Human Rights

Friday 2nd October

A dissident in the USSR, a dissident in Putin's Russia

2 October 2009

Alexander Podrabinek, a former Soviet dissident, provoked a furore when he criticised pro-USSR revisionism on his blog

Wednesday 30th September

Kazakhstan: warm up for the OSCE

Irada Huseinova, 30 September 2009

In 2010, Kazakhstan takes over the chair of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE). Increasingly strident attempts to muzzle independent voices in the Kazakh media suggests how the government is preparing itself, says Irada Huseinova

Monday 14th September

The Khodorkovsky-Ulitskaya correspondence

Ludmila Ulitskaya and Mikhail Khodorkovsky, 14 September 2009

An exchange between renowned novelist and jailed ex-oligarch opens a buried history

Wednesday 9th September

Freedom for Sale

John Kampfner, 9 September 2009

The middle classes the world over have spent 20 years swapping their freedoms for security and prosperity. While Putin delivered this neo-Hobbesian bargain in Russia, its ur-model is Singapore

Monday 24th August

Zugdidi: Will I ever go back?

Zygmunt Dzieciolowski, 24 August 2009

Georgian refugees from Abkhazia ask whether they will ever be able to go home

Thursday 16th July

Natalya Estemirova: kidnapped and murdered

polit ru, 16 July 2009

The human rights activist worked tirelessly to hold the Kremlin accountable for its actions in Chechnya

Thursday 11th June

The Vyatlag Archipelago

Ekaterina Loushnikova, 11 June 2009

Penal colonies still hold thousands of prisoners in the Kirov Oblast

Monday 8th June

Khodorkovsky and Lebedev on trial - again

Maryana Torocheshnikova, 8 June 2009

Surreal twists and turns as Russia's most famous oligarch reappears in court

Friday 5th June

Letters from Russia: Lipetsk ! You can get a life – in spite of everything!

Oksana Zagrebnyeva, 5 June 2009

An account of life in an industrial Russian town hard-hit by the economic slow-down

Friday 29th May

A sunny Mayday in Izhevsk

Nadezhda Gladysh, 29 May 2009

How do people spend a sunny public May holiday in the provincial city of Izhevsk ? Nadezhda Gladysh sets out with her collie dog Greg

Monday 27th April

Ending Chechnya’s counterterrorism operation - or not

Tanya Lokshina, 27 April 2009

The "ending" of counterterrorism operations in Chechnya is really no end

Wednesday 22nd April

Not quite white: an educated gastarbeiter in Moscow

Irada Huseinova, 22 April 2009

Educated gastarbeiters in Moscow may not sleep under lorries, but they are subject to prejudice and potential harassment, says Irada Huseinova

Wednesday 8th April

Blog for democracy, from the streets of Moldova

Natalia Morar, 8 April 2009

This impassioned blog comes from the streets of Moldova's capital. Natalia Morar is one of the young people who sparked the mass demonstrations against recent elections which returned the communists to power.

Wednesday 18th March

Undefended - Russia's migrant workers

Jane Buchanan, 18 March 2009

Russia's vast migrant workforce faces mounting abuse, reveals a new report

Diary of an Uzbek Gastarbeiter

Mumin Shakirov, 18 March 2009

An Uzbek physics teacher works as a builder in Russia to feed his family. Read his story

Tuesday 3rd March

Markelov: A Hero of our Time

Alexander Cherkasov, 3 March 2009

Human rights lawyer Stanislav Markelov was gunned down on a Moscow street in January. His friend, a leading light in Memorial, remembers him

Thursday 19th February

Battle for Russia’s past

Tatiana Kosinova, 19 February 2009

The raid by on Memorial's offices in St Petersburg in December 2008 has far wider ramifications for Russia's identity and history. What action have the courts taken? And what was the real purpose of the raid?