New Report on the State of Civil Society in Russia During 2020

April 2021 PROTEST AND PRESSURE IN A PANDEMIC STATUS OF RUSSIA’S FOREIGN AGENT LAWS AND IMPLICATIONS FOR ENVIRONMENTALISTS IN 2020

Defending the Kushtau mountain in Bashkortostan, august 2020. (Photo: Kushtau-online) Naturvernforbundet Mariboes gate 8 0183 Oslo Telefon: +47 23 10 96 10 E-post: [email protected] www.naturvernforbundet.no PROTEST AND PRESSURE IN A PANDEMIC STATUS OF RUSSIA’S FOREIGN AGENT LAWS AND IMPLICATIONS FOR ENVIRONMENTALISTS IN 2020

PUBLISHED BY NATURVERNFORBUNDET/ FRIENDS OF THE EARTH NORWAY OSLO, APRIL 2021

Written by Kjersti Album, Vitaly Servetnik, and Andrey Talevlin Language editing by Aled-Dilwyn Fisher Design by Ketill Berger, Film & Form

This and previous reports are available at www.naturvernforbundet.no/civilsocietyreports

CONTENTS

Preface ...... 4 Summary ...... 5 1 . Introduction ...... 6 2 . Background ...... 7 3 . New legal developments in 2020 ...... 10 4 . Listings of foreign agents and undesirable organizations in 2020 ...... 14 5 . Covid-19 prevention measures in 2020 ...... 16 6 . Recorded episodes of intimidation of environmental activists in 2020 ...... 18 7 . Conclusion ...... 22 Endnotes/references ...... 24

Status report 2020 3 PREFACE

Founded in 1914, Naturvernforbundet/Friends and how it affects environmental organizations. of the Earth Norway is Norway’s oldest environ- All reports and updates are available at www. mental and nature conservation organization. naturvernforbundet.no/civilsocietyreports. Naturvernforbundet is membership-based and Our Russian sister organization Russian democratic, and consists of over 31,000 mem- Social-Ecological Union (RSEU)/Friends of the bers divided between approximately 100 local Earth Russia is a non-governmental, non-profit, groups across the country, working to solve envi- and member-based democratic organization, ronmental issues both locally and globally. established in 1992. RSEU brings together public Naturvernforbundet/Friends of the Earth organizations and active citizens from all regions Norway has over many years worked closely of Russia. All RSEU activities – programs and with Russian environmental organizations. The projects, actions and campaigns – are aimed at cooperation has been helpful for both sides on nature conservation, and protection of health a wide range of environmental topics. The work and the wellbeing of people in Russia and around has all the time faced challenges from regu- the world. RSEU members act together for na- lations on the Russian side, but the situation ture conservation, for sustainable development deteriorated significantly with the foreign agent of Russia and the planet. In 2014, RSEU became NGO laws that were approved in the Russian the Russian member of Friends of the Earth. parliament and by the president in 2012. Es- In Russia, activists, groups, and organizations pecially since 2015 and onwards, the time and fighting for the environment and human rights resources spent to cope with constantly growing often face severe consequences of their work. demands and pressure from the authorities have Persecution and pressure come in different increased in our partner organizations. forms from the state, from private business- For several years, Naturvernforbundet and its es, and from individuals. Supporting activists, Russian partners have published status reports groups, and organizations has therefore a prom- on the conditions for civil society in general inent place in RSEU’s work.

4 Status report 2020 SUMMARY

Russia’s civil society has been under pressure Such conflicts occurred in relation to ongoing since the beginning of the 2000s. The situation projects throughout the country, such as landfill has become increasingly difficult over the years. construction in the Arkhangelsk region, min- Since 2012, the so-called foreign agent laws ing in Bashkortostan, forestry in Udmurtia, have been an important tool for controlling and and conflicts around urban green spaces in the restricting civil society. Moscow region. Overall, these ongoing environ- In 2020, several legal bills were launched that mental conflicts can increase social tension and further limit the space for civil society and hu- pressure on environmental activists. They might man rights. Environmental groups and activists also contribute to increasing politicization of the we speak to worry more than ever before about environmental movement, which in turn can their situation, including those that have not make environmental work look more controver- previously been so much affected by the for- sial than necessary. eign agent laws. The chances of being labelled a The current situation is extremely challeng- foreign agent increased with a new law adopted ing for environmentalists. In all countries, the in 2020, which created a situation in which any environmental movement is up against strong individual and non-registered group can be en- interests, and must build knowledge and capac- tered into the register. There are also increased ity to be able to use a wide range of democratic limitations to expressing your opinion on the instruments to protect environmental interests. streets through protests and demonstrations. Russian environmentalists also participate in The laws and explanatory orders are not very public hearings, write reports and brochures, specific and opens for selective use. The vague recruit followers and supporters by using social definitions and general hostility towards civil media, and conduct other related activities. society involvement in the public debate create Some of this work is still possible and we are uncertainties and fear that can lead to self-cen- very impressed by Russian environmentalists sorship beyond the intentions of the laws. for their achievements. However, the Russian Russian environmentalists have reported sev- environmental movement faces not only restric- eral episodes of pressure towards environmental tions from the foreign agent laws and others, but activists this year. There are outbreaks of social also limitations in possibilities to bring forward conflicts accompanied by street protests and their arguments for nature and environmental direct clashes between locals and developers. protection.

Status report 2020 5 1 . INTRODUCTION

For several years, we have witnessed a worsen- unable to cope with solving environmental prob- ing of the situation for civil society in Russia. In lems1. As written in our previous report, more this report, we show how civil society space in environmental protests take place, and local general, and the space for environmental groups ad-hoc groups are growing stronger. Although and activists in particular, has been further people may have different reasons for engaging narrowed in 2020. The report presents the legal in protests, it seems there is a growing belief that changes, as well as episodes of pressure towards federal and regional authorities are unable, or environmental groups and activists. unwilling, to combat environmental problems. In 2020, we clearly see a visible tightening As environmentalists, the focus in our reports of the room for environmental activism and is mainly on pressure towards environmental increased violations of human rights. Several NGOs and activists. However, we want to of our colleagues and fellow environmentalists point out that other parts of Russian civil society raise concern over the new laws, and on how it also face problems, often more severe. The new will affect their work. Monitoring by Russian laws and amendments are not targeted towards environmental organizations shows increased environmentalists specifically, more towards pressure and intimidation towards environmen- political opposition. tal activists. Most of the data reflected and numbers shown At the same time, environmental awareness are considered and counted until the end of and activism is growing in Russia. According to 2020. In some cases, if the effect in the begin- recent studies, 35 per cent of Russians are ready ning of 2021 has an important additional value to take part in environmental protest, and 56 per for the discussion of 2020 events, we include cent say that regional and federal authorities are this.

