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Events
Film Screening: The Right to Memory - a film about Arseny Roginsky. At Pushkin House on Tuesday 11 December at 18:30
 Speakers: Elena Zhemkova, Executive Director, Memorial, Mary McAuley, author of ‘Human Rights in Russia: Citizens and the State from Perestroika to Putin’, and Natalia Rubinstein, literary critic, Roginsky’s oldest friend. 6.30 – 9pm Please not the early start Discussion will be in Russian with English interpreter  This year, Memorial marks 30 years since its founding. Roginsky tells about the earliest initiatives to create a memorial to commemorate the victims of mass repression, which grew into the largest informal political movement of the 1980s, and shares his observations on what Memorial has been able to achieve since. The premiere of the film took place at Memorial's offices in Moscow and in Perm on March 30th, 2018, the anniversary of Roginsky's birth. On that day, the film was also shown simultaneously by many liberal Russian media outlets. It was the first time that multiple media platforms had held this kind of joint action - an expression of the high regard in which they hold Arseny Roginsky. Soon after, screenings and discussions followed in Kiev, Kharkov, St. Petersburg, Amsterdam, Washington, and now, in London.  Having joined Memorial in 1988 to help gather materials for the archive and museum, Ludmila stayed in touch throughout the years. In 2016, she approached Arseny Roginsky to share on film his thoughts on the place of Memorial in today's Russia and to tell his life story. Usually turning down such requests, reluctant to talk on camera about himself, Roginsky agreed this time. This recording would become his last. |
An event at Pushkin House (London): Fighting for Human Dignity - Nikolai and Tatyana Shchur on conditions in Russian prisons
.jpg) Where: Pushkin House, 5A Bloomsbury Square, London, WC1A 2TA Tickets: From Pushkin House website In Russian with English translation For more information, see Pushkin House website Nikolay Shchur’s book, published in 2017, is called “FSIN Empire” (FSIN is the Federal Service for the Implementation of Punishments), with the subtitle “A Short Guide to Russian Prisons”. In 1994, when Nikolay was chairman of the Snezhinsk Ecological Foundation, he was arrested and held in a pre-trial detention centre for six months on trumped--up charges for trying to draw attention to the pollution caused by the military near Chelyabinsk. Since then he and his wife, Tatyana, in addition to their activities as ecologists, have become experts on Russian prisons – they both became members of Public Monitoring Commissions (ОNK) as soon as they were formed in Russia, so they really know the Russian Penal Service inside out. This is a joint event of the Pushkin Club and Rights in Russia. Nikolai Shchur In 1993 Nikolai organized the first ecological organization in the “closed” town of Snezhinsk, Chelyabinsk region, and tried to draw public attention to the radioactive contamination of the area. This was the reason for his arrest on trumped-up charges and 6 months in custody in a pre-trial detention centre. After his release, he carried on with his civic activities. He was behind the first human rights NGOs in the Chelyabinsk region, published a newspaper, investigated contaminated areas and defended human rights violated by the authorities. Currently he is the head of 4 NGOs, which he set up together with his wife, Tatyana Shchur. He has written several books and manuals on defending human rights. Between 2010 and 2016 he was a member of the Public Monitoring Commission. He is a member of the Panel of Experts of the Association of independent observers of Russian prisons and the police. Nikolai Shchur received “Time” magazine's “Hero” award for 2005. In 2013 he won the national “Civic initiative” award. Tatyana Shchur In 1994, after the arrest of her husband, who was prosecuted for his civic activities, she started a campaign for his release. In 1996 she became the Head of the first human rights NGO in the “closed” town of Snezhinsk. Since 2004, she’s been heading the “Women of Eurasia” NGO; she is also involved in protecting the rights of orphans. Between 2010 and 2016 she was a member of the Public Monitoring Commission in Chelyabinsk. Tatyana is a member of the Panel of Experts of the Association of independent observers of Russian prisons and the police. Tatyana Shchur received “Time” magazine's “Hero” award for 2005. In 2013 she won the national “Civic initiative” award. |
