Russian civil society: profiles of activists

Elena Panfilova and Ivan Ninenko, photographed by Platon. Copyright: Platon / Human Rights Watch

This past December, Russians took to the streets to protest parliamentary elections widely seen as tilted in favour of the ruling United Russia party. As we reported on our blog, Transparency International’s Russian chapter was active in monitoring electoral improprieties and continues to work with other civil society organisations to support Russian citizens trying to exercise their rights.

Human Rights Watch recently released a timely feature on the state of Russian civil society 20 years on from the collapse of the Soviet Union. The multimedia story profiles a range of activists, dissidents and NGO leaders who are working in challenging circumstances to build a strong civil society in Russia.

Among those profiled are the executive and deputy directors of TI-Russia, Elena Panfilova and Ivan Ninenko. In this brief video, Panfilova speaks about the impact of corruption on the daily lives of Russians.

To view the full feature, visit the Human Rights Watch website: Acting up: Russia’s civil society

Video and photograph courtesy of Human Rights Watch