November 2023

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.

• 304,050 users were connected to our Telegram-bot
• our legal instructions were viewed 14,963 times
• we received 622 calls on our hotline.

In total, our operators and volunteers spoke on the phone for 26 hours, 7 minutes and 1 second.

Lawyers of the hotline

•  conducted 41 consultations by phone;
• responded to 68 letters received at legal@ovdinfo.org;
• audited 11 appeals received through the generator;
• prepared and submitted 2 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 November, our lawyers, jurists, and defenders

• went to the police departments 15 times, where they helped 15 detainees
• helped 72 people in court sessions on administrative cases
• managed to terminate, cancel or return at least 7 cases of administrative offence.

Criminal cases

Our lawyers and jurists in November 2023

• Accompanied clients on 1 interrogation
• Entered into2 new criminal cases
• In total, at the end of November, lawyers from OVD-Info worked on 80 criminal cases against 69 people in 39 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 2,976 complaints were submitted during the campaign.
• On 476 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

• 415 express news about political persecution in 74 regions of Russia
• 7 longreads on political persecution.

What you should pay attention to

• «An Ideology for War»: Why Putin Needs Queerphobia Today
  On November 30, the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation imposed criminal liability on LGBTQ organisations and activists: the court deemed the Justice Ministry’s concocted «LGBT movement» extremist. We explain the connection to the war.
• The Hidden Strength of Russia’s Anti-War Movement
  Dan Storyev, Daria Korolenko and Lauren McCarthy uncover a surprisingly resilient, varied and innovative modes of resistance to Russia’s war in Ukraine.
• Political Persecutions in Russia: Portraits of Prisoners
  The number of politically motivated cases in Russia has significantly risen over the past five years, reaching a record of 700 cases in 2022, the first year of the war in Ukraine. Today, more than 1,000 people are in jail or prison in Russia for political reasons, according to the human rights media project OVD-Info. Listen to the «Russia on the Record» podcast featuring our participation.
• «Defending Human Rights in Russia Feels Hopeless. But I Still Do It»
  Our editor, Dan Storyev, shares what it’s like to document torture, deaths, and life behind bars in Russia every day, why it’s important, and what keeps him going.
• 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’ve updated the database of politically motivated criminal prosecutions
  For more than 10 years, we have been tracking politically motivated criminal cases. After the start of the full-scale war, the number of political persecutions in Russia has significantly increased, and criminal code articles are being applied even more cunningly. You can find all the details about this in our public database, which is regularly updated.
• We informed the international community about political persecutions in Russia
  In December, we participated in the European Implementation Network conference, where we shared data about our campaign in the European Court of Human Rights — how many complaints were filed and how much Russia owes to our applicants. We also released a report dedicated to the situation of young human rights activists in Russia, analysing specific cases, including the persecution of participants in the «Vesna» movement.
• We’ve released a summary of anti-war repressions for November
  The end of November marked the 21st month since the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Along with it, repression against war opponents began. There were 19,842 detentions at anti-war events and 776 individuals involved in criminal cases, including minors and pensioners. In our latest summary, we continue to collect and analyse data on political and anti-war repression 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

• 14,824 donations

• RUB 18,033,714

The figure includes

• 987 donations made through the GlobalGiving platform (RUB 9,192,639). As per our agreement with GlobalGiving, we are currently receiving deferred transfers from the previous year
• 966 direct transfers made to OVD-Info clients through the Zaodno platform, totalling RUB 859,893.

How much we spent

In November, we expended a total of RUB 25,029,244, all of which was funded by your donations and transfers from various sources. Here’s a breakdown of how the funds were used:

• RUB 7,608,166 — 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 2,580,881 — 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 2,309,511 — 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 1,609,799 — 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 2,493,464 — 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 943,032 — 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 3,939,609 — 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 3,231,114 — 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.
  
  The increase in November expenses is related to several significant payments during this month: payment for services from a partner organisation that assists us with accounting throughout the year, and an independent audit — a thorough examination and analysis of the organisation’s status, allowing an assessment of our reporting and management quality.
   
• RUB 318,668 — 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 so much for being with us!