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Russian Federation

Monthly Updates

December 2022

Ilya Yashin, the highest-profile opposition politician to remain in Russia since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, was sentenced to 8.5 years in prison on 9 December for “discrediting the Russian army.” Yashin had been a vocal critic of the Russian invasion, and had made numerous social media posts criticizing and publicizing the murders of Ukrainian civilians in Bucha by the Russian military before his arrest in July. Other opposition figures who have declined to emigrate have suffered similar consequences; Alexei Gorinov, a local Moscow politician, was sentenced on similar charges in July, and Vladimir Kara-Murza, a journalist and activist, has been detained since April and faces up to 24 years in prison on treason charges.

November 2022

Human rights watchdogs warn that Russia is imprisoning military conscripts who refuse to go to the front or protest lack of food, water, or support in combat as part of a larger effort to force unwilling soldiers to fight and refuse surrender. In a separate incident, the Russian mercenary group Wagner fighting in Ukraine distributed a video of the execution of one of its members, Yevgeny Nuzhin, with a sledgehammer, saying Nuzhin had defected during his captivity and citing an interview conducted by a Ukrainian journalist while Nuzhin was in custody as proof. After either having been captured or surrendered in September, Nuzhin was returned to Russian custody as part of a prisoner exchange in November, although the circumstances of both his capture by Ukraine and return to Russia remain unclear. Wagner head Yevgeniy Prighozin celebrated the video and the execution.

October 2022

On 19 October President Vladimir Putin declared martial law in the Ukrainian territory Russia claims to have annexed in September. The law not only suspends basic rights and due process in those regions, but also applies various moderately less stringent measures across the rest of Russia. The restrictions introduced go far beyond what is permitted by relevant Russian laws and statutes. 

September 2022

Marking a new extreme in Russia’s crackdown on independent media, a court sentenced Russian journalist Ivan Safronov to 22 years in prison on charges of high treason on 7 September. The charges centered on Safronov’s reporting, but all material discussed in court was also available online on government and government-controlled media websites. The sentence, which is long even by contemporary Russian standards, is part of a larger crackdown on independent media and public protest during the invasion of Ukraine. As of 28 October OVD-Info recorded 19,335 arrests for protests against the war and 'partial mobilization’ in Russia.

Explore past monthly updates

GSoD Indices Data 2012-2021

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Basic Information

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Population Tooltip
143 446 060
System of government
Semi-Presidential system
Head of government
Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin (since 2020)
Head of government party
Independent
Electoral system for lower or single chamber
Parallel
Women in lower or single chamber
16.2%
Women in upper chamber
21.9%
Last legislative election
2021
Effective number of political parties Tooltip
3.14
Head of state
President Vladimir Putin
Selection process for head of state
Direct election (two-round majority)
Latest Universal Periodic Review (UPR) date
14/05/2018
Latest Universal Periodic Review (UPR) percentage of recommendations supported
60.25%
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Human Rights Treaties

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State Party State party
Signatory Signatory
No Action No action
United Nations Human Right Treaties
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
State Party
International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
State Party
International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination
State Party
Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women
State Party
Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment or Punishment
State Party
Convention on the Rights of the Child
State Party
International Convention on Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families
No Action
International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance 
No Action
International Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
State Party
International Labour Organisation Treaties
Forced Labour Convention
State Party
Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention
State Party
Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention
State Party
Equal Remuneration Convention
State Party
Abolition of Forced Labour Convention
State Party
Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention
State Party
Convention concerning Minimum Age for Admission to Employment
State Party
Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention
State Party
in
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Attributes Over Time

Representative government neutral Representative Government
Sep 2022
Oct
Nov
Dec
Jan
Feb 2023
Representative government neutral Fundamental rights
Sep 2022
Oct
Nov
Dec
Jan
Feb 2023
Representative government neutral Checks on government
Sep 2022
Oct
Nov
Dec
Jan
Feb 2023
Representative government neutral Impartial administration
Sep 2022
Oct
Nov
Dec
Jan
Feb 2023
Representative government neutral Participatory engagement
Sep 2022
Oct
Nov
Dec
Jan
Feb 2023

GSoD Indices

Regime type
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