Justice

While teaching students about the architecture of his native Perm, Roman Yushkov has seen many of the Russian city’s finest buildings become history. He laments their passing, criticises the officials who let it happen, and wonders what the future holds for a place with no visible past.

Russia’s growing nationalist movement has alarmed many liberal commentators, who wonder how the country that defeated Adolf Hitler could have given birth to so many young men overtly sympathetic to his ideas. Journalist Olesya Gerasimenko, who has covered several neo-Nazi trials, wondered where the defendants came from: how Russian boys could go out and kill foreigners in cold blood. She persuaded three of the convicted murderers’ parents to talk to her.

Politician-blogger Alexei Navalny and writer Grigory Chkhartishvili (a.k.a Boris Akunin) conclude their dialogue with an exploration of what their country might look like after democratic change. What should be the priorities for a new and free Russia?

Negotiations over the Ukraine's EU Association Agreement were finalised last month, but Yulia Tymoshenko's continued imprisonment prevented the EU from signing off on a deal. Borys Tarasyuk wonders whether the Europeans may have overestimated their leverage in the matter, and whether their approach will turn out to be counterproductive.

The case against Yulia Tymoshenko, former Prime Minister of Ukraine, created a stir in Europe and further afield. The conviction and prison sentence were greeted with outrage. Her appeal against the verdict is about to come to court, but will any judges be brave enough to stand up for her rights? Natalia Sedletska thinks it unlikely.

The FBI’s investigation into the sleeper spy ring in the USA was an impressive intelligence operation, producing detailed, irrefutable evidence for the public record. The MI5 investigation into British parliamentary aide Katia Zatuliveter was quite different — superficial, speculative and secretive. Nick Fielding, an expert witness in Zatuliveter’s successful deportation appeal, believes serious questions must now be asked of the agency entrusted with Britain’s national security.

A British theatre company has brought a play about final hours of Sergei Magnitsky’s life to the London stage. Irina Shumovich reviews “One hour eighteen minutes”.

Privatisation was one of the beacon words of Yeltsin’s presidency, but, with the possible exception of housing, there has been no development of private property or attendant protected rights. Property in Russia still belongs to a small clique of top dogs and woe betide anyone who gets across them. How can Russia ever become prosperous or civilised? Andrei Zaostrovtsev despairs.

It is difficult to think back to a time when corruption was not endemic in Russia. It is now crippling the country, yet it is still low on the list of immediate concerns for most ordinary Russians. Why is there so little will to fight it, asks Pyotr Filippov?

Life for ex-prisoners is not easy in any country in the world, but there are so few opportunities in provincial Russia that it is hardly surprising a high percentage of the prison population in the Orenburg region are habitual re-offenders, says Elena Strelnikova

Despite the severity of Tuesday’s verdict, all the signs are that Yulia Tymoshenko will soon be released. But what of her political future? That all depends on Victor Yanukovych, says Valery Kalnysh

Ukraine’s post-Soviet governments traditionally follow the logic of safety razors: “tighten as far as you can, and then release a few notches”. Yulia Tymoshenko’s unexpectedly long sentence was shocking, but in all probability she will be soon be at liberty again. The real question is what she does then, writes Dmitry Vydrin

Yanukovych’s decision to authorise a Kafkaesque trial against Yulia Tymoshenko is proving to be his most counterproductive yet, writes Denis Macshane. Having created an unlikely heroine, and reduced EU integration from the hypothetical to the impossible, it is in Yanukovych’s best interests to ensure his rival is released swiftly.

Five years ago today, on 7 October 2006, investigative journalist Anna Politkovskaya’s was found murdered in her apartment block. Colleague Yelena Milashina remembers that fateful day.

The past few months have seen a number of opposition activists from the western Siberian city of Yekaterinburg arrested, threatened, prosecuted and imprisoned. Some have even been forced to flee the country. Might this be the prelude to a more nationwide campaign, wonders Pavel Stroilov?

Formal hostilities may have ceased in Chechnya, but civilians continue to be abducted, tortured and murdered by the authorities in the region. Igor Kalyapin, head of the Committee Against Torture, talks to Svetlana Reiter about the remarkable and dangerous work being done to seek justice for the victims.

For many in Russia the word ‘Strasbourg’ is identified with justice and the protection of human rights and the European Court receives thousands of applications every year. But recent proposed amendments to Russian laws would make the process of applying to Strasbourg more complicated and give the Russian Constitutional Court powers to override judgments from Strasbourg, says Anna Sevortian

The trial of former Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko has rallied the opposition behind her. Her supporters believe the outcome is already decided and her only hope of justice lies in the European Court of Human Rights. Yet beyond a call for her own personal liberty, does anybody know what Tymoshenko actually stands for, asks Valery Kalnysh?

The West has got it wrong about on Tymoshenko. More than a simple struggle for power and influence, her trial marks a fundamental confrontation between the modern (Yanukovych) and postmodern (Tymoshenko). In a head-to-head battle, postmodernism is always likely to triumph, writes Dmitry Vydrin.

It is nearly two years since Sergei Magnitsky died a shocking death in Moscow's Matrosskaya Tishina prison. Since then, an imaginative campaign by friends and colleagues has kept his case in the international spotlight. For Zoya Svetova, the recent decision by US authorities to impose visa sanctions against sixty Russian officials may prove the campaign's most crucial success yet.