6 Status report 2020 2 . BACKGROUND

This chapter summarizes much of the same in- conditions and the development of the situation formation as in our previous reports, so experi- for environmental NGOs and activists in Russia enced readers may well skip this chapter and go for years. We have made annual reports since on to read about the 2020 developments. 2013. The space for civil society in Russia started The main trend is that, every year, the situa- shrinking around 2000, when Vladimir Putin tion for civil society is becoming worse. Existing became president. From 2006, Russia imposed legislation becomes stricter, new limitations increased reporting requirements on NGOs, are imposed, and more limiting regulations are especially relating to foreign funding. It also proposed. Even if a new bill does not become provided for planned, annual inspections of the law, it can still serve the function of spreading organizations from the authorities, as well as un- fear of the restrictive state, which might limit announced inspections. Following this, several people’s willingness to protest or even speak NGOs were inspected in 2007-2008, but most their opinion. environmental organizations continued their work as before. BACKGROUND ON THE LAW ON The situation severely deteriorated in 2012 FOREIGN AGENTS when the foreign agent law was introduced. The law on Foreign Agents aims to marginal- The law intended to restrict foreign funding for ize, defame, and shut down critical voices. An electoral monitoring NGOs, after the massive organization can be labelled a Foreign Agent if it protest movement that followed the irregular- has received foreign funding at the same time as ities in the 2011 and 2012 parliamentary and engaging in “political activity”. The definition of presidential elections. After most NGOs refused “political activity” is vague and covers in practice to register as foreign agents, the Ministry of any normal advocacy work that any organization Justice was given the authority to label NGOs as would be engaged in. Activities like informa- foreign agents. tion work and arranging meetings can also be After the foreign agent law was introduced, considered “political” and lead to being labelled the pressure on civil society became what we can as foreign agents, which means that no organiza- call systemic, through regular inspections, label- tion is safe. ling, fines, courts, and so on. Thus, it was neces- Consequences for NGOs that are registered sary for NGOs to start more systemic monitoring are huge, and, in practice, it has proven difficult and documentation. We have been following the to continue the activity of a number of orga-

Status report 2020 7 nizations. Thus, many groups have decided to After 2015, the number of environmental close down. The forced registration also led to organizations being labelled foreign agents court cases and big fines for not having regis- remained relatively stable and low over the tered voluntarily. Since 2012, the law on foreign years. However, one should not assume that the agents has led to the liquidation of 22 out of the problem has become any smaller. The important 32 environmental NGOs that have been declared work of the environmental organizations that as foreign agents. were previously listed and then closed is still From the authorities, it was claimed that highly impacted. Those who changed into con- the foreign agent law was not discriminatory. sulting companies spend more time and money, However, after several amendments have been and those that operate without registration face made to the law, the NGOs labelled as foreign practical issues. In addition, all environmental- agents have lost several rights. The human rights ists struggle with the status as alleged betrayers council of the President has raised this issue and foreign agents against Russian values. several times and informed the President about In 2019, the law on media foreign agents was the selective implementation of the law. NGOs changed to include individual foreign agents. labelled as foreign agents must provide all infor- This law opens for the possibility to punish mation on their activities in advance, in addition individuals for any kind of information publish- to annual reporting. The grounds for a ban are ing. The law “On recognition of individuals as not specified; any activity can be banned. media acting as Foreign Agents” was initiated as The law on foreign agents has served as one a bill in the end of 2017 and the first reading took of Russian authorities’ main tools to repress place in January 2018. After being abandoned Russian civil society. The law hinders Russians for almost two years, the bill was handled very organizations in working efficiently: restricting quickly in the end of 2019. The second and third foreign funds, marginalizing “political” and Duma readings took place in November 2019. almost any other NGO’s activity, spreading dis- The Federation Council approved the bill on 25th trust to non-governmental actors among society, November, and the bill was signed by the presi- and introducing self-censorship among NGOs. dent and came into force in December 2019. In addition, the various aspects and processes of the law, like inspections, increased reporting, BACKGROUND ON THE LAW ON huge fines, and even sometimes court cases, UNDESIRABLE ORGANIZATIONS draw time and resources from NGOs. AND OTHER LAWS LIMITING A change in the law from 2014 gave the Min- THE SPACE FOR RUSSIAN CIVIL istry of Justice the right to add organizations to SOCIETY the register themselves, without a court ruling. The undesirable organizations Law (called This change had a clear effect: in 2015, the num- “unwanted” by the Ministry of Justice, we use ber of environmental NGOs added to the register the more understandable and internationally increased tenfold (see Table 1). used term) followed three years after the foreign agents law, targeting not only the recipients Table 1: Number of environmental NGOs la- of foreign aid (NGOs), but also the providers belled as foreign agents 2014-2020 (donors), as well as individuals involved in any cooperation with such organizations. 2014 2 The law targets international organizations 2015 20 that operate in Russia. The scope for the law on 2016 4 undesirable organizations is even wider than 2017 5 the foreign agent law, and both laws rely on the

2018 0 same kind of vagueness and unclear writing that benefits the authorities, and creates fear and 2019 1 uncertainty within NGOs. 2020 0 Anyone working for or cooperating with an Total 32 “undesirable” organization — including in an un-

8 Status report 2020 official capacity — faces fines. Criminal proceed- prison. Four organizations listed in 2018 includ- ings will be initiated against repeated offenders ed two focusing on elections monitoring, one and the punishments can be even harsher, with German fund, and one environmental US-based fines, and prison sentences ranging from two to NGO. In 2019, four organizations were also list- six years. ed, including two US-based organizations, one Regarding the register of undesirable organi- Canadian and one from the Czech Republic. zations, most of those registered so far are US- There are also other laws that narrow the based foundations or connected to these, and space of Russian civil society. For instance, it providing financial support for Russian NGOs. has been increasingly difficult to organize public Two of four listed in 2017 were institutions of actions and protests legally. Even when applica- Mikhail Khodorkovsky, an ex-oligarch who fled tions are sent well in advance, answers tend to Russia after being pardoned and released from be negative or alternative locations are offered.

Activist’s crashed car in Vologda. (Photo_ Evgeny Domozhirov)

Status report 2020 9 3 . NEW LEGAL DEVELOP- MENTS IN 2020

The overall picture is that more happened eign-funded individual or organization to be in 2020 in terms of new legal developments labelled a foreign agent. This is an expansion of compared to previous years. Several bills were who can be labelled foreign agents, and thus a proposed in November 2020, imposing new re- potential threat to unregistered environmental strictions on free speech, access to information, groups and individual environmentalists. After and the right of assembly. Some of these passed 2015, several organizations closed after being the State Duma in late December, some in the labelled foreign agents. Working as unregistered beginning of 2021. organizations, or as individuals, have been an To become law, bills must pass three readings alternative, even with its disadvantages. by the State Duma and an upper house Federa- The expansion of the foreign agent law to tion Council vote, as well as obtaining President include individuals performing media work Vladimir Putin’s signature. For bills that pass were passed in 2019 to cover individual jour- the third reading in the Duma, it is expected nalists and bloggers. The new law means that that they will be approved and become law. The the scope of those who can be recognized as a current status of each bill can be followed at foreign agent in Russia is even wider. Now, any the official web page of the legislative support politically active, foreign-funded individual can system, https://sozd.duma.gov.ru/ be targeted. As before, the term “political” is An overview of the new laws most relevant as broad as can be imagined and can include for civil society organizations are presented in almost any kind of work an environmental group Table 2. could consider. Foreign funding could mean simply attending an event organized by a group EXPANSION OF THOSE WHO with foreign funding. This makes it easier for CAN BE LABELLED A FOREIGN the authorities to target specific activists that AGENT authorities see as problematic. The law seems In December 2020, President Putin signed into aimed to keep people from monitoring elections law a bill2 allowing any politically active, for- and to prevent the non-systemic opposition3

