A call to OVD-Info hotline or a message to our Telegram bot are the easiest ways to report persecution and get a free consultation. Specialists will advise you on how your situation may develop, and instruct you about your next steps.

• 302,665 users were connected to our Telegram-bot
• our legal instructions were viewed 4,283 times
• we received 880 calls on our hotline

In total, our operators and volunteers spoke on the phone for 39 hours, 43 minutes and 18 seconds.

Lawyers of the hotline

• conducted 74 consultations by phone;
• responded to 111 letters received at legal@ovdinfo.org;
• audited 3 appeals received through the generator;
• prepared and submitted 4 cassation appeals.

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

In August, our lawyers, jurists, and defenders

• went to the police departments 28 times, where they helped 31 detainees.
• helped 132 people in court sessions on administrative cases.
• managed to terminate, cancel or return at least 5 cases of administrative offence.

Criminal cases

Our lawyers and jurists in August 2023

• Were present during 1 search;
• Accompanied clients on 5 interrogations;
• Entered into 2 new criminal cases;
• In total, at the end of August, lawyers from OVD-Info worked on 76 criminal cases against 64 people in 37 cities.

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

European Court of Human Rights complaints campaign

• We have sent 1 complaint to the European Court of Human Rights.
• A total of 2,926 complaints were submitted during the campaign.
• On 429 complaints, ECHR issued judgements — all in favour of the applicants; the remaining complaints are pending trial or registration.
• We have also launched a campaign to submit complaints with the United Nations Human Rights Council. While we analyse the practice and prepare cassation appeals, it is necessary to go through two more instances to apply to the Council. Then, we will be able to send complaints to the Committee.

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

• 432 express news about political persecution;
• 5 longreads on political persecution

What you should pay attention to

• «Thrown down on the floor and hit in the head»
  On August 17th, searches were conducted at the homes of several coordinators of the ‘Golos’ movement as part of a criminal case related to the alleged organisation of activities for an ‘undesirable organisation’ targeting Grigory Melkonyants, the co-chairman of ‘Golos.’ On the same day, a search was also carried out in the Moscow apartment of Vladimir Zhilkin, a member of the movement who is serving as a witness in this case. We recorded his account of the events.
• The Divine Comedy and an FSB interrogation
  In mid-June 2023, the Tambov Regional Court confirmed a fine of 30,000 rubles that was imposed on local IT entrepreneur Kirill Shvetsov. Kirill is charged with non-reporting because he did not report to the police about the anti-war views of an acquaintance from whom he bought a book on Avito.
• 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.

If you want to be informed about political repressions in Russia you can subscribe to our Digest, follow us on Twitter or visit our website! Everything helps.

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 have submitted a report to the United Nations Committee in collaboration with ‘Network Freedoms’
  We, together with ‘Network Freedoms’, have submitted a report to the UN Committee on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights for the purpose of reviewing Russia’s adherence to its international human rights commitments. In this report, we have provided an account of the persecutions faced by children and their parents due to their anti-war positions, the dissemination of propaganda within educational institutions, extrajudicial pressures experienced within universities, and the restrictive legislation concerning ‘foreign agents’ and ‘undesirable organisations’.
   
• We have published an overview of anti-war repressions for August
  Eighteen months ago, Russia initiated a full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Simultaneously, a wave of repression targeting anti-war activists began. As of August 24, 2023, there have been 19,786 detentions during anti-war protests and 663 individuals facing criminal charges, among whom are both minors and pensioners. In our latest report, we continue to gather and analyse data on political and anti-war repressions in Russia.

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: 

Subscribe to the newsletter

How much we collected

Total transfers

• 14,171 donations

• RUB 18,937,810

The figure includes

• 283 donations made through the GlobalGiving platform (RUB 9,727,785). As per our agreement with GlobalGiving, we are currently receiving deferred transfers from the previous year.
• 711 direct transfers made to OVD-Info clients through the Zaodno platform, totalling RUB 616,716.

How much we spent

In August, we expended a total of RUB 23,092,963, all of which was funded by your donations and transfers from various sources. Here’s a breakdown of how the funds were used:

• RUB 7,331,733 — 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.
• RUB 2,484,229 — 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.
• RUB 2,351,126 — 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.
• RUB 1,758,299 — 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.
• RUB 1,612,556 — 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.
• RUB 1,064,168 — 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.
• RUB 4,832,180 — 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.
• RUB 769,574 — infrastructure costs (office rent, phone and Internet). This helps us to work more cohesively and efficiently, as well as to take calls to the hotline and write news stories.
• RUB 337,624 — 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.
• RUB 551,474 — additional taxes and fees. We have separated this portion of fees in the expense structure to cover taxes that are not included in other expense items.

Thank you so much for being with us!