The Russian Human Rights Movement in Post-Soviet Time: Legacy of the USSR and New Challenges

Session Submission Type: Roundtable

Brief Description

After the collapse of the USSR the human rights movement in Russia developed under the influence of various factors: the economic crisis and total poverty in the 1990s, the failed attempt to build democratic institutions, the deficit of the rule of law, the population's weak perception of the values of human rights and democracy, the lack of traditions of civic participation, increasing political repression, etc. The speakers will discuss how the legacy of the USSR and new challenges affect activity of Russian human rights defenders. The roundtable offers specific perspectives to the Russian human rights movement in post-soviet time. Participants will discuss how Russians became involved in the human rights movement, how Putin’s uses the human rights discourse in the context of European right-wing populism, how memory activists, through documenting political repression and advocating for historical justice, make their work inherently intertwined with broader human rights struggles.

Sub Unit

• History: Since 1990

Chair

• Denis Shedov, U of Helsinki (Finland)

Roundtable Speakers

• Ivan Fomin, Charles U in Prague (Czech Republic)

• Laura Innocenti, U of Mainz (Germany)