10 Status report 2020 from participation in elections. However, it can Foreign agent NGOs must provide their activity also be used to impact organizations and per- plans to the authorities beforehand and report sons that do not participate in elections or cam- afterwards. In addition to the additional control, paigns for a political candidate, but for instance the rules also impose additional work. With the fight for environmental issues. new amendment, individual foreign agents also need to do this. Fines will also be increased for MORE RESTRICTIONS ON PUB- all foreign agent violations. LIC PROTESTS The new amendment to the federal law “On CONTROL AND REGULATION Meetings, Rallies, Demonstrations, Processions OF EDUCATION ACTIVITIES and Picketing” requires that bank account de- A new amendment to the law on education tails must be indicated in the notification of the introduces control and regulation by the govern- public event. Collection of funds and spending ment of any educational activity. The amend- must only go through this account. ment is not limited to the education system; it The ban on demonstrations and gatherings also affects what we would call information ac- are stricter. One-person protest, usually re- tivities. As explanatory orders from the Ministry ferred to as “picket”, has been widely used by for of Justice have not yet been made, it is unclear instance Fridays for Future Russia, as gatherings in what way the law will impact such activities. have been hard to exercise. Now, even this alter- The amendment says, though not very clearly, native risks arrest if someone is providing any that all international education programs, or any assistance to the protester. If the police consid- other educational programs with foreign partic- er that the person is not alone and someone is ipation, need a state license and the approval of helping them, then everyone can be arrested. educational authorities. It is not yet clear what There are other minor adjustments that to- level of authority, federal or regional, must grant gether make it more difficult to organize public approval. protests. There are also more restrictions for Education and information work that has pre- journalists, which makes it more difficult to viously been viewed as uncontroversial may now report about public protests. face difficulties. Many environmental organiza- It was extremely difficult to hold a public actions and initiative groups work with schools or tion in Russia before. With the adoption of these inform citizens on how they can contribute to an restrictions, it has become even more difficult. improved environment, for instance regarding energy saving measures, and waste collection CRIMINALIZING AND IN- and recycling options. NGOs that cooperate CREASED CONTROL OF FOR- with universities and scientific institutions will EIGN AGENTS be more affected and are now nervous. After Two supporting laws to criminalize violations of the first Duma reading, several petitions were the foreign agent law have been adopted. If you launched online.4 The largest was signed by are labelled as a foreign agent, you can get fined more than two hundred thousand people. This for not registering voluntarily. For non-regis- petition, which was started by astrophysicist tering and not following the duties of a foreign Sergei Popov, states that “many educational agent, you can be charged with criminal offence projects, based primarily on the enthusiasm and face up to two years in prison. If the viola- of their participants, may end up in danger of tion is considered systematic or malicious, the disappearing due to the appearance of numerous maximum punishment is five years. bureaucratic requirements, the need for licens- An amendment to increase control of those ing, coordination of the content of each lecture, labelled as foreign agents has become law. etc”5.

Status report 2020 11 Table 2: Overview of the most relevant new laws6 (by 5th April 2021): Number/title Content Status

No. 1057230-7 More restrictions on public protests: Requires that bank account Signed by Putin 30th On Amending the Federal Law details be indicated in the notification of the public event. December 2020. Has “On Meetings, Rallies, Demon- Collection of funds and expenditure must only go through this become law. strations, Processions and account. Picketing” It is extremely difficult to hold a public action in Russia even without these restrictions. With the adoption of the bill, it became even more difficult.

No. 1057914-7 Expansion of potential foreign agents by extending the status to Signed by Putin 30th On amendments to certain leg- unregistered public associations and also expanding the con- December 2020. Has islative acts of the Russian Fed- cept of an individual foreign agent to cover any individual. become law. eration in terms of establishing additional measures to counter By this expansion, there are now 5 types of foreign agents: threats to national security Non-governmental organisations, media, journalists, and now unregistered groups and any individual.

No. 1073604-7 Introduces a new article 330 into the Criminal Code, which crim- Signed by Putin 30th On amendments to Article 330-1 inalizes violations of the law on “foreign agents”. December 2020. Has of the Criminal Code of the become law. Russian Federation For example, if a person is forcibly included in the register of (in terms of clarifying respon- foreign agents, they will be fined for not joining it voluntarily. sibility for malicious evasion Prison terms can also be imposed if the rules are not followed. of duties determined by the legislation of the Russian Feder- Previously, most of the NGOs that were labelled foreign agents ation on non-profit organizations were only fined for not registering voluntarily. performing the functions of a foreign agent)

No. 1060950-7 Introduces into the code of administrative offenses the norms Signed by Putin 24th On amendments to the Code of establishing responsibility for violation of all new provisions of February 2021. Has Administrative Offenses of the the legislation on foreign agents. become law. Russian Federation This is a supportive bill, defining punishment for violating new NGO regulations for individual foreign agents only.

No. 1052523-7 Increased obligations of NGOs included in the foreign agent Signed by Putin On amendments to the Federal register. 5th April 2021. Has Law “On Non-Commercial become law. Organizations” in terms of Obliges NGOs included in the Foreign Agent register to send improving the legal regulation of their planned activities to the Ministry of Justice, then to report the activities of non-commercial following the activities. organizations performing the functions of a foreign agent and structural divisions of foreign non-commercial non-governmental organizations

No. 1057895-7 Introduces control and regulation by the government of any Signed by Putin On amendments to the Federal educational activity, not limited to the education system. 5th April 2021. Has Law “On Education in the Rus- become law. sian Federation” Educational organizations will be required to obtain permission from the Ministry of Science and Higher Education or the Min- istry of Education7 for any cooperation with foreign colleagues, including holding international conferences and even exchang- ing scientific literature.

12 Status report 2020 Furthermore, 2020 constitutional amend- All in all, the legal changes make it even more ments not directly linked to the situation for civil difficult to work for environmental issues. society nevertheless impact the overall situation. As Vladimir Slivjak wrote in the Moscow The amendments both prolong President Pu- Times9: tin’s personal term limits until 2036 and at the Unfortunately, this (…) gives carte blanche same time increase the emphasis on so-called to law enforcement officials who subscribe to traditional Russian values. According to An- conspiracy theories. After all, honors and pro- drei Kolesnikov8, chair of the Russian domestic motions are not given to officers for catching politics and political institutions program at the polluters of the air and water, but to those who Carnegie Moscow Center thinktank, the result of expose unregistered organizations that spread 2020’s upheaval is that “full-scale authoritarian- criticisms of the government’s environmental ism has finally taken shape in Russia.” policy.

