April 2024

• 201,097 users were connected to our bot.

We used to count all users when counting bot users, but since February we count only active users — those who haven’t unsubscribed and continue to receive our newsletters.

• our legal instructions were viewed 18,446 times,
• we received 873 calls on our hotline.

In total, our operators and volunteers spoke on the phone for 34 hours, 45 minutes and 38 seconds.

Lawyers of the hotline

• conducted 121 consultations by phone,
• responded to 64 letters,
• audited 17 appeals received through our online-generator.

Legal aid

We provide and coordinate legal assistance in cases related to the restrictions of freedom of peaceful assembly or freedom of speech. Our attorneys visit those detained in police departments, support defendants in Russian administrative and criminal courts, and file complaints with the European Court of Human Rights.

Assistance on cases of administrative offences

Our lawyers, jurists, and defenders:

• went to the police departments 13 times, where they helped 12 detainees,
• helped 107 people in court sessions on administrative cases,
• managed to terminate, cancel or return at least 12 cases of administrative offence.

Criminal cases

We consider all the charges and criminal cases brought in connection with them to be unlawful and politically motivated.

Our lawyers, jurists, and defenders:

• were present during 2 searches;
• accompanied clients on 6 interrogations;
• entered into 6 new criminal cases;
• worked on 82 criminal cases against 96 people in 47 cities.

News and media

The authorities that violate human rights prefer to avoid publicity. But as they say, silence in the face of evil is itself evil. We believe that information protects, and that media and social attention can prevent violations and change the whole picture.

We have prepared and released 320 express news about political persecution in 73 regions of Russia and 4 longreads on political persecution.

What to read

• «Do you glow in the dark?» How one woman fought Kremlin’s nuclear pollution

This is a story of a human rights activist from a secret nuclear town. Witness her resilience and transformation from selling socks on the street to confronting the FSB and the Russian Atomic Corporation. For 15 years, Nadezhda Kutepova and her organization, Planet of Hope, tirelessly championed the rights of those impacted by radioactive contamination in a secret Siberian town where weapon-grade plutonium is produced. But when the Kremlin labelled the organisation a «foreign agent», their vital work was abruptly halted.

• Journalism or snitching? Reported to authorities by interviewer

It’s sometimes hard to understand just how limited Russians’ freedom of speech is. This is the story of a journalist ratting out her interviewee to the police for «discrediting the Russian army». During the presidential elections in the city of Balakovo, located in southwestern Russia along the left bank of the Volga River, an election observer representing the Communist Party of the Russian Federation was escorted directly from the polling station to the criminal investigation department. There, he faced a fine for allegedly discrediting the Russian army. Following a conversation with the observer at the polling station, a local journalist immediately filed a denunciation report against him. OVD-Info recounts how a dubious QR code and a video message from a local deputy in Saratov led to a legal case on charges of «discrediting the Russian army».

Want to know more?

• The Dissident Digest — free weekly newsletter in English!
  The Digest is your window into the dark world of the Kremlin’s war on human rights and civil society in Russia. The Dissident Digest informs you through data, news and explainers. The newsletter is by no means all-encompassing but we strive to provide you with a snapshot of most important developments.
• Our weekly bulletin:
  • «We can send anyone we like to prison»‎
  • «Put in a punishment cell for taking off a jacket»‎
  • «Aleksandr Demidenko dies in pre-trial detention»‎
  • «Doused with boiling water»‎
  • «Convicted for taking part in an opinion poll»‎

If you want to be informed about political repressions in Russia, follow us on Twitter and Instagram or visit our website.

Reports, research and advocacy

At our organisation, we examine emerging problems from various angles, which helps us work out present-day tactical solutions and lay the strategic foundation for future systemic change. The results of our analyses are published as reports, data sets, or special projects.

We sent an appeal to the UN Special Rapporteur on Russia about the three defendants in the Baymak case

We described the persecution of three defendants in the Baymak case in detail to Mariana Katsarova, the UN Special Rapporteur on Russia. Yulai Ayupov, Salavat Elkibayev and Munir Isyangildin are defended by OVD Info lawyers. All three are accused of participating in «mass riots» and using violence against police officers, which, according to the case file, was limited to throwing snowballs. In our appeal, we asked the Special Rapporteur to call for an end to the persecution of those involved for participating in a peaceful protest in accordance with the norms of international law.

