OVD-Info: stop political persecutions in Russia

We’re reaching out to say thank you for supporting OVD-Info. After a long break, we returned to GlobalGiving in November 2024. A lot has happened since then — too much to cover in one message — but we’d like to share the most important updates with you.

Helping political prisoners

In Russia today, people are being sent to prison for speaking out against war, for protesting, or simply for expressing opinions the authorities don’t like. These people are often isolated and vulnerable. Our recent projects are designed to reach them directly — with care, letters, medical help and legal support.

Lifeline: Write to Russian political prisoners
Via Lifeline you can either write to someone you don’t know to support them (the system will show you the people who get the least amount of letters first), or you can choose a recipient if you know them. If not, we also added filters based on hobbies and interests, so you have an icebreaker for a conversation.

Since the project’s launch:

• were written ~15,000 letters to 926 political prisoners
• were received 3,788 replies
• ~ 4,000 people supported Lifeline with donations. This allowed us to cover mailing costs (each letter costs ~2 euros) and improve the service.

You can write your message in any language. We will translate it into Russian before sending it. If the recipient replies, we’ll translate the response and forward it to you in your language. These messages have made a real difference. For many prisoners, they are a vital lifeline — proof that they are not alone. We’re happy we could contribute and make the time in prison less unbearable for many. 

Deliveries to Places of Detention: Bureau of Prison Deliveries
Prisoners often lack basic items like warm clothes, food, and hygiene products. This year with the support of OVD-Info, our employees launched Bureau of Prison Deliveries: a project where an inmate can file a request for a care package with food, clothes and other basic necessities, and the project team fundraises, purchases the goods and ships the package.

In April-June:

• 178 requests from 91 individuals have been processed.
• we delivered packages to 76 people
• 55 packages are on the way
• the project fundraised €11,542 for care packages in prisons and detention centers.

Medical Assistance for Prisoners
We launched the Neotlozhka project (Emergency Political Prisoners Care) to assist political prisoners who are denied medical care. Imprisonment poses serious health risks, especially for the elderly and those with chronic conditions. Neotlozhka identifies prisoners with medical issues, helps lawyers file complaints and petitions for the release of severely ill prisoners, and advocates for necessary treatment. In the period from April to June of 2025, we have helped: 

• Medical support: 14 new requests were processed (including 8 new cases), with full treatment funded in 4 cases
• Legal aid: Lawyer fees were fully covered in 3 cases and one client received legal assistance
• Consultations: Legal or logistical support was provided in at least 15 cases
• Complaints filed: 4 official complaints were submitted to detention centers and penal colonies.

Thanks to the project’s work:

• One client was transferred from a prison cell to a prison hospital
• Another was returned from a hospital to a penal colony and has improved
• One received a long-overdue medical examination
• Another accessed essential diagnostics.

Legal help to people persecuted at work or in schools
With the support of OVD-Info, the project On My Terms was launched. It offers help to those facing pressure or persecution at work or university for their civic stance.

At the end of June, the first quarter of work was finished – and here are the first results: 

• provided 17 legal consultations
• prepared 1 specialized lawsuit: three professors from the Ural Conservatory were fired for participating in a labor union, and On my Terms will represent them in the cassation court
• won its first case: the legal team of the project won the case of Nadezhda Buyanova by declining a state appeal. Thanks to the project team the pediatrician who was incarcerated was awarded 1 million rubles (roughly €10,000) for being fired from her workplace
• by the end of June 323 people were connected to the project’s Telegram bot

Key Results Across Our Main Areas of Work (Apr–Jun 2025)

Express help
A call to OVD-Info hotline or a message to our 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.

• we received 726 calls on our hotline and responded to 12,317 messages in Telegram-bot
• our legal instructions were viewed 37,103 times
• 181,478 active users were connected to our Telegram bot by the end of June. 

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, and support defendants in Russian administrative and criminal courts. 

In April-June, our lawyers, jurists and defenders helped 231 people:

• went to the police departments 47 times, where they helped 62 detainees
• defended 59 people in administrative court cases
• achieved 1 case being dismissed
• accompanied clients during 5 detentions
• In total, at the end of June, lawyers from OVD-Info worked on 94 criminal cases against 104 defendants.

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

News and media
One of our slogans is: “Information protects you”. We know it’s true, because evil thrives in silence. We believe that media and international attention can prevent human rights violations and ensure that the violations that happened will lead to consequences.