Clashes with the protectors of forests from deforestation for the construction of residential complex, Izhevsk, 12.11.2020. (Photo: Dmitry Morozov)

Status report 2020 13 4 . LISTINGS OF FOREIGN AGENTS AND UNDESIRABLE ORGANIZATIONS IN 2020

No new environmental NGOs were labelled as considered as foreign funding. At the same time, foreign agents in 2020. Other NGOs have been any interaction, including likes and reposts, included in the register, such as NGOs working from media foreign agents might be considered on women’s rights, LGBT issues, and HIV10. as the “spread of information”. Before listing The list of environmental NGOs that are listed individual media foreign agents, the Ministry as Foreign Agents can be viewed here in Rus- of Justice must consult the Ministry of Foreign sian: http://rusecounion.ru/ru/ecoagents and Affairs. There is an exception for legal entities here in English: https://rusecounion.ru/eng/ established by foreign media, here the Ministry ecoagents of Justice can list by themselves. In 2020, 12 more undesirable organizations In December 2020, the Ministry of Justice were listed. These are mostly US-based, of which added five individuals to the register. Of the several related to Falun Gong. In addition, or- individuals first added14 to the Justice Ministry’s ganizations from the United Kingdom, Belgium, registry of “foreign mass media performing the France, and the Czech Republic were listed. The functions of a foreign agent” were 3 journalists, last two were added on 25th December11. The but also St. Petersburg-based artist and activ- state list of the undesirable organizations can be ist Daria Apakhonchich and veteran human viewed at the website of the Ministry of Justice12. rights activist Lev Ponomaryov. Ponomaryov The law On recognition of individuals as was heading the For Human Rights movement, media acting as Foreign Agents from 2019 re- which was previously listed as a foreign agent ceived its explanatory orders from the Ministry and eventually disbanded in November 2019. of Justice in September 202013. The order states His labelling seems to confirm the concern that that the foreign agent register can include both this law will be used selectively. individuals and legal entities who 1) dissem- There is reason to believe that many citizens inate information, including on the internet, will exercise increased self-censorship in what and 2) receive assistance from abroad. These they are writing online. Furthermore, since it criteria are vague. It seems that any income or is unclear if the law covers things like travel transaction from outside of Russia might be support, we might expect reluctance towards

14 Status report 2020 attending seminars and conferences financed 4. Organizations without registration according from abroad. Democracy in Russia will thus be to the new law. further weakened, and people-to-people coop- 5. Individual foreign agents according to the new eration between Russia and other countries will law. experience further difficulties. With the new laws, there can be in total 5 Our Russian co-environmentalists frequently kinds of foreign agents: experience that their potential partners, such as municipal officials and university represen- 1. Non-governmental organizations (NGOs), tatives, ask about their foreign agent status. according to the 2012 law. Even for those not registered, the foreign agent 2. Media organizations, according to the 2017 concept can work as a barrier for communica- law. tion, out of fear that a long-term partners can 3. Journalists or individuals in the media, ac- suddenly be listed as a foreign agent, as individ- cording to the 2019 law. uals or groups.

Status report 2020 15 5 . COVID-19 PREVENTION MEASURES IN 2020

In 2020, we have seen the use of Covid-19 opted for conducting such discussions. In some restrictions as an argument for arresting and regions, public hearings can be held via the In- fining protesters. In April, May and June, a ternet, where the procedure for selecting partici- common method of pressure against environ- pants is not transparent and some activists were mental demonstrations was violation of the unable to register for such discussions. Other self-isolation regime (Articles 6.3 and 20.6.1 of regions began to use polls instead of hearings. the Administrative Code of the Russian Federa- At the same time, it is not clear how opinions are tion). Generally, different reasons can be given considered and whether they will be included in for fining protesters and breaking quarantine the final document (the protocol). regime is just one of them. However, since 1st In Chelyabinsk in April 2020, it was decid- April, corona-related reasons almost completely ed that a public hearing to discuss the cutting replaced the protocols on violation of the pro- of trees would be held in absentia. This meant cedure for holding mass events (Article 20.2 of that people could send their comments, but not the Administrative Code of the Russian Feder- participate in any way, not even digitally. The day ation) and resistance to the demands of police before the hearing it was revealed that those who officers (Article 19.3 of the Administrative Code wished to attend should send copies of their pass- of the Russian Federation). In the autumn 2020, ports and consent to processing of personal data, Covid-19 restrictions were not used against according to the leader of the movement “Stop environmental protesters, as restrictions were GOK”15. Complaints regarding this process were lifted. In the beginning of 2021, corona restric- sent, but the hearing took place. Environmen- tions were used again, this time against political talists worry that the new hearing procedure will protests. continue, even after corona restrictions are lifted. Several Russian environmental groups have In Nizhniy Novgorod in April 2020, environ- complained that public hearings have been mentalists complained that local hearings were cancelled or gone ahead with limited public conducted in a way that contradicted the corona participation. In connection with the Covid-19 rules of the governor16. Although the governor epidemic in many regions and municipalities explicitly forbade gatherings of any kind, the (public hearings are the responsibility of munic- local Duma asked people to come to the hearing ipal authorities), new procedures have been ad- and identify themselves as a participant in the

16 Status report 2020 discussions. As participating in hearings was trialists and Entrepreneurs (RSPP) proposed18 not included in the accepted reasons to leave the suspending current environmental supervision, house, people could have been afraid to follow control, and the most significant environmental the hearing procedures. regulation procedures under the pretext of the A similar situation took place in Leningrad coronavirus pandemic. However, their sugges- region in May. Despite the governor’s decision tion was not followed. to prohibit any public gathering to prevent In addition, Russian environmentalists point corona from spreading, the administration of out19 that Russia (Rosatom) and Germany Kingisepp decided to organize a hearing with the (Urenco Germany) have taken advantage of the construction company. Both local environmental coronavirus crisis to resume shipping radioac- groups and a local indigenous people’s organiza- tive uranium waste to dump in the Urals and tion complained17, stating that the hearing was Siberia in Russia. When environmental groups illegal and demanded that it should be stopped. discovered, in autumn 2019, that Germany was They considered it unfair to hold such hearings, exporting its radioactive waste to Russia, via the when for instance people over 65 years could harbor of Amsterdam, they directly organized not attend, as they were obliged to follow a protests in these three countries. Those protests regime of self-isolation. The organizers refused had success, and the transport by rail and sea to stop and continued the hearing, but the only was put on hold. That was before the corona- participant was a business representative. Other virus crisis hit. In March 2020, when Covid-19 participants chose to leave to avoid violating the lockdowns restricted people’s right to protest in decision of the governor. Russia even further, the shipments of radioac- In April 2020, the Russian Union of Indus- tive waste were set to resume.

