In an excellent piece written for CNN, Tanya Lokshina of Human Rights Watch, on 15 May gives an overview of the different measures that threaten human rights defenders in Russia. While attention is on Ukraine,  a vicious crackdown on civil society in Russia itself also escalated with every week brings a new pernicious law or legislative proposal:

• The authorities have blocked or essentially took editorial control over a number of independent news portals and are pushing new laws to stifle freedom of expression.
• A week ago, President Vladimir Putin signed a law requiring Russian bloggers with significant followings to register with the authorities and comply with media regulations.
• The same law requires blogging services and social networks to store user activity for six months.
• Another legislative proposal would introduce administrative and criminal offenses for editors who publish “false anti-Russian” information or offer media support to “anti-Russian extremist and separatist forces.”
• Another new draft law introduces a ban on publishing negative information about the Russian government and military.
• Also, amendments presently under review by the State Duma, the lower house of parliament, would enable the authorities to throw people behind bars for up to five years for repeated participation in unauthorized public protests.

At the same time the infamous Russian law “on foreign agents”, Read the rest of this entry »