This interview occurred before the sentencing earlier today, resulting in prison terms ranging from two and a half to four years. The sentencing was attended by protests which have been met with a sever clampdown by the Russian authorities, a situation which is being covered in a liveblog here. — Ed. On 21 February, Judge Natalya […]
Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Maria Alyokhina, along with several other performers, activists and journalists, have been attacked by Cossack paramilitary police while attempting a protest performance in Sochi this afternoon (RT has removed their video so we have replaced it with video from the Associated Press). The group attempted once again, having been detained yesterday, to […]
The Sochi Winter Olympics start in just two days. This week, The Interpreter’s managing editor James Miller speaks to Boston College Professor Dr. Matt Sienkiewicz about whether Russia is ready for the Olympics, what to look out for during the Olympics, and whether or not the games will be safe from terrorism. Also see today’s liveblog of the run-up to the […]
The first case of charges being brought against a child for spreading gay propaganda among children has been registered in Russia. Her location, photo and name were not disclosed so as to protect the child. The ruling of the Juvenile Affairs Commission (KDN) in one of the small towns in the Bryansk oblast, from January […]
A pro-Kremlin Russian media outlet, Kommersant, has held a question and answer session with the EU’s ambassador to Russia, Vygaudas Ušackas, in which they discuss relations between Moscow and Brussels. This is the first part of the interview. The second part can be found here. – Ed. Several days before the latest Russian-European Union (EU) […]
“There is not one piece of evidence that confirms the guilt of the accused,” said Alexei Polikhovich’s lawyer, Alexei Miroshnichenko. “The whole trial is politically motivated.” His colleague Olga Grigorenko, also defending Alexei Polikhovich, elaborated on the property damages, totalling 28,228,000 rubles, which, according to the indictment, the defendants have to repay. Advocate Grigorenko said […]
The Russian judicial system is a service that can be extremely intrusive. As the case of Sergei Magntisky shows, exceptions are not even made for the dead. Neither are they made for accused people chained to hospital beds. But why talk about some “system”? Here is a specific judge from the Tverskoy district court in […]
The Russian Foreign Ministry has released a report on the human rights record of the European Union. It begins with a rather honest and astute reflection of problems facing the EU: The most pressing human rights issues in the EU still include a steady growth of xenophobia, racism, violent nationalism, chauvinism and neo-Nazism. In the context […]
In December, Russian President Vladimir Putin gave a very long press conference. However, many organizations were not allowed to attend, and the kind of hard-hitting questions we’d expect if there were freedom of the press in Russia were not asked. Three days before the event, The New Times published this brave piece of journalism – […]
On 23 December, Nadezhda Tolokonnikova was freed. This morning Mariya Alyokhina was also released from the Nizhegorodskaya Colony. Both members of the punk group Pussy Riot were sentenced for an action at the Cathedral of Christ the Savior. Tolokonnikova announced in particular that she would provide every support to those who are imprisoned. Earlier, Mariya […]