Free Kazantsev demands at the demonstration in Chelyabinsk on September 10, 2020. (Photo from the Stop-GOK group https_vk.com_stop_gok)

Status report 2020 17 6 . RECORDED EPISODES OF INTIMIDATION OF ENVIRON- MENTAL ACTIVISTS IN 2020

In the beginning of 2020, it seemed like the may resort to protests and demonstrations to main pressure from Russian authorities moved get attention if they feel ignored. An important to protest groups, whereas NGOs were more left difference is that, in Russia, such protest actions alone. But with the new legal developments in can be interpreted by authorities as voicing crit- the last part of the year, the pressure increased icism against the regime itself and therefore as a on organizations as well. potential threat. In 2020, we have seen protests It is difficult to say with certainty which issues escalating into physical confrontation. are subject to more pressure. According to num- In 2020, environmentalists and environmen- bers presented below, most cases of detained talists were beaten, tried, dispersed, and fined. and fined activists relate to extraction of natural Russian Social-Environmental Union (RSEU)/ resources, waste management, polluting indus- Friends of the Earth Russia monitors the pres- tries, and construction projects. On the other sure on environmental activists and published a hand, activists who oppose nuclear energy are report on the topic in January 202121. Informa- subject to more serious pressure, such as articles tion from this report is presented below. from the criminal code, accusations of espionage All in all, in 2020, RSEU recorded 169 ep- and, as a result, the need to leave their home isodes of pressure22 on 450 environmental country and seek political asylum abroad20. activists in 26 regions of Russia. One activist Concerned citizens and organizations nor- was killed, 15 were injured to varying degrees of mally direct their appeals to - and attempt severity or had their property damaged, 14 crim- to establish a dialogue with - the authorities. inal cases were initiated against eco-activists, Raising public attention, filing appeals and and 264 administrative protocols were drawn complaints, and participating in public hearings up. The total amount of individual fines was over are normal working methods to bring new per- half a million rubles (more than 5 000 euros). spectives to the table of decision-makers. When Details are shown below. such working methods are ignored or hindered, we have seen environmental activists turning to GREEN HOT SPOTS AND ISSUES protest actions. This is not unique to Russia; in The leading regions in terms of the number Norway and other countries, environmentalists of episodes of pressure on environmentalists

18 Status report 2020 were Moscow (48 episodes), Bashkortostan on the site of a public garden on Yaroslavskaya (20), Arkhangelsk region (18), Moscow region Street. (11), Kemerovo region (9), and the Republic of A significant number of pressure episodes Tatarstan (9). were associated with the construction of a sec- The hottest issues of environmental conflicts tion of the South-Eastern Expressway through were the construction of a waste landfill at the the repository for radioactive waste of the Mos- Shies station in the Arkhangelsk region (20 cow Polymetals Plant, as well as with plans to episodes), an attempt to develop the limestone build a plant for processing highly toxic waste in mining industry in the Kushtau shishan (lime- Kambarka, Udmurtia. stone mountain) in Bashkortostan (17), protection of a park on Ivan Franko Street in Kuntsevo DEATH in Moscow (14), the construction project “Fes- A death occurred on 26th August 2020 in Volog- tival Park- 2 ”in Moscow (11), and construction da. Activist Sergei Pakholkov, who opposed the of a section of the South-Eastern Expressway in destruction of a park on Yaroslavskaya Street, Moscow (8). died at a police station after being arrested. A The main episodes of pressure on eco-activ- criminal case was opened, but neither the activists are associated with the extraction of natural ist’s wife nor the lawyer were allowed to access resources, problems in the field of waste man- the case materials. agement, hazardous industries, and construction projects. DAMAGE TO HEALTH AND PROPERTY In particular, the pressure was associated with In Vologda, on 7th August, about 15 unknown the construction of landfills at the Shies sta- people broke windows, left dents, and over- tion in the Arkhangelsk region, in Povarovo in turned an eco-activist’s car parked near a pro- Solnechnogorsk and Voskresensk in the Moscow tected square. On 29th September, two defend- region and near the Vesyoly farm in the Rostov ers of the same square were injured as a result of region, the construction of waste incinerators in the use of force by workers. the Osinovo village in Tatarstan, and the Timok- Another activist’s car was damaged on 13th hovo village in the Moscow region. July in Moscow, when unknown persons The extraction of raw materials is often asso- damaged the on-duty van “Oborona Slope” of ciated with the destruction of valuable natural, opponents of the construction of the South-East historical, and cultural territories, and causes a Expressway section. At night, all four wheels deterioration of the ecological situation at the of the car were punctured and something was sites of extraction. Examples are the conflicts poured into the tank, as a result of which the van around the development of the Shikhan Kushtau could not be started. for the production of soda in Bashkortostan, the In the Chelyabinsk Region, during filming of construction of the Tomino GOK mining com- the Tomino GOK construction site, an activist plex in the Chelyabinsk Region, and the mining of the Stop GOK movement, Alexander Kopy- of uranium in the Kurgan Region, as well as coal ev, was attacked by two unknown persons with mining and transportation in several districts of knives. Kopyev was able to fight back and was the Kemerovo Region. not seriously injured, but the tires of the eco-ac- Construction projects are most often associat- tivist’s car were punctured. ed with deforestation of green areas, and indi- In Vsevolozhsk, Leningrad Region, the police vidual green areas. Thus, the points of tension broke the arm of a park defender in Peschanka. were protests related to the construction of the Festival Park 2 residential complex in the park PRESSURE ON NON-GOVERNMENTAL on Festivalnaya street in Moscow, in the Ra- ORGANIZATIONS (NGOS) menki district in Moscow with the construction There are only three NGOs remaining in the for- of the Legacy residential complex, in the park eign agent register. The rest have left, either by area on Ivan Franko street in the Kuntsevo (an applying to be delisted or by closing their NGO. understudy of Kutuzovsky Prospekt), and in In Kaliningrad, criminal prosecution of the Vologda for the construction of a kindergarten director of “Ecodefense!” Alexandra Korole-

