• 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.

  • Residents of Kudepsta, Sochi painted, "No to the Kudepsta power station!" on a bridge at the power plant site. Residents fear pollution, devaluation of properties, and devastation of the natural landscape and of the town's appeal as a tourist destination.
    © 2012 Brent Stirton/Reportage by Getty Images for Human Rights Watch
    Russia: Security Forces Shut Down Protest at Sochi Olympic Site
    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.
More news »

Featured Content

Subscribe to content feed

Reports

More >>

Russia

  • 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.
  • Universal Periodic Review: HRW Submission on Russia
    Apr 18, 2013
    Starting in June 2012, the Russian government reversed small, positive steps taken since the previous UPR, which had slightly loosened excessive government control over civil society organizations and aimed to improve pluralism in the political system. It launched a broad crackdown on freedom of assembly, association, and expression. Abuses in the counterinsurgency campaign in the North Caucasus continue. Several Russian regions have adopted homophobic laws, and preparations for the 2014 Olympic games in Sochi have been tainted by abuses.
  • Russia: Activist Held Without Bail
    Apr 17, 2013
    Authorities in Russia should free a civil society activist charged with misuse of government funds pending his trial.
  • Russia: Worker Exploited on Olympic Venues is Detained
    Apr 11, 2013
    The Russian authorities have unlawfully detained a migrant construction worker who was seeking to file a complaint for nonpayment of wages on Olympic venues in Sochi.
  • Keep the Pressure on Putin
    Apr 10, 2013
    If Vladimir Putin had hoped for an easy time during his two-day Germany visit this week, he must be disappointed. There were some positive headlines on the Russian president’s visit, of course. The Hanover Trade Fair, which he opened on Sunday, featured 170 Russian companies – a record for the fair and a sign of the growing power of Russian business.
  • Speak Up Against Repression
    Apr 8, 2013
    The Russian authorities’ inspections of the offices of German political foundations and hundreds of non-governmental organizations in Russia in recent days, including Human Rights Watch, have refocused attention in Germany on the crackdown on Russian civil society since Vladimir Putin returned to the presidency last May.
  • Russia: Woman in Dire Health Is Freed
    Apr 5, 2013
    Russian authorities on April 5, 2013, released a young woman with a severe health condition after three months in pretrial detention.
more documents on this topic »