Human Rights Watch (HRW) recently released a scathing new report focused on the crackdown on Russia’s civil society. Since December 2011, the Kremlin has committed to squashing nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) that promote democracy and are alleged conduits of Western influence, HRW says. The report, titled “Laws of Attrition,” focuses on …
KYIV, UKRAINE—Russia’s leading anti-corruption blogger, attorney and political activist Alexei Navalny, appeared in court Wednesday accused of embezzlement. On Thursday, federal prosectuors slapped him with additional charges for alleged price gouging. However, his real crime is exposing corruption and opposing the current political regime. Prosecutors charged Navalny, a moderate nationalist …
The Departments of State and Treasury have released their public version of the “Magnitsky List”—18 Russian nationals who have committed gross human rights violations and were involved in the unjust imprisonment and death of Sergei Magnitsky. The list was required by the Sergei Magnitsky Rule of Law and Accountability Act, …
On March 28, Vladimir Putin, returning home from the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, and China) Durban summit, ordered Minister of Defense Sergei Shoigu to mobilize the Black Sea Fleet—immediately. More than 7,000 troops, and some 36 warships, 250 armored vehicles, 50 cannons, and as many as 20 fighter jets were …
Next week, the Obama Administration faces an important foreign policy decision in U.S. relations with Russia—how to champion human rights and the rule of law. The State Department is trying to avoid a gust of chilling wind from Moscow. However, the last thing the Administration should do is show weakness …
Russian law enforcement agents have conducted hundreds of unannounced searches of Russian non-governmental organizations (NGOs). Authorities have searched 600 organizations across the country since last week, according to media reports. An interagency law enforcement task force raided Amnesty International’s Moscow office in an unannounced inspection on Monday. Sergei Nikitin, the …
London mayor Boris Johnson published an op-ed Monday in which he decried the posthumous trial of whistleblower Sergei Magnitsky. Johnson called Magnitsky “a martyr trampled by a corrupt system” and called on the United Kingdom and the European Union to pass a Magnitsky Act—which levies financial sanctions and visa restrictions …
China’s new president, Xi Jinping, will make his first official foreign visit to Russia this month. Xi’s decision to make his first visit abroad to Russia suggests an effort to improve relations and cement their strategic partnership. Washington should pay attention to the growing ties between Moscow and Beijing. Since …
Vladimir Pekhtin, chairman of the Duma Ethics Committee, hid undisclosed luxury properties in Florida valued at nearly $2 million while proclaiming his anti-American credentials, according to Russian anti-corruption crusader Alexei Navalny. As early as 2007, Pekhtin and his son bought an oceanfront luxury apartment in Miami. Navalny’s staff searched Miami-Dade …
