Weekly Update

#InMemoriam Rights in Russia was established 10 years ago on 19 January 2010 to mark the first anniversary of the murders of Stanislav Markelov and Anastasia Baburova.   

Read our weekly news summary: Week-ending 17 January 2020
Listen to our second adventure into the world of podcasts: Sergei Nikitin and Simon Cosgrove discuss human rights events of the past week. 

“Some time ago I read Orwell’s 1984 and found it the most chilling book I had ever read in my life – not least because society is sliding further and further towards 1984 before our very eyes.”  – Igor Kalyapin, head of the Committee Against Torture based in Nizhny Novgorod, discusses his life’s work in a major interview with ASI. Translated by Anna Bowles, Nina DePalma, Suzanne Eade Roberts, Mercedes Malcomson, Alissa Valles, Nicky Brown and Joanne Reynolds

“The authors of the foreign agent law scarcely had in mind increasing the national independent financing of nongovernmental organizations. Yet this, apparently, is exactly what we’re going to be able to achieve.”   – Aleksandr Cherkasov, chair of the board of Memorial Human Rights Centre, in an interview with Kommersant discusses the impact of the foreign agent law on his organisation. Translated by Marian Schwartz 

“They want to keep us in a state of fear, because they believe that is the way to hold on to their power”  – Svetlana Gannushkina on the current state of Russia. Translated by Rose Glickman 

“Irina Flige’s short book should be translated into English, if only because its deeper meaning is implicitly about the future of Russia as well as explicitly about its past and present.”  – Martin Dewhirst reviews Irina Flige, Sandormokh: dramaturgiya smyslov

“Article 15 […] sets out the relationship between national and international legislation. It can be found in Chapter One. […] one cannot make changes to Chapter One by introducing simple amendments.”  – In their weekly review, Team 29 consider changes proposed to the Russian Constitution by President Putin. Translated by Lindsay Munford

“The law enforcement authorities in Tatarstan were so displeased with a video mock-up of Putin, Peskov and Sechin on trial that they immediately launched criminal proceedings on two counts: inciting terrorism online and insulting members of the authorities.”  – Among the events listed by OVD-Info in their Weekly Bulletin is the case of Karim Iamadev who is currently held on remand. Translated by Judth Fagelson