Status report 2020 19 va continues, under the article on malicious Criminal Code of the Russian Federation) and non-execution of a court decision (part 2 of attempted destruction of property (part 2 of Art. article 315 of the Criminal Code of the Russian 167 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Fed- Federation), for repeatedly not paying fines that eration). In December, the hearings were held “Ecodefense!” was given for not following the behind closed doors. rules of the foreign agent legislation. In relation to another opponent of the con- On 15th May 2020, the Goryachy Klyuch City struction of the Tomino GOK - lawyer Vladimir Court confirmed a 300,000 ruble fine (ap- Kazantsev - the prosecutor’s office of the Che- proximately 3 300 eur) for violating the law on lyabinsk region approved the indictment in a foreign agents regarding the organization “Civil criminal case of fraud (part 3 of article 159 of the Initiative Against Environmental Crime”. Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, part On 3rd March 2020, the Moscow City Court 1 of article 30, part 4 of article 159 of the Crim- rejected the appeal of the Center for Assistance inal Code of the Russian Federation). On 17th to the Indigenous Peoples of the North against November, the preventive measure was changed the actions of the Ministry of Justice of Russia from house arrest to travel restrictions. (on refusal to register changes in the constitu- In the Arkhangelsk region, a decision in the ent documents), which led to the closure of the criminal case against the Shies activists lasting organization in November 2019. from spring 2019 was rendered. Accusations The public organization “Bashkort”, which de- occurred after a conflict on the construction fended the Shikhan Kushtau in Bashkortostan, side, where activists were blocking illegal was declared extremist on 22nd May 2020 and construction. After the clash, an excavator closed down. This law is used to silence critics operator claimed to be injured, but later jour- as a repressive mechanism against ethnic and nalist investigation showed he was fine. A court cultural groups standing up for their rights. nonetheless sentenced Andrey Starkovsky and In Krasnodar, the co-chairman of the RSEU Denis Drobinin to one year conditionally under and coordinator of the “Ecological Watch for the articles on the threat of murder or infliction of North Caucasus” Andrey Rudomakha was de- grievous bodily harm (part 1 of article 119 of tained in a criminal case about an “undesirable the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation) organization” with which Rudomakha has noth- and arbitrariness (part 2 of article 330 of the ing to do. After interrogation, he was released as Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). The a witness. Searches were also carried out in the term arbitrariness is used in the official English office of “EcoWatch” and in the apartments of translation of the criminal code of the Russian the organization’s activists. Federation. Quote “Article 330. Arbitrariness 1. The list of environmental NGOs that are listed Arbitrariness, that is the unauthorized commis- as foreign agents can be viewed here in Russian: sion of actions contrary to the order presented http://rusecounion.ru/ru/ecoagents and here in by a law or any other normative legal act, actions English: https://rusecounion.ru/eng/ecoagents whose lawfulness is contested by an organisa- tion or individual, if such actions have inflicted CRIMINAL PROSECUTION substantial harm”. In Chelyabinsk, the criminal prosecution of Usually such articles would be used against activists of the Stop GOK movement continues. state representatives (for instance as police The Stop GOK movement protests against a officers), for overstepping your role in acting on copper mining and enrichment plant. Vasily behalf of the state or a company. To use such Moskovts is tried for incitement to hooliganism article against a civilian, not representing a state by prior conspiracy (part 4 of article 33 and or commercial institution, seems very strange. part 2 of article 213 of the Criminal Code of the Each of them must also pay 20 thousand rubles Russian Federation) and deliberate destruction (approximately 220 eur) in compensation to the of property out of hooliganism (part 2 167 of the excavator operator, who destroyed the trailer of Criminal Code of the Russian Federation), and eco-activists. Two defenders of the protest camp Gamilya Asatullina for hooliganism committed - Vyacheslav Grigoryants and Valery Dzyuba - by a group of persons (part 2 of Art. 213 of the were acquitted. On 2nd September 2020, the

20 Status report 2020 Arkhangelsk Regional Court upheld this deci- was accused of deliberately inflicting moderate sion. harm on a janitor who attacked the activist’s Andrey Borovikov, another defender of Shies, wife (Article 112 of the Criminal Code of the was searched on 29th September and his office Russian Federation). equipment was seized. The reason was the Alexander Davydov, an opponent of the con- criminal case initiated against him in the spring struction of an incineration plant in Kazan, was of 2020 for allegedly spreading pornography - beaten and threatened to stop his environmental posting a clip of the Rammstein music group on activism, and reported this to the police. The po- his personal page on the VKontakte network. lice said they found no evidence of such beating, In Yekaterinburg, in a criminal case against and instead accused him of a “deliberately false the defender of a park near the Drama Theater, denunciation” (part 1 Art.306 of the Criminal the activist Maksim Shibanov was prosecuted Code of the Russian Federation24), meaning he under the article “Intentional infliction of mod- was accused of lying with the purpose of accus- erate harm to health” (Article 112 of the Criminal ing others. Code of the Russian Federation) for allegedly hitting the journalist Maksim Rumyantsev. On ADMINISTRATIVE PROSECUTION 9th July, the court ordered a second medical The most significant episodes of administrative examination for Rumyantsev. Another defender pressure were 1) the arrest of 63 opponents of of the park was taken into custody on charges of the construction of a section of the South-East- inciting and participating in riots. ern Expressway in Moscow in March, 2) the de- In Kurgan, pressure continued on environ- tention of 70-90 people in Bashkortostan in the mental activists who oppose uranium mining camp of Shikhan Kushtau defenders in August, by Rosatom’s subsidiary Dalur. A criminal case and 3) the dispersal of an eco-activist camp in on evasion of military service has been initiated the village of Cheremza of the Kemerovo Region against Alexei Schwartz. As reported in another against the construction of a coal-loading plant, article from Russian Social-Ecological Union23 , where 19 administrative cases was initiated in the Federal Security Service in the Kurgan Re- August. gion initiated a criminal case against local eco– In April, May and June, a common method activist Lyubov Kudryashova in March 2020 for of pressure was the drawing up of protocols for her “public justification of terrorism using the violation of the self-isolation regime (Articles Internet”. Activists attribute her persecution to 6.3 and 20.6.1 of the Administrative Code of the her work at the Public Monitoring Fund for the Russian Federation) - since 1st April, they have Environmental Condition and the Population almost completely replaced the protocols on vi- Welfare, which she led back in 2017. The Foun- olation of the procedure for holding mass events dation has repeatedly published information on (Article 20.2 of the Administrative Code RF) the possible environmental damage resulting and resistance to the demands of police officers from Dalur’s mining activity. (Article 19.3 of the Administrative Code of the In Moscow, Aleksandr Kolotov, an oppo- Russian Federation). nent of the construction of a section of the South-Eastern Expressway, received the status CASES REMAINING UNEXPLORED of a witness in a criminal case on damage to the The responsible have not yet been found in the radiation sensor of the Federal State Unitary most brutal attack from 2016 on firefighting ac- Enterprise “RADON” (part 1 of article 167 of the tivists in the camp of the Environmental Watch Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). for the North Caucasus and the Russian branch Lilia Govorova, an opponent of the construc- of Greenpeace. The case has not been properly tion of a logistics center in Chuvashia, was investigated and criminal proceedings have been accused of using violence against a government discontinued. A similar situation developed with official (Article 318 of the Criminal Code of the regard to the December 2017 attack on a group Russian Federation). of activists of the Environmental Watch for the Sergei Pinyagin, a campaigner against the North Caucasus and its leader Andrei Rudo- work of a car wash in the Krasnodar Territory, makha.

