May 2024

• 200,754 users were connected to our bot.

We used to count all users when counting bot users, but since February we count only active users — those who haven’t unsubscribed and continue to receive our newsletters.
 

• our legal instructions were viewed 11,083 times,
• we received 614 calls on our hotline.

In total, our operators and volunteers spoke on the phone for 27 hours, 58 minutes and 51 second.

Lawyers of the hotline

• conducted 52 consultations by phone,
• responded to 72 letters,
• audited 2 appeals received through our online-generator.

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

Our lawyers, jurists, and defenders

• went to the police departments 5 times, where they helped 5 detainees,
• helped 35 people in court sessions on administrative cases,
• managed to terminate, cancel or return at least 2 cases of administrative offence.

 

Criminal cases

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

Our lawyers, jurists, and defenders

• were present during 1 search;
• accompanied clients on 4 interrogations;
• entered into 4 new criminal cases;
• worked on 84 criminal cases against 98 people in 49 cities.

 

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 341 express news about political persecution in 75 regions of Russia and 3 longreads on political persecution.

What to read

«You’re gonna kiss my homeland in the trenches». How to get an offence record and a military summons, because of dyed hair.
On the night of 28 April at a bus stop in Moscow, a stranger assaulted Stas Netesov, 25, took his phone and broke his tooth. Netesov went to the police station in Moscow’s Tverskoy district, but at the station, he was given an offence report under the article of «discrediting» [the Russian army], a military summons, and was threatened to be sent to the war. We have recorded Stas’s story

Want to know more?

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.

Our weekly bulletin

• Sent to prison for expressing outrage over the war — aged 72
• A refusal to be pardoned
• Charged with discrediting the Russian army for dyed hair
• The family as an ‘extremist association’

If you want to be informed about political repressions in Russia, follow us on Twitter and Instagram or visit our website.
 

Reports and research

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.

Published summary of antiwar repressions in May, 2024
At the end of May it’s been 27 months since the full-scale invasion in Ukraine. It brought with it repressions against opponents of war. Since then we registered 20 040 arrests on antiwar gatherings and were aknowledged 935 defendants of criminal cases, among which there are minors and elderly. In our new summary we continue to collect and analyse data about political and antiwar repressions in Russia. 

Collected dataset on criminal cases in connection with public assemblies
Freedom of assembly is a right that is secured by the Russian Constitution. Despite this people in Russia are still prosecuted for peaceful public assemblies: in January alone new massive criminal case was opened because of public gathering in Baymak, the number of defendants in which was at least 82 people. According to OVD-Info, 623 people have been persecuted on political grounds since 2015. All known to us cases are collected in our dataset.

«According to OVD-Info» newsletter
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.

 

International advocacy

We sent an open letter to Youtube and Google with plead not to censure Runet 
In the last months Youtube started to block content of opposition upon request of the Russian government. Several projects were faced with deleting video about conscription avoidance, and our channel got a notification with warning of blocking. If our channel is blocked, it’ll be the first time when a whole channel will be blocked upon the request of Russian government. That’s why with Access Now and «Roskomfreedom» we published an open letter to Google and Youtube in May. We’re demanding from corporations not to violate standards of human rights in open space. 

We have a page on our site that is dedicated to international advocacy. We’re also talking about reports and appeals to other in international institutions and the results of such.

 

How much we collected

We highly value our community of donors who participate in crowdfunding initiatives. Their contributions not only provide essential financial support but also signify a shared commitment to our mission and values. We recognize the trust and dedication of our donors and strive to foster a strong sense of community and transparency in all our crowdfunding efforts.

Total transfers

• 16,751 donations
• € 129,986*

*We convert donations made in other currencies into euros at the average exchange rate of the month or the exchange rate on the date of payment.

 

The figure includes 1,020 direct transfers made to OVD-Info defendants through the «Zaodno» (a platform where you can support defendants of OVD-Info and other human rights projects directly — from card to card), totalling € 9,762.

How much we spent

OVD-Info spends donors' donations on legal assistance to defendants, dissemination of information about political repressions in Russia and development of the project. About 40-60% of all private donations go to pay defenders, advocates and lawyers.
 

We expended a total of € 377,688, all of which was funded by your donations and transfers from various sources. Here’s a breakdown of how the funds were used:

• € 99,839 — 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.
• € 32,320 — the 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.
• € 29,097 — 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.
• € 16,500 — data projects, reports and research. 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.
• € 36,698 — international advocacy. We protect freedom of assemblies, words and associations both in Russia and on an international level and try to make visible repressions in Russia and weight with changes of laws and practices, that are violating international standards. For such a reason we’re conducting summaries and analitical data, participating in events and conferences and organising our own meetings to get visibility of such violations and get independent assessment from international institutions, such as UN, OSCE, Europe Union. The help of lawyers in preparations of complaints that are sent to ECHR and their work on strategic cases also is part of this direction of work.
• € 31,015 — 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.
• € 9,783 — 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.
• € 66,503 — 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.
• € 47,336 — infrastructure costs. Since October 2023, we have included payments for key services (such as telephony) in the expenses of the respective areas. Infrastructure costs encompass components directly related to the team’s operations and the overall project, including office expenses, accounting fees, commissions to infrastructure partners who assist us, and applicable taxes.
• € 4,060 — 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.
• € 4,536 — support of new or friendly initiatives. To make our project flexible and stable, we’re developing intercommunion with other human right organisations and independent media, whose values and principles are not opposed to ours. We also support new projects that help us fight political prosecution. With the help of our new partners we create new projects, while shared expertise, knowledge and resources make us stronger.
  
  Thank you for standing with us!