Human Rights In Russia

Today Russia and human rights are both high on the international agenda. Since Putin returned to the presidency in 2012, domestic developments - from the prosecution of Pussy Riot to the release of Khodorkovsky - and Russia's global role, especially in relation to Ukraine, have captured the attention of the world. The role of human rights activism inside Russia is, therefore, coming under ever greater international scrutiny. Since 1991, when the Russian Federation became an independent state, hundreds of organisations have been created to champion human rights causes, with varying strategies, and successes. The response of the authorities has ranged from being supportive, or indifferent, to openly hostile. Based on archival research and practical experience working in the counity, Mark McAuley here provides a clear and comprehensive analysis of the progress made by human rights organisations in Russia - and the challenges which will confront them in the future.'a highly informative account of an important and interesting topic. Written by an internationally renowned specialist of Russia who has extensive first-hand experience of Russian domestic politics and the development of civil society after counism, it uses that experience and a large number of interviews with Russians engaged in the field to chronicle the rocky development of human rights organizations in Russia.' - Margot Light, Professor Emeritus of International Relations, London School of Economics and Political Science