• Human Rights in Russia

    Mass protests following Russia’s December 2011 parliamentary elections prompted promises of political reforms. However, after his return to the presidency, Vladimir Putin oversaw the swift reversal of former President Dmitry Medvedev’s few, timid advances on political freedoms and unleashed an unprecedented crackdown against civic activism. New laws restrict nongovernmental organizations, undermine freedoms of assembly and expression, and discourage international advocacy.New local laws discriminate against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people. Abuses continue in the counterinsurgency campaign in the North Caucasus.

  • On the night before the “foreign agents” law came into force, unknown individuals sprayed graffiti reading, “Foreign Agent! ♥ USA” on the buildings hosting the offices of three prominent NGOs in Moscow, including Memorial.
    © 2012 Yulia Klimova/Memorial
    Russia: “Foreign Agents” Law Hits Hundreds of NGOs
    Starting in early March 2013 the Russian government launched a nationwide campaign of inspections of nongovernmental organizations, unprecedented in its scale and scope.
More news »

Featured Content

Subscribe to content feed

Reports

More >>

Russia

  • Russia: More than 50 Groups Targeted
    May 21, 2013
    Council of Europe Secretary General Thorbjørn Jagland should urge Russian leaders to end the crackdown on civil society groups during his visit to Russia. Jagland is in Moscow on May 19 to 22, 2013 for meetings with President Vladimir Putin and the Russian parliament.
  • Russia: Investigate Homophobic Motivation for Killing
    May 15, 2013
    Russian authorities should ensure that the investigation into the murder of a young man in southern Russia includes whether he was murdered because his killers believed or claimed he was gay. Investigative authorities should examine all possible motives for the killing, including homophobia, due to the sadistic homophobic aspects of the crime.
  • Russia: The Day the Inspectors Came
    May 15, 2013
    We had been anticipating the inspection for a while. Such is the atmosphere in today’s Russia that many nongovernmental organizations can expect the knock at the door at some point. When they finally came to us, however, the visit was tinged with farce as well as stress.
  • Russia: “Foreign Agents” Law Hits Hundreds of NGOs
    May 14, 2013
    Starting in early March 2013 the Russian government launched a nationwide campaign of inspections of nongovernmental organizations, unprecedented in its scale and scope.
  • Submission by Human Rights Watch for the UK-Russia Human Rights Consultations
    May 7, 2013
  • Putin as President, One Year On
    May 6, 2013
    One year ago today, Vladimir Putin was sworn in for the third time as Russia’s president. He placed his hand on a copy of Russia’s constitution, saying, “I swear to protect and guarantee the rights and freedoms of our citizens.” But Putin has not lived up to that oath as the Russian government has unleashed a crackdown on rights that is unprecedented in the country’s post-Soviet history.
  • Russia: Security Forces Shut Down Protest at Sochi Olympic Site
    Apr 30, 2013
    Police and private security forces forcibly dispersed a group of residents protesting construction at a proposed power plant site in the Hosta district of Sochi on April 29. The security forces injured some protestors while aggressively dragging some of them off of a temporary bridge being built to enable machinery access the site.
  • Russia: Voters’ Group First Victim of ‘Foreign Agent’ Law
    Apr 25, 2013
    The decision of a Moscow court on April 25, 2013, to fine an independent nongovernmental organization and its leader is an alarming indicator for the future of civil society in Russia.
  • North Caucasus
    Apr 24, 2013
    The recent Boston Marathon bombings have pushed the blood-soaked history of Chechyna back to the top of the news agenda. Human Rights Watch has a long history of work in the region, generating a substantive body of research on Chechnya, Dagestan and Ingushetia.
  • Russia: Worst Human Rights Climate in Post-Soviet Era
    Apr 24, 2013
    The Russian government has unleashed a crackdown on civil society in the year since Vladimir Putin’s return to the presidency that is unprecedented in the country’s post-Soviet history.
more documents on this topic »