An Overview of Existing Initiatives to End the Regime: 


Opposition in Russia: 

  • Vladimir Kara-Murza  has been involved in legislative efforts internationally, such as the Magnitsky legislation, aimed at targeting Russian human rights violators. Despite surviving poisoning attempts in 2015 and 2017, believed to be politically motivated, he is now serving 25 years, the most severe sentence given to a Kremlin critic in modern Russia.

  • Vladimir Milov, became a vocal critic of Putin's policies, particularly in the energy sector. He has authored reform concepts challenging the dominance of state-controlled entities like Gazprom, facing opposition from Putin's administration. 

  • Ilya Yashin, has been active in various opposition parties and movements, including Yabloko, Solidarnost, and RPR-PARNAS. He has been a leader in campaigns for civil liberties, such as freedom of assembly, and has faced political repercussions, including expulsion from Yabloko. 

International Sanctions and International Diplomacy:

  • European Union (EU) and United States (U.S.): These entities have imposed targeted sanctions on Russian individuals, businesses, and sectors following events like the annexation of Crimea and the death  of Navalny. These sanctions are aimed at pressuring the Russian government to change its behavior.

  • EU restrictive measures in respect of actions undermining or threatening the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine apply to a total of 1 706 individuals and 419 entities.

  • Magnitsky Acts: Several countries, including the US and Canada, have implemented Magnitsky Acts to target individuals responsible for human rights abuses and corruption, often targeting Russian officials.

The effectiveness of the European Union (EU) and United States (U.S.) sanctions on Russia

Long-term Resilience: Russia has shown resilience through import substitutions, non-Western partnerships (like China), and economic diversification.

Political Resilience: Despite dissent, the Russian government maintains power through media control, crackdowns on opposition, and alliances with elites.

Civil Society and NGO Efforts:

  • Pussy Riot gained international attention for their bold protests against the Russian government, particularly on issues like LGBTQ+ rights, freedom of expression, and political dissent.  Using music, performances, and public stunts, Pussy Riot highlighted social and political issues within Russia, challenging societal norms and government policies. While facing significant backlash and legal repercussions, Pussy Riot's activism raised global awareness about human rights violations and the suppression of free speech in Russia.

  • Memorial is a leading human rights organization in Russia that focuses documenting human rights abuses,.Memorial plays a crucial role in documenting human rights violations in Russia, including cases of political persecution, torture, arbitrary arrests, and violations of freedom of expression and assembly. They compile detailed reports, gather evidence, and work to raise awareness about these issues domestically and internationally.

  • Yulia Navalnaya has engaged in international advocacy efforts to raise awareness about the situation in Russia, particularly regarding human rights abuses and political repression. Her efforts aim to garner global support for democratic reforms and justice in Russia.

  • For many Russians, participating in street protests is seen more as a moral duty and symbolic act rather than an effective method of challenging authority. This sentiment is exemplified by recent incidents involving individuals like poet Artem Kamardin, who was arrested for reciting anti-war poetry in a Moscow square, and Sasha Skochilenko, a young artist facing potential imprisonment for altering price tags with anti-war messages in supermarkets throughout St. Petersburg. These actions reflect a broader trend where public demonstrations serve as expressions of dissent and conscience rather than practical avenues for political change.

Freedom of expression:

  • Laws and standards developed in the United Nations Human rights are recognised on the international level by The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 1948. The UDHR stresses that the rights of every individual are universal and thus, every individual is “entitled to equal protection against any discrimination” (Art. 7). Two articles, which have been considered most relevant in the context of the development of information and communication technologies, are Article 12, which protects the individual from “arbitrary interference with his privacy, family, home or correspondence”, and Article 19, which guarantees “the right to freedom of opinion and expression”. The latter is composed of two complimentary freedoms: “to hold opinions without interference” and “to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.” As technologies evolved, the meaning of privacy of correspondence is now understood to encompass different forms of digital communications, as do ‘any media’ in the context of freedom of expression.

  •  The UDHR inspired most of the legally binding human rights treaties in existence today, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) which entered into force in 1976 and is legally binding for the states that ratified it. In the ICCPR the right to privacy is repeated verbatim in Article 17, while Article 19 on freedom of opinion and expression is expanded to include possible restrictions on the basis of “rights or reputations of others'' and “the protection of national security or of public order or of public health or morals”. It should be noted that Article 19 introduces the tension between freedom of expression and national security, which is still very much present in debates about human rights in the digital sphere and is a constantly recurring theme in the current political narratives