Russia without Historical Memory: An Evening with Irina Flige [10 April 2018, 19:30-21:00, at Pushkin House, London]
 Where: Pushkin House, 5A Bloomsbury Square, WC1A 2TA London, United Kingdom Tickets: available via: Pushkin House Hosts: Pushkin Club and Rights in Russia For more information: Facebook Irina Flige is a historian and Director of the Research and Information Centre “Memorial” in St Petersburg. For the last 30 years, “Memorial” has researched the history of state terror and repression in the Soviet Union. In 2012, the RIC "Memorial" won the Freedom of Expression award, awarded by the Index on Censorship. The Centre collects witness records, memorialises the Gulag, documents mass burial sites, runs educational initiatives and, ever more important in recent years, makes its comprehensive archive accessible in electronic form. Civil society in Russia today is under unprecedented pressure and protest has once again become a dangerous activity. The authorities are systematically persecuting their opponents, using arbitrarily applied and controversial legislation. NGOs that receive grants from abroad run the risk of being vilified as “foreign agents”, and the right to freedom of assembly is curtailed . Flige will be talking about her experience of running "Memorial" in St Petersburg, and outline their activities, the difficulties they face, and their successes. In Russian with English translation. This is joint event of Pushkin Club and Rights in Russia and all are welcome. |
The Dmitriev Affair - a Rights in Russia event to be held at Pushkin House on 19th December 2017 at 19:30
.jpg) Photo by Simeon Maisterman | Event: The Dmitriev Affair Where: Pushkin House, 5A Bloomsbury Square, London, WC1A 2TA When: Tuesday, December 19, 2017, at 7:30 PM until 9:00 PM Tickets: Full price: £7; FOPH, Students, Senior: £5 To book tickets in advance, visit the website of Pushkin House |
EHRAC seeking PR and fundraising experts for Advisory Board
 For more information, please go to the website of the EHRAC |
Article 19: Consultancy opportunity
 For more information, see the website of Article 19 Click here for the Consultancy Terms of Reference for Final Project Evaluation Deadline for applications is Wednesday 25 October 2017 |
Natalya Taubina speaks at UCL on "Shrinking space for civil society in Russia: Challenges and new strategies"
 9 May 2017, 06:15 PM - 07:30 PMLocation: Roberts Building G06 Sir Ambrose Fleming LT, Torrington Place, WC1E 7JE, London Natalya Taubina is director of the Moscow-based NGO, Public Verdict Foundation The event is open to all, but to avoid disappointment, please Register. In the past few years, the Russian Federation has adopted a number of laws significantly restricting fundamental rights and freedoms. Some of these new laws undermine the guarantees of the right to freedom of association—in particular, by introducing concepts such as ‘non-profit organisations performing the functions of a foreign agent’ and ‘undesirable international and foreign non-governmental organisations’. Being branded a ‘foreign agent’ or ‘undesirable organisation’ leads to substantial restrictions or, in certain cases, a total ban on activities, heavy fines, and potential criminal charges. Russian civil society organisations are in a constant struggle for the right to freely operate and continue their important work in the interest of Russian society. Faced with state restrictions, they are elaborating new strategies to ensure the sustainability of their activities. About the speaker: Ms. Taubina has been working in the field of human rights since 1992. From the very beginning, she was involved in the work of the Russian Research Center for Human Rights. From 1997 to 2011, she was a director of the Foundation for Civil Society, and since 2004 she has been the director of the Public Verdict Foundation. Her expertise is international human rights standards and mechanisms, human rights in the work of law enforcement bodies, development of civil society organizations, NGO management, and evaluation. Ms. Taubina has been participating in the development and conduct of dozens of research projects and publications on a wide range of human rights issues and on different aspects of NGO activities. She has been invited as an expert by different charitable foundations (Eurasia Foundation, International Fellowship Program of the Ford Foundation, Fulcrum Foundation, Charities Aid Foundation) for elaborating and carrying out analytical surveys, evaluations, and research projects. Ms. Taubina was a member of the Expert Council under the Ombudsman in the Russian Federation in 2004-2016. In 2013, she became a recipient of the Human Rights Watch’s Alison Des Forges Award. Ms. Taubina is laureate of the 2015 Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Award. In 1993 she graduated from Faculty of Cybernetics of the Moscow Physics-Engineering Institute. [Read more] |
