Russia: Race to the Bottom on Rights

Expand A protestor observes riot police during a peaceful protest in Central Moscow on August 10, 2019. © 2019 Tanya Lokshina/HRW (Moscow) – Repression escalated in Russia during 2019 as the government answered rising civic and political activism with bans, repressive laws, and showcase prosecutions, Human Rights Watch said today in its World Report 2020. The authorities carried out large-scale smear campaigns against independent nongovernmental groups, using fines against groups and their leaders to impede and even end their work. The government took this campaign to a new level with criminal…

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