Together with the Human Rights Center Memorial, we sent a submission to the Council of Europe on the rights of prisoners

Most of the systemic issues identified by the ECHR in the field of protecting prisoners' rights to private and family life have not been resolved. For example, Russia is still seeing unjustified and excessive monitoring of correspondence between accused or prisoners and their lawyers and relatives. Approving visits with relatives is used by investigators as a means of putting pressure on the accused. Many prisoners are serving their sentences far from home or are unable to attend family funerals. We have asked the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe to make important recommendations in this area that would be relevant, if not now, then for future reforms in Russia.

«According to OVD-Info» newsletter
Our research team is very active, and it is difficult to put all of their work into one letter. Therefore, we have a newsletter available in English. You can subscribe to follow our news and publications of upcoming reports and datasets.

How much we collected

We highly value our community of donors who participate in crowdfunding initiatives. Their contributions not only provide essential financial support but also signify a shared commitment to our mission and values. We recognize the trust and dedication of our donors and strive to foster a strong sense of community and transparency in all our crowdfunding efforts.

Total transfers

• 15,713 donations
• € 122,989*

*We convert donations made in other currencies into euros at the average exchange rate of the month or the exchange rate on the date of payment.

The figure includes 1,438 direct transfers made to OVD-Info defendants through the «Zaodno» (a platform where you can support defendants of OVD-Info and other human rights projects directly — from card to card), totalling € 15,261.

How much we spent

OVD-Info spends donors' donations on legal assistance to defendants, dissemination of information about political repressions in Russia and development of the project. About 40-60% of all private donations go to pay defenders, advocates and lawyers.

We expended a total of € 339,865, all of which was funded by your donations and transfers from various sources. Here’s a breakdown of how the funds were used:

• € 105,157 — legal assistance. Our lawyers and human rights defenders worked tirelessly to provide legal aid to detainees in police departments and courts, and coordinated assistance in criminal cases throughout the month.
• € 29,680 — the work of our hotline operators and reporters. Our monitoring group received calls to the hotline and messages in the telegram bot every day, and reported news to aid detainees, not only during large-scale actions, but also for regular detentions that occur almost every day in Russia.
• € 30,256 — the work of our media team. We believe that information can be a powerful tool in protecting political rights. To make information about political rights violations public, we prepared and published significant articles, created guides for major criminal cases, launched special projects, gave interviews, and talked about it on all available social networks.
• € 25,762 — data projects, reports, research, and advocacy. We collect and analyse data on political persecution to make informed decisions and help journalists and researchers understand the situation. Based on the collected data, we prepare comprehensive reports that analyse how legislative practices and repressive laws enable political persecution.
• € 32,040 — the work of our IT team. We developed tools and services that help to protect ourselves and others, ensure the stable operation of our entire system, and share our work with other initiatives.
• € 8,882 — volunteer coordination. Our volunteers are our backbone and the best team of like-minded individuals. We are committed to expanding our community and ensuring that volunteers actively participate in the project’s life.
• € 66,440 — operational support of the project. Thanks to this work, which is not always visible, we continue to help those who need help and spend our energy and resources more efficiently. It includes the costs of team members who ensure the daily work and planning of the project and are responsible for the sustainability of OVD-Info in the long term, budget planning, strategic goals, communication with donors and financial transparency. This also includes the costs of caring for team members: psychological assistance, development of the competencies of participants and their safety.
• € 37,735 — infrastructure costs. Since October 2023, we have included payments for key services (such as telephony) in the expenses of the respective areas. Infrastructure costs encompass components directly related to the team’s operations and the overall project, including office expenses, accounting fees, commissions to infrastructure partners who assist us, and applicable taxes.
• € 3,914 — bank account maintenance and payment systems commission. We use several payment systems, and the interest rates are all different. This amount is calculated as a percentage of donations and expenses on the account. It depends not only on our expenses but also on the amount of income. The increase in the amount was also influenced by an increase in the commission from the payment system that we use to accept and process donations.

Thank you for being with us!