In this quarter of 2025 we started inviting internationally acclaimed specialists in history, law and politics to help us understand the processes happening in Russia and how they are connected to what’s happening in the rest of the world. 

What you should pay attention to:

• Memory Wars. A piece by Alexey Uvarov, Russian historian currently in exile, Doctor of Philosophy specializing in memory culture, symbols, and democracy in the postSoviet space, now a researcher at the University of Bonn for OVD-Info. In this material he highlights how civil society across Russia — not just in Moscow — has long driven efforts to remember victims of Soviet repression.

• The long shadow of austerity. Nick Trinkett, an associate director with S&P Global Commodity Insights’ Investing in Energy service, explains how Russia’s so-called “war boom” hides the fact that life for most people is actually getting worse. From the 1998 financial collapse to COVID and now the war in Ukraine, Russia’s leaders have repeatedly chosen tight budgets and military spending over real help for citizens. Trickett shows how this system wasn’t just a reaction to sanctions – it was built over decades. If you want to understand why Russia looks strong on paper but weak in reality, this book is a must-read.
  
  
• The slow-motion collapse of Russian higher education. In this article, Dmitry Dubrovskiy is a historian and human rights scholar at Charles University, specializing in the politics of academic freedom and civil society in Russia, explains how it became possible and what we should expect in the next few years.
  
  
• Reshaping Russian youth: how Kremlin creates wartime influencers. In a recent analysis by Dr. Ian Garner, assistant professor at the Centre for Totalitarian Studies at the Pilecki Institute in Warsaw, Russia’s escalating digital authoritarianism is laid bare. Garner shows how, since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the Kremlin has expanded its reach into the digital lives of young Russians through curated Telegram feeds and state-aligned influencers like Olympic gymnast Nikita Nagornyy and Duma deputy Olga Zanko. These influencers blend lifestyle content with subtle — and increasingly explicit — pro-military messaging, portraying patriotism and self-sacrifice as trendy and desirable. In doing so, they erase the line between civic engagement and state loyalty, shaping a generation that sees conformity as virtue and dissent as betrayal.

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
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.

The strangling of Crimea 
Comprehensive report on how freedom of speech was destroyed in Crimea. The repression in occupied Crimea has evolved through three main phases: initial adaptation (2014–2015), full operational repression (2016–2021), and escalation driven by the 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Russia imported and intensified its authoritarian tactics, targeting pro-Ukrainian activists, Crimean Tatars, independent media, and religious groups such as Hizb ut-Tahrir and Jehovah’s Witnesses. Enforced disappearances, fabricated terrorism charges, and draconian prison sentences became common, with repression peaking after the invasion. From 2022 onward, new laws criminalizing anti-war speech, widespread administrative detentions, and extrajudicial pressure — including forced confessions — turned Crimea into one of the most repressed regions under Russian control. This transformation made Crimea both a showcase and a testing ground for Kremlin repression, later exported to other regions of Russia.

Universities and the System: A Report by Groza and OVD-Info 
Since the beginning of the war against Ukraine, Russian universities have faced escalating pressure from authorities, including restrictions on student self-governance, use of ethics commissions for political repression, and encouragement of denunciations. Administrations increasingly suppress dissent by dissolving independent student councils, rewriting regulations to favor loyalists, punishing criticism, and silencing informal student groups. At the same time, independent educational initiatives are targeted: 21 have been labeled "undesirable" and 10 "foreign agents," while at least 71 academics have also received "foreign agent" status. A total of 325 students and professors have faced politically motivated criminal charges since 2009, with administrative expulsions and prosecutions accelerating after 2022. Universities are also used to manufacture support for the regime: between 2022 and 2024, students were forced to attend political events and vote at least 559 times, often under threat or coercion.

No Laughing Matter: A Full Timeline of Pressure and Persecution Against Comedians in Russia
As public figures — with stand-up comedy gaining rapid popularity over the past 15 years — comedians have often faced harassment, and around seven years ago, law enforcement began putting pressure on them because of their statements. We’ve compiled a full chronology of the pressure placed on comedians in Russia, showing how law enforcement’s interest in their work began and what it has led to.

Raids, Political Cases, and Procedural Violations — How Conscription Became a Tool of Repression
OVD-Info analyzed statistics from organizations that defend the rights of conscripts. We explain how and why military enlistment offices have increased pressure on potential draftees, and how military service is being used as a tool of repression.

