Forensic Expertise and Experts in Russian Counter-Extremism Litigation as a Tool of Repression

• In Event: Law as a Tool of Authoritarian Control in Contemporary Russia

Abstract

Forensic expertise, in its original sense, refers to the scientific assistance provided in litigation. In international law, the contributions of the humanities and social sciences—such as linguistics, psychology, and history—are relatively rare. In contrast, Russian litigation has carved out a unique role for experts in the field of extremism. Here, academic researchers are expected to identify phenomena such as “verbal extremism,” “falsification of history,” and “LGBT propaganda,” as well as, more recently, label actions as “fake” or as “discreditation” of the Russian army’s deeds.
This paper seeks to explore the development of this institutional framework, examining the role of experts in reshaping repressive legislation and assessing the current state of the practice. The main objective is to trace the evolution of this specialized “humanitarian” expertise in Russian litigation—from its beginnings as volunteer support in the state's fight against neo-Nazi violence to its transformation into a mechanism of de facto military censorship in litigation following the full-scale invasion in February 2022.

Author

• Dmitry Dubrovskiy, Charles U in Prague (Czech Republic)