A new situation has developed in the Russian Federation. The reaction by the Russian authorities to the peaceful demonstrations for free and fair elections that took place in the winter of 2011 and the first half of 2012 has reached a new intensity severely restricting human and civil rights in Russia. On the one hand, a whole swathe of poorly drafted legislation has been passed, or is currently making its way through the legislative process, restricting public assembly, re-criminalizing libel, obliging NGOs that receive foreign funding and engage in loosely defined ‘political activities’ to register as ‘foreign agents’, increasing the scope of treason law, and criminalizing ‘insulting believers’. On the other hand, law enforcement agencies have progressively racheted up a series of repressive measures against those who publicly express disapproval of the authorities. [Read more]