«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 believe that it is crucial for international bodies of justice to have an accurate picture of systemic oppression in Russia. That’s why we continue to prepare reports, appeals and complaints about the human rights situation in Russia, where we can shed light on specific cases. Russia is becoming more isolated – but we believe there has to be a crack in this repressive shell. That’s why we continue to shed light on cases of violations – and stay connected with international organizations like the UN.

Submitting appeals to the UN regarding political prisoners

In the past 3 months, the OVD-info team has submitted a complaint and an appeal to the UN regarding two important cases: of Maria Ponomarenko and Igor Baryshnikov. 

Appeal to the UN Regarding the Case of Maria Ponomarenko
In April, we submitted updated information to the UN concerning the case of Maria Ponomarenko — a journalist sentenced for anti-war statements and imprisoned for nearly three years. We reported a critical deterioration in her mental health, ongoing punishments, isolation, suicide attempts, and the lack of access to professional help.

UN Complaint in the Case of Igor Baryshnikov
We also submitted a complaint to the UN Human Rights Committee, asking it to recognize that the criminal prosecution of Igor Baryshnikov violates the provisions of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

In the complaint, we emphasize that:
– Prosecution for anti-war posts contradicts the right to freedom of expression;
– Repression for pacifist views is part of war propaganda, which is prohibited by the Covenant;
– Igor was also denied the right to a fair trial, including the right to cross-examine prosecution witnesses and receive a reasoned verdict.

This is not the first time we've addressed the UN about Igor Baryshnikov’s case. In the summer of 2024, the Committee already obliged the Russian authorities to provide him with surgery — a demand that was fulfilled.

OVD-Info’s international team submitted a contribution to a public call for inputs for a report on corporations and international solidarity. Between July 2023 and June 2025, OVD-Info contributed expert input to the UN on how corporations enable repression in Russia by removing independent media content and cutting off access to essential tools like VPNs. Major companies such as Apple, Google, Mozilla, and Revolut have repeatedly complied with censorship demands from Russian authorities, often without transparency or accountability. Civil society organisations, especially those labelled “foreign agents,” are cut off from corporate services, donations, and communication tools, sometimes forced to suspend critical programs. These actions contribute directly to human rights violations and silence dissent. To combat this, the advocacy prepared a set of recommendations, which will become a part of the report to the UN General Assembly in October 2025. 

OVD-Info also took part in the conference “Implementing ECtHR Judgments on Freedom of Expression: Impact on Civil Society, Lessons and Future Strategies,” organized by the European Implementation Network. The event was part of a two-year project aimed at supporting civil society in securing the implementation of European Court of Human Rights rulings. OVD-Info has been actively involved throughout the project: at the conference, we presented our recent work on freedom of expression cases (including submissions under Rule 9.2), and discussed possible strategies for alternative implementation of ECtHR judgments in relation to Russia.

For years, OVD-Info filed complaints to the ECtHR, defending the rights of our clients at the international level. For some we managed to win compensations. In 2022 Russia stopped satisfying the ECtHR decisions – but nevertheless, we believe that our clients deserve justice at the international level if it’s impossible in their home country.

Thank you for staying with us and not looking away. We carry on because you’re here. 

Always with you,
The OVD-Info Team

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If you missed it:
At the end of January, Russia’s Prosecutor General listed GlobalGiving as an “undesirable organisation.”* In late February, OVD-Info was removed from the platform, and we lost access to foreign donations. We haven’t fully bounced back yet, but we’re excited to reconnect with you.
*In Russia, "undesirable organisations" are foreign or international entities deemed a threat to the country's constitutional order, security, or defence. Under a 2015 law, these organisations can be banned, their assets frozen, and their members face both administrative and criminal penalties.

A quick heads-up:

• Russian organisations were taken down to protect donors. Supporting “undesirable organizations” from within Russia can carry risks. While we assess the risks for donors as low, we want to offer you different options to support OVD-Info if you're ready to return.

If you’re outside Russia or don’t travel there:

• Set up a regular donation through GlobalGiving and help us keep going.
• Spread the word — share this update with your network and encourage it to support us too. There’s no risk for you. This strange legislation is designed to intimidate Russian citizens.

If you’re in Russia or planning to visit:

• Support us directly on our website.You can subscribe to monthly or yearly donations, choosing your preferred payment method and currency.
• Avoid publicly posting calls to donate through GlobalGiving (to us or other organisations on the platform). Also, it’s better to remove your old posts.
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Links:

• Our editor's NYT op-ed on the dangers of authoritarianism
• Detailed monthly reports
• The Dissident Digest