Russia

143 million people
10,730 USD GNI (PPP)
Internet:
Partly Free
Press:
Not Free
Not Free

Population and GNI data source

News & Updates

Press Release

Freedom House Condemns Russian Lawmakers’ Assault on Vulnerable Members of Society

Dec 28 2012 - 10:26am

Freedom House condemns the recently passed “Dima Yakovlev Law” in Russia, which introduces new restrictions on Russian non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and prohibits adoptions of Russian orphans by American citizens. The law, reportedly in response to the recent Magnitsky Law passed in the United States, represents an asymmetrical attack against one of the most vulnerable groups in Russian society.

Issues: 
Civil Society, Freedom of Association, Human Rights Defense, U.S. Foreign Policy
Regions: 
Central and Eastern Europe/Eurasia
Freedom Alert

Freedom House Condemns New Restrictions on Freedom of Assembly in Moscow

Dec 27 2012 - 3:14pm

Freedom House condemns new, severe restrictions on freedom of assembly and expression passed on December 26 by the Moscow City Council. The new legislation broadly bans vigils by individuals — so-called “single-person pickets” — if they are “united by a common organizer and goal.” The legislation also bans using vehicles in a demonstration, including driving within the city center while displaying political or protest symbols.

Issues: 
Civil Society, Freedom of Association, Freedom of Expression, Human Rights Defense
Regions: 
Central and Eastern Europe/Eurasia
In the News

What the Magnitsky Act Means

Dec 19 2012 - 5:23pm

If implemented properly, the Magnitsky Act could mean the restoration of a normative dimension to Western policy on Russia, write David J. Kramer and Lilia Shevtsova in The American Interest.

Issues: 
Civil Society, Human Rights Defense, Rule of Law, U.S. Foreign Policy
Regions: 
Central and Eastern Europe/Eurasia
Press Release

Freedom House Calls on Russian Duma to Reject Homophobic Bill

Dec 17 2012 - 6:02pm

On Wednesday, December 19, the Russian Duma will debate a proposed law that would prohibit public discussion or so-called propaganda of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people and their rights. This law is an affront to fundamental human rights enshrined in Russia’s constitution and international commitments. Freedom House calls on the Russian Duma to reject it outright.

Issues: 
Civil Society, Freedom of Association, Human Rights Defense, LGBTI Rights, United Nations
Regions: 
Central and Eastern Europe/Eurasia

Experts

Susan Corke

Director for Eurasia Programs


Regions: 
Central and Eastern Europe/Eurasia

David J. Kramer

President

Issues: 
Democratic Governance, Elections, Freedom of Expression, Media Freedom, Rule of Law, U.S. Foreign Policy
Regions: 
Central and Eastern Europe/Eurasia

Arch Puddington

Vice President for Research

Issues: 
Democratic Governance, Elections, Internet Freedom, Media Freedom, Religious Freedom, Rule of Law, U.S. Foreign Policy
Regions: 
Western Europe

Signature Reports

Freedom in the World

Freedom on the Net

Freedom of the Press

Nations in Transit

Countries at the Crossroads

Special Reports

Promise and Reversal: The Post-Soviet Landscape Twenty Years On

“Promise and Reversal: The Post-Soviet Landscape Twenty Years On,” marks the 20th anniversary of the failed Soviet coup of August 19, 1991. The retrospective essay examines the changes in the political rights and civil liberties in the former Soviet Union over the last two decades, as well as includes graphs and rankings that illustrate the region's performance in the annual Freedom House publications Freedom in the World and Freedom of the Press. The report  concludes that there is a serious and disturbing failure to embrace democratic institutions in most of the post-Soviet region.

Regions: 
Central and Eastern Europe/Eurasia

Programs

Russia - North Caucus

Freedom House’s American Committee for Peace in the Caucasus coordinates with an international network of activists, journalists, scholars and nongovernmental organizations to advocate for and support human rights and rule of law, to monitor the upward trend of violence in the region, and to promote peace and stability in the North Caucasus.

Issues: 
Human Rights Defense
Regions: 
Central and Eastern Europe/Eurasia

Russia

We collaborate with Russia’s two most renowned human rights groups, Memorial and the Moscow Helsinki Group, to help end the increasingly common practice of government manipulation of the legal system.

Issues: 
Human Rights Defense
Regions: 
Central and Eastern Europe/Eurasia