Russian Federation

09/10/2020

Memory Laws in Russia and Other Restrictions on Freedom of Expression

Under the European Convention on Human Rights, states must guarantee free and open debates about the past. Yet, with the rise of memory laws, the right to free expression has been endangered.
16/09/2020

Is the Impossible Possible? International Monitoring of Regional and Local Elections in the Russian Federation

In August 2019, several international organisations received a request to send observers to monitor elections in Moscow and St. Petersburg. But the attempt to involve international observers in these elections ended in failure: international observation of the nationwide single voting day on 8 September, 2019, was not implemented.
28/08/2020

The Case of the Khachaturyan Sisters: A Turning Point in Russian Domestic Violence Law?

Russia still has no domestic violence legislation. Will the case of the Khachaturian sisters, three girls who have been subjected to abuse by their father for many years, become a turning point in the adoption of such a law?
23/07/2020

Extradition from the EU to Russia as a Pretext

What is the future of Russian citizens extradited from EU countries to their homeland? According to the European Convention on Human Rights and European human rights case law, a country attempting to extradite an accused person must assess the risks that the person may face. But do the European courts assess these risks correctly?
24/06/2020

The Economics of Migration: Russian Experience

Migration in today's world is a complex phenomenon that can have both positive and negative impact: a smart and flexible migration policy can help countries strengthen their social, economic and political ties and open up new sources of capital and investment. In contrast, an irrational and excessively restrictive migration policy can cause imbalances in the labour market and income inequalities between immigrants and local residents, potentially leading to high levels of social tension.
28/05/2020

The Right to a Fair Trial in the Context of COVID-19 in Russia

On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization announced the COVID-19 to be a pandemic. Most countries including Russia have taken measures to combat coronavirus, and some of these measures have also affected the judicial system. But are they consistent with the country's fair trial obligations under international law?
30/04/2020

Standing Up for the Rights of Women Living with HIV: Common Challenges

More than one million people currently live with HIV in Russia. Having long moved beyond the so-called risk groups, the virus is rapidly spreading in the general population. However, with the right treatment, HIV is a chronic manageable disease which cannot be transmitted via casual contact. Yet despite the increasing availability of current and accurate information about HIV, with large-scale awareness campaigns running from time to time across the country, HIV stigma and discrimination persist.
07/04/2020

Unemployment, Stigmatisation, and Social Control: What Convicted Women in the North Caucasus Face

We know little about the lives of convicted women in Russia as a whole, and even less about the lives of convicted women in the North Caucasus. Crime is considered a huge disgrace for families in the region, and so the difficulties faced by ex-convicts are not discussed.
13/02/2020

The Future of Human Rights and the Council of Europe: The Need for a Reset

The EU-Russia Legal Dialogue symposium was held in Berlin on October 31–November 2, 2019. Its theme was “The Role of Civil Society in the Council of Europe: Strengthening Mechanisms to Address Current Challenges in Human Rights and the Rule of Law.” Lawyers and representatives of NGOs discussed how to interact with the Council of Europe in the current political conjuncture.
16/10/2019

Realities of Russian Legal Profession: Violence, Harassment and Internal Conflicts

Being searched or removed from the courtroom, having one’s phone tapped and email hacked — these and other violations have become routine in the daily lives of many Russian lawyers. The challenges they face are driven by external factors as well as those arising inside the corporation.
18/07/2019

Garbage Winds Getting Stronger

Why a garbage crisis has struck Russia and what has been the role of the new waste management reform, why the Soviet system of waste collection and recycling collapsed and how residents of Arkhangelsk and other Russian regions are fighting for their environmental rights—this and more in an interview with lawyer Pavel Moiseev, Head of the Legal Department at the Bellona Environmental Rights Centre.
05/04/2019

Incendiary Content

The Council of Europe and the European Union have been trying to curb hate speech on the internet, but social networks are at loggerheads with the human rights paradigm.