Responding to reports of an activist being kidnapped in Kyiv and then imprisoned in Moscow amid allegations of torture, the newly-formed Coordinating Council of the Russian Opposition released a statement. oDRussia reproduces the text in English translation.
Today marks ten years since the start of the Nord-Ost theatre siege, which ended tragically with a bungled special forces operation and the deaths of at least 170 people. Irina Borogan and Andrei Soldatov, reporters on the scene, reflect on those dramatic days and the lack of a proper investigatio
We hear a lot about Russian organised crime and its links with the Russian state. But it operates not just at home: its reach is global. Euan Grant explains how it operates and what can be done to challenge its power.
The ‘March of Millions’ opposition protests in Moscow on May 6 turned into a bloody standoff between demonstrators and riot police. Regional journalist Leonid Kovyazin was one of many arrested still to be released. Ekaterina Loushnikova travelled to a village in Kirov to speak to Leonid’s family,
The draft law currently going through the Duma could definitely be regarded as tightening the screws on relationships between Russians and foreign organisations or individuals. A worrying turn of events, thinks Andrey Soldatov (photo: RIA Novosti Agency)
Rampant corruption among government officials is a given for most Ukrainians. A recent scam involved the purchase of school buses, which were so defective that fatalities were avoided only by a miracle. But without the political will at the very highest level, there is no chance that this case wil
The judgment in the Berezovsky vs Abramovich case was a long time coming. Berezovsky lost comprehensively, but Abramovich would do well to consider carefully whether his victory was actually worth winning, says Vladimir Pastukhov
Russia’s shadowy ‘Centre E’ was officially set up to combat extremism and terrorism, but is now mostly known for incompetence and harassing opposition activists. In any other country, the agency would have been wound up long ago, says Grigory Tumanov.
Reform of the Russian police, initiated in 2009 by then president Dmitry Medvedev, is still ongoing and mired in controversy. Asmik Novikova and Natalya Taubina of the ‘Public Verdict’ Foundation offer a progress report.
The gradual intrusion of the Orthodox Church into Russian secular life and the state is something that went largely unnoticed by the Russian public. The Pussy Riot trial is beginning to change all that, writes Sergei Lukashevsky.
For the population of Russia’s North Caucausus, crippled by war, violence and lawlessness, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) enjoys an almost mythical reputation. But even those who are successful in Strasbourg face an impossible struggle for full implementation of the rulings, says Grigo
In whatever country they manifest, life-limiting conditions are heartbreaking for children and their families. In Russia, a lack of resources and even more damaging disregard of children’s rights makes coping with the situation unneccesarily distressing, says Anna Sonkin