Status report 2020 21 7 . CONCLUSION

For several years, the situation for Russian ing in Shikhan Kushtau in Bashkortostan, forest environmental civil society has deteriorated and cutting in Udmurtia, and conflicts around urban 2020 was no exception. This was due to two green spaces in the Moscow region. Overall, developments. Firstly, we witnessed more cases these ongoing environmental conflicts increase of intimidation towards environmental activists, social tension and pressure on environmental who protested despite restrictions. Secondly, defenders, and could contribute to the increasing several harmful legislative bills that further politicisation of the environmental movement. narrow the space for Russian civil society were According to the report of the Environmental introduced. Commission of the Presidential Council for Civil In addition, the pandemic resulted in fewer Society and Human Rights in Russia,25 access to opportunities for participation in hearings and environmental information and meaningful pub- additional restrictions on activists. It is yet to lic participation in decision-making remain the be seen if this trend will continue in 2021, when only ways to prevent social conflict and ensure corona restrictions are being lifted. environmental protection. As stated in our previous reports, we expect- Legal developments introduced in the end of ed a switch form pressure on NGOs to pressure 2020 and beginning of 2021 will further limit on individuals. We see that unregistered envi- the possibilities to work for environmental and ronmental groups and their leaders are under nature protection. The chances of being labelled threat. This is a challenging balance for all Rus- a foreign agent increased now that any individu- sian environmentalists: those who are active and al and non-registered group can be entered into effective in their work seem to face a higher risk the register. Furtermore, there are increased of being noticed and punished. limitations on expressing opinions on the streets Pressure towards environmental groups and through protests and demonstrations. 2021 will individual activist continued in 2020 and seems show how the new legal amendments will be to have increased. In addition to pressure from implemented by the authorities, but we under- the authorities, environmental organizations stand that environmental groups and activists have reported outbreaks of social conflicts in- are worried. volving street protests and direct clashes between However, the picture is not entirely bleak. The locals and developers in Russia. Such conflicts struggles against the landfill in Shies in Arkhan- occurred in relation to landfill construction near gelsk and mining on the mountain of Kushtau the Shies station in the Arkhangelsk region, min- in Bashkiria have been won, at least for now.

22 Status report 2020 However, people that worked on these issues The United Nations Human Rights Council are still investigated and prosecuted for their passed a resolution in March 201929 recognizing involvement. the contribution of environmental human rights A report on climate and environment, includ- defenders to the enjoyment of human rights, ing an article on prosecution of climate and en- the environment, and sustainable development. ergy activists, was presented to President Putin The Russian Social-Ecological Union (RSEU) at his meeting with his Human Rights Council emphasizes that the Russian state is obliged in December 202026. Following this, the Russian to respect, observe, and protect human rights, Public Chamber got interested in the issue and including environmental rights30. in January 2021 they organized a round table, In 2021, elections to the State Duma, the highlighting analysis and recommendations lower house of the Russian parliament, must from Russian environmentalists27. be held by September. It is expected that the In March 2021 the Public Chamber an- Russian regime will suppress oppositional voices nounced the creation of a coordinating council and limit protesting in the streets. Although for environmental well-being, which should intended to control the political opposition, the protect environmental activists under pressure measures will most likely limit the environmen- from business and authorities28. tal movement as well.

Status report 2020 23 ENDNOTES/REFERENCES

1. “Половина россиян считает, что экологическая %D1%82%D0%B2%D0%B5%D0%BD%D0%BD ситуация в России за последние годы ухудшилась” which %D0%B0%D1%8F-%D0%B4%D1%83%D0%B- translates to “Half of Russians believe that the environmental C%D0%B0-%D1%80%D1%84-%D0%BF%D1%- situation in Russia has deteriorated in recent years”, article 80%D0%BE%D1%82%D0%B8%D0%B2-%D0%B- by Elena Mukhametshina 30.November 2020 https://www. F%D0%BE%D0%B- vedomosti.ru/society/articles/2020/11/29/848723-polovi- F%D1%80%D0%B0%D0%B2%D0%BE%D0%- na-rossiyan BA-%D0%BE-%D0%BF%D1%80%D0%BE%D1%81%D0 %B2%D0%B5%D1%82%D0%B8%D1%82%D0%B5%D0% 2. Moscow times article “Putin Signs Controversial BB%D1%8C%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%BE%D0%B9-%D0% ‘Foreign Agent’ Law Expansion”. Updated 30. December B4%D0%B5%D1%8F%D1%82%D0%B5%D0%BB%D1%8C 2020. https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2020/12/30/pu- %D0%BD%D0%BE%D1%81%D1%82%D0%B8-1e6d7a97- tin-signs-controversial-foreign-agent-law-expansion-a72524 a61a-49b9-a7a7-80da49172ccf

3. The non-systemic opposition (Russian: внесистемная 6. Sources to the table are activist page “За гражданское оппозиция) are oppositional forces which operate outside of общество в России. Кампания против принятия поправок, the official political establishment. There is also a systemic направленных на удушение гражданского общества и opposition, which operates in the form of registered political гражданской активности в стране”. English translation parties. See for instance https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ “For civil society in Russia. Campaign against the adoption Non-system_opposition or http://en.kremlin.ru/events/presi- of amendments aimed at stifling civil society and civic ac- dent/news/62997 tivism in the country” http://helpcivilsociety.ru/ , official page “Система обеспечения законодательной деятельности”, 4. Novaya Gazeta comment by Daria Kozlova “Конец эпохи wich translates to Legislative support system https://sozd. просвещения. Госдума принимает закон, запрещающий duma.gov.ru/ and Moscow Times article “Russian Lawmak- ученым читать лекции без справки от правительства” ers Back New Restrictions on Free Speech, Information, which translates to “End of the Age of Enlightenment. The Protests”, updated 23.December 2020 https://www.themos- State Duma passes a law prohibiting scientists from lecturing cowtimes.com/2020/12/23/russian-lawmakers-back-new-re- without a certificate from the government” 19. January 2021, strictions-on-free-speech-information-protests-a72460 released in #5 on 20. January 2021. 7. In 2018, the Ministry of Education and Science was split https://novayagazeta.ru/arti- into the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the cles/2021/01/19/88778-konets-epohi-prosvescheniya Russian Federation (Минобрнау́ки Росси́ и) and the Ministry of Education of the Russian Federation (Минпросвещения 5. Petition on change.org “Против поправок о России). просветительской деятельности” which translates to “Against educational amendments”. 8. Moscow times comment by Felix Light 5.January 2021 https://www.change.org/p/%D0%B3%D0%BE%D1%8- “Russia in 2021: Looming Elections Dominate the Domes- 1%D1%83%D0%B4%D0%B0%D1%80%D1%81- tic Scene. The vote to elect deputies for Russia’s lower

