rights

March 2021: Navalny, Open Russia, Perpetual Protest

Details: 06 April 2021; Diana Fishman

In March, Russian authorities continued to purge the political space—a process triggered by Alexei Navalny’s activities, a surge in protest movement, and the start of the September election campaign. Navalny himself is facing serious health problems and harsh treatment from the colony administration. Pressure is growing on members of his team, as well as independent municipal deputies, whose forum in Moscow was dispersed by the police. The persecution continues of Perpetual Protest participants, who stand accused of vandalism against the Prosecutor General’s Office building.

February-2021: Anastasia Shevchenko, Yuri Dmitriev, participants of the January protests

Details: Human Rights

February-2021: Anastasia Shevchenko, Yuri Dmitriev, participants of the January protests

Details: 04 March 2021; Diana Fishman

In February, Russia saw the beginning of a large-scale wave of prosecution against participants of the January pro-Navalny protests. Out of the more than 11,000 people detained, 1,251 were subjected to administrative arrests in Moscow alone, and criminal cases were opened against 90. In addition, activist Anastasia Shevchenko was convicted in Rostov-on-Don for her participation in the work of an “undesirable” organization, and in Karelia a court upheld the conviction of historian Yuri Dmitriev.

January 2021: Alexey Navalny, Azat Miftakhov, Perm activists

Details: Human Rights

January 2021: Alexey Navalny, Azat Miftakhov, Perm activists

Details: 04 February 2021; Diana Fishman

January saw plenty of political turbulence in Russia—from opposition leader Alexei Navalny’s return to Russia and immediate arrest to mass protests that resulted in a harsh police crackdown. Also last month, Azat Miftakhov, a graduate student of mathematics at Moscow State University, was convicted in a politically motivated case, while in Perm, the prosecutor demanded to toughen the punishment for local activists in the so-called “Putin doll” case, deeming the initial sentence too lenient.

December 2020: Alexander Shestun, “spy mania,” Yulia Galyamina,

Details: Human Rights

December 2020: Alexander Shestun, “spy mania,” Yulia Galyamina,

Details: 05 January 2021; Diana Fishman

The last month of 2020 showcased some of the worst repressive trends in Russia. Former district official in the Moscow region Alexander Shestun, who gained publicity for releasing records of the region’s governor threatening him, was sentenced to 15 years in prison. Similarly long prison terms were given to residents of Kaliningrad, Antonina Zimina and Konstantin Antonets, for alleged treason, and to former Inter-RAO top manager Karina Tsurkan for alleged espionage. The politically motivated prosecution of Moscow municipal deputy Yulia Galyamina, however, resulted in a suspended sentence.

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