Latest

This week two foreigners were attacked in St. Petersburg. On September, 24th a student from India was killed and a Republic of the Sudan citizen was wounded.  Foreign students held a rally, demanding justice. In the same days strangers attacked two synagogues – in Astrakhan and Khabarovsk. (30-SEP-06)
 

By law in the Russian Federation the Church is separated from the State. It is not supposed to meddle into affairs of the State and vice versa. But in practice it is not so. (25-SEP-06)
 

Receantly the leaders of three Russian parties – Motherland, the Party of Life and the Party of Pensioners – have announced merger plans and their aim to become an opposition force. They agreed in principle that one of the main goals of the new party would be a political fight against United Russia’s Party monopoly on power. However, human rights activists believe that the merger is nothing more than Kremlin´s pet project. They believe that it is the President’s Administration that creates the new united party, which will present no opposition to the present regime. (16-SEP-06)
 

The Karelian town of Kondopoga was consumed by ethnic violence over the weekend, with angry and often drunken bands of Slavs waging an uncoordinated series of attacks on natives of the Caucasus. The situation in Kondopoga remains strained and far from peaceful. Human rights activists appeal to the Russian authorities to do utmost to prevent the nationalist attacks and xenophobia that is spreading in the Russian society and thoroughly investigate events in Kondopoga.  (07-SEP-06)
 

On September, 3rd policemen and OMON soldiers brutally broke up the rally in Moscow held in memory of Beslan victims. The investigation of tragic events in Beslan in September 2004 is being continued. Human rights activists believe that during two years the authorities made a show of investigation and didn’t try to answer the main question: “Who decided that there would be an assault and no negotiations, who violently ordered to begin the school’s storm?” (05-SEP-06)
 

On August 21st there was an explosion at the Cherkizovski market in Moscow. As a result, 10 people, including two children, died and another 50 people were severely injured. According to the investigation, the explosion was a hate crime. (26-AUG-06)
 

The new version of the law “On Counteraction to Extremist Activities” continues to attract keen attention of the independent media and human right activists. According to the amendments, adopted on July, 8th by the Russian State Duma in the third reading, any criticism against representatives of authorities could be considered as extremism. Human rights activists believe that the definition of extremism in the law is too wide and the authorities could use this law to repress any kind of dissidence, freedom of speech and make it an instrument of manipulations. (17-AUG-06)

Having abolished all independent TV channels and big media outlets, the authorities launched a campaign to liquidate all independent radio stations who openly criticized the government and the President.  This year alone two of Russia’s very few objective sources of information “Radio Svoboda’s” and “Voice of America’s” broadcasts were severely curtailed. (30-JUL-06)
 

On July 11th, ahead of the G8 summit the main leaders of Russian opposition and human rights activists gathered in Moscow for a two-day conference, called Other the Russian Federation. The conference focused on what the real the Russian Federation looks like and on ways to combat the Kremlin´s tightening grip on civil society. Trying to disturb the conference, the police detained many delegates. However, the gathering has also underscored the rifts dividing the opposition. (14-JUL-06)