Anastasia Zotova speaks on human rights in Russia [videos]
 A journalist and human rights defender covering Dadin’s courageous one-man pickets against human rights violations under the Putin regime and the war in Ukraine, Anastasia Zotova married Ildar Dadin in late 2015 after he had already been arrested. She continued to publicise his plight after his imprisonment in a penal colony in Karelia, where he was tortured, and during his subsequent transfer to another prison camp in southern Siberia. Husband and wife have done more than anyone, arguably, to expose conditions in Russia’s large and brutal penitentiary system which today holds dozens more political prisoners. She has been the inspiration behind the website Territory of Torture. The 2017 Index on Censorship Freedom of Expression Awards, for which Ildar Dadin was been shortlisted, took place at London’s Unicorn Theatre on Wednesday 19 April 2017. During the week, Anastasia Zotova also spoke at a joint event held by Index on Censorship and Doughty Street Chambers on 19 April. |
In Conversation with human rights activist Anastasia Zotova
 Time: At 7:30 PM - 9 PM Admission: The event is free, but booking is necessary. Please email us to confirm your attendance at office@pushkinhouse.org.uk Tickets: Can be obtained via the Pushkin House website Tickets Available Pushkin Club, Rights in Russia and Index on Censorship are proud to invite you to this evening in conversation with Anastasia Zotova. An opportunity to meet someone whose name has been constantly in the news since her husband, Ildar Dadin, was arrested under a new law criminalizing repeated violations of Russia's stringent regulations on public assembly. Ildar Dadin is a finalist of the 2017 Index on Censorship Freedom of Expression Awards, but is reportedly currently unable to leave Russia. A journalist and human rights defender covering Dadin’s courageous one-man pickets against human rights violations under the Putin regime and the war in Ukraine, Anastasia Zotova married Ildar Dadin in late 2015 after he had already been arrested. She continued to publicise his plight after his imprisonment in a penal colony in Karelia, where he was tortured, and during his subsequent transfer to another prison camp in southern Siberia. Husband and wife have done more than anyone, arguably, to expose conditions in Russia’s large and brutal penitentiary system which today holds dozens more political prisoners. She has been the inspiration behind the website Territory of Torture. This is a Pushkin Club event and all are welcome. The event will be held both in English and in Russian with translation. During the week, Anastasia Zotova will also be speaking at a joint event held by Index on Censorship and Doughty Street Chambers on 19 April and at the Henry Jackson Society on 20th April. |
Cherevatenko fêted in London
 Source: editors (JC) ♦ Women of the Don leader receives Politkovskaya Award ♦ On Saturday, 11 March 2017, a large audience at the Women of the World festival at the Southbank Centre in London applauded as Valentina CHEREVATENKO, founder of the Women of the Don NGO, received a special award from Elena Kudimova, Anna Politkovskaya’s sister who lives in London. The principal winner of the 2016 prize was Jineth Bedoya Lima, a journalist from Colombia. The organisers of the award, the RAW in WAR charity, decided that in 2016, the tenth anniversary of the first prize award (which went to the late Natalya Estemirova), it would issue two prizes. The second 2016 award should be given, in their view, to another woman from Russia who, like Anna and Natalya, had also done outstanding work in several post-Soviet conflict zones. For more about Valentina and the Women of the Don, see earlier items in Rights in Russia and the new Wikipedia article about her and her organisation. |
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