24 Status report 2020 house of parliament, the Duma, must be held by Sep- ru/2020/05/20/vistino_stop_slushaniya/ tember”.https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2021/01/05/ russia-in-2021-looming-elections-dominate-the-domestic- 18. Newspaper Kommersant no 72 from 21.paril 2020, page scene-a72391 2. “Вирус вседозволенности - РСПП просит приостановки экологического контроля под предлогом пандемии”. En- 9. Vladimir Slivjak, “An Epidemic of Foreign Agents”. glish translation “Permissive virus - RSPP asks to suspend Opinion in Moscow times 10.December 2020. https://www. environmental control under the pretext of a pandemic” themoscowtimes.com/2020/12/10/an-epidemic-of-for- https://www.kommersant.ru/doc/4327027 eign-agents-a72310 19. Friends of the Earth Europe web page “Russia: not a nu- 10. Министерство юстиции Российской Федерации clear dump! – #covidsolidarity”, 2.June 2020 https://friendsoft- (Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation). News article heearth.eu/news/russia-not-a-nuclear-dump-covidsolidarity/ 25.December 2020. “Дополнен реестр некоммерческих организаций, выполняющих функции иностранного 20. Decommissioning Russia’s old nuclear power reactors. агента”, which translates to “The register of non-profit Status update on key processes 2020. Chapter 5. Pressure organizations performing the functions of a foreign agent has on activists fighting against Rosatom’s nuclear projects by been updated”. https://minjust.gov.ru/ru/events/48288/ Vitaly Servetnik, Russian Social-Ecological Union (RSEU). Report available in Russian and English. Report can be 11. Article “О перечне иностранных и международных found at http://naturvernforbundet.no/decommissioning-re- неправительственных организаций, деятельность ports/ for English version and at http://rusecounion.ru/ru/ которых признана нежелательной на территории publication for Russian version. Российской Федерации”. English translation “On the list of foreign and international non-governmental organizations 21. Report published 27.January 2021, in Russian language. whose activities are recognized as undesirable on the terri- Published 27.January 2021, under the title “В 2020 году tory of the Russian Federation”. Posted 25.December 2020 защитников природы и экоправ били, судили, разгоняли https://minjust.gov.ru/ru/events/48287/ и штрафовали: в 26 регионах России 450 экоактивистов пострадали от преследований, один погиб” which trans- 12. Link: https://minjust.gov.ru/ru/documents/7756/ (List of lates to “In 2020, environmentalists and environmentalists foreign and international non-governmental organizations were beaten, tried, dispersed and fined: in 26 regions of whose activities are recognized as undesirable on the territo- Russia 450 environmental activists suffered from perse- ry of the Russian Federation). cution, one died”. Available here: http://rusecounion.ru/ru/ ehrd2020 13. Order of the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Fed- eration 24. September 2020 No. 216 “On approval of the 22. As Geir Flikke points out in his Norwegian-language Procedure for the formation and maintenance of the register book “Russlands rebeller – Protest og reaksjon i Putins of foreign mass media performing the functions of a foreign Russland (2011-2020), we lack a good English word for RU: agent”(Registered 02.10.2020 No. 60199) vnesudebnoe presledovanie/ NO: ikke-rettslige tvangsmidler. Cappelen Damm Akademisk 2000. ISBN 978-82-02-67894-4 http://publication.pravo.gov.ru/Document/ View/0001202010050033?index=3&rangeSize=1 23. Decommissioning Russia’s old nuclear power reactors. Status update on key processes 2020. Chapter 5. Pressure 14. Moscow times article “Russia Labels First Individual ‘For- on activists fighting against Rosatom’s nuclear projects by eign Agents’ Amid Worries of Clampdown”. Published 28.De- Vitaly Servetnik, Russian Social-Ecological Union (RSEU). cember 2020. https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2020/12/28/ Report available in Russian and English. Report can be russia-labels-first-individual-foreign-agents-amid-wor- found at http://naturvernforbundet.no/decommissioning-re- ries-of-clampdown-a72506 ports/ for English version and at http://rusecounion.ru/ru/ publication for Russian version. 15. Chelyabinsk: information from the vkontakte page of Vasili Moskovets https://vk.com/wall90494076_15596 24. Can be viewed here: https://www.wipo.int/edocs/lexdocs/ laws/en/ru/ru080en.pdf 16. Nizhniy Novgorod organization Dront, web page news 30.April 2020 https://dront.ru/news/2020/04/30/virtual- 25. Совет при Президенте Российской Федерации по nye-slushaniya-okazalis-antivirtualnymi/ развитию гражданского общества и правам человека, which translates to «Council under the President of the 17. Web page news story “Общественность добилась Russian Federation for the Development of Civil Society and выполнения Указа Президента РФ в период пандемии!” Human Rights». Summary and content of the report of the Which translates to “The public has achieved the implemen- Standing Commission on Environmental Rights of the HRC tation of the Decree of the President of the Russian Federa- “Climate Change as a Challenge and a Unique Opportunity tion during a pandemic!” 20.May 2020 http://decommission. for the Technological Transformation of Russia and Ensuring

Status report 2020 25 Respect for the Environmental Rights of Citizens” dated https://www.oprf.ru/press/news/2715/newsitem/56673 23.November 2020 Abstract here: http://president-sovet.ru/documents/read/701/ 28. Ria Novosti: Article “В Общественной палате создадут Full text here: https://climatescience.ru/climate-2020-12-09. совет по защите экоактивистов” which translates to “The pdf (pages 104-109) Public Chamber will create a council for the protection of eco-activists”. Published 10. March 2021. Link: https://ria. 26. Совет при Президенте Российской Федерации по ru/20210310/ekoaktivisty-1600581330.html развитию гражданского общества и правам человека (Council under the President of the Russian Federation for 29. United Nations Human Rights Council resolution from the Development of Civil Society and Human Rights). Web the fortieth session. Link to PDF document: https://undocs. article “Встреча Президента с Советом 10 декабря 2020 org/en/A/HRC/40/L.22/Rev.1 года” which translates to “Meeting of the President with the Council on 10. December 2020” published 10. Decem- 30. Report published 27.January 2021, in Russian language. ber 2020. Link: http://president-sovet.ru/events/meetings/ Published 27.January 2021, under the title “В 2020 году read/17/ защитников природы и экоправ били, судили, разгоняли и штрафовали: в 26 регионах России 450 экоактивистов 27. Official page of Общественная палата Российской пострадали от преследований, один погиб” which trans- Федерации (Russian public chamber). Елена Шаройкина: lates to “In 2020, environmentalists and environmentalists «Нам нужна координация усилий всех участников were beaten, tried, dispersed and fined: in 26 regions of экологического процесса» Which translates to “Elena Sha- Russia 450 environmental activists suffered from perse- roykina: “We need coordination of efforts of all participants in cution, one died”. Available here: http://rusecounion.ru/ru/ the ecological process””. Published 29. Janurry 2021. Link: ehrd2020

26 Status report 2020

Naturvernforbundet/Friends of the Earth Norway has over many years worked closely with Russian environmental organizations. The cooperation has been helpful for both sides on a wide range of environmental topics.