Russia 100715 Basic Political Developments

RIA: Amnesty urges justice for human rights activist Estemirova year after her death

http://en.rian.ru/world/20100715/159817855.html
05:42 15/07/2010

One year after the brutal murder of human rights activist Natalya Estemirova, Amnesty International urged Russia to show political will in investigating her death.

Estemirova, a leading researcher for the Memorial human rights group in Chechnya, was abducted outside her home in Grozny, Chechnya's capital, on July 15, 2009, and found shot dead in the neighboring republic of Ingushetia later the same day. In February 2010 investigators said they had identified the suspect, but no arrests were made so far.

"Despite official declarations, the authorities have yet to ensure that the investigation into the murder of Natalia Estemirova is timely, effective and impartial and that it can establish the truth beyond any doubt," said Nicola Duckworth, Amnesty International's Europe and Central Asia Program Director.

"Anything less raises concerns that there is no political will to identify the perpetrators and bring them to justice," she said.

Amnesty International said the Russian authorities should "send a clear message" that frequent attacks on independent journalists and human rights activists in Russia will be dealt with harshly.

"President Medvedev and Prime Minister Putin should make the investigation into the murder of Natalia Estemirova and her colleagues a high priority. This will send a clear message that attacks against human rights defenders, independent lawyers or journalist will not be tolerated," Duckworth said.

Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov, who had called Natalia Estemirova, a "woman without honor and shame," said recently during a televised interview that journalists and Memorial activists who criticize his policies are well-paid by the West and are "enemies of the people, enemies of the law, enemies of the state."

The head of Memorial, Oleg Orlov, said the group could close its branch in Chechnya as Kadyrov's statement might be interpreted by the republic's security forces as a call to action against human rights activists.

LONDON, July 15 (RIA Novosti)

Amnesty USA: Justice urged for Russian human rights defender's murder

http://www.amnestyusa.org/document.php?id=ENGNAU2010071517677&lang=e
15 July 2010

One year after the murder of human rights defender Natalia Estemirova, Amnesty International has called on the Russian authorities to stop the harassment and intimidation of her colleagues and to bring those responsible for her murder to justice in an open and fair trial.

"The murder of Natalia Estemirova highlights the very real threat which human rights defenders are facing in the course of their legitimate activities in the Russian Federation," said Nicola Duckworth, Amnesty International's Europe and Central Asia Programme Director.

"They must be able to carry out their important work without fear and without facing harassment."

On 15 July 2009, Natalia Estemirova from the Russian Human Rights Centre Memorial was abducted outside her home in Grozny in the Chechen Republic and killed. Her body with bullet wounds was found on a roadside in neighbouring Ingushetia.

Russian President Dmitrii Medvedev condemned the murder and ordered a high-level investigation. In a statement he linked Natalia Estemirova's murder with her activities as a human rights defender. The activist took great risks researching some of the most serious human rights violations in Chechnya and made the information public.

In January 2010, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin called on the local authorities to ensure safe conditions for the work of human rights organizations in the North Caucasus.

"Despite official declarations, the authorities have yet to ensure that the investigation into the murder of Natalia Estemirova is timely, effective and impartial and that it can establish the truth beyond any doubt," said Nicola Duckworth.

"Anything less raises concerns that there is no political will to identify the perpetrators and bring them to justice."

Like Natalia Estemirova, her colleagues from Human Rights Centre Memorial and other activists in the North Caucasus continue to provide essential support, legal and humanitarian aid to those in the region whose rights have been violated.

However, government officials in the Chechen Republic continue to put pressure on regional human rights NGOs and to denounce their work.

Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov, who had called Natalia Estemirova in an interview given in August 2009, a "woman without honour and shame", further alleged on 3 July 2010 that staff members of Memorial were traitors and only worked in the interest of Western donors.

Natalia Estemirova's murder followed the killings in Moscow of human rights lawyer Stanislav Markelov and journalist Anastasia Baburova in January 2009, and of journalist Anna Politkovskaya in October 2006.

In Chechnya, human rights activist Zarema Sadulayeva and her husband Alik (Umar) Dzhabrailov were killed only four weeks after the murder of Natalia Estemirova.

"These human rights activists spoke up in the name of victims of serious human rights violations. Their work continues to be essential," Nicola Duckworth said.

"President Medvedev and Prime Minister Putin should make the investigation into the murder of Natalia Estemirova and her colleagues a high priority. This will send a clear message that attacks against human rights defenders, independent lawyers or journalist will not be tolerated."

July 14, 2010
Russia Profile: Grown-Up Country

http://www.russiaprofile.org/page.php?pageid=Culture+%26+Living&articleid=a1279134793


By Elizabeth Shockman
Special to Russia Profile

Russians Are Gradually Becoming Aware of the Concept of Volunteerism and Beginning to Trust Social Organizations

While official statistics look grim for the volunteer movement in Russia, a closer look reveals some reasons for optimism. Studies and observations show that gone are the days of Soviet-era government-enforced labor, or post-Soviet Western-founded, Western-funded charity organizations. Russia’s volunteers and Russian charity organizations are growing in number, scope, and innovation. In short, Russian volunteerism is coming of age.

The numbers indeed look discouraging. The latest figures from the School of Economics at Russia’s State University show that only 3.02 percent of Russia’s economically active population currently dedicate any of their time to volunteering. In the United States, over a quarter of the population volunteers – in 2009, this number was 26.8 percent, the Corporation for National and Community Services reported. Russians, it seems, are just not willing to give any of their time to help their fellow citizens.

“Why is this number so little? Is it really possible that so few of us are charitable and kind?” wrote Anastasia Karimova, a volunteer and the coordinator of the “Dobrovolets” project, in response to the depressing statistics on the Dobrovolno.ru Web site.

To Russians, volunteering is not an alien activity. “To be kind, to help another person has never been outstanding in Russia. As cultural traditions, Russian volunteerism, philanthropy and charity date back to the times of ancient Rus,” said Galina Bodrenkovo, a national representative at the International Association for Volunteer Efforts (IAVE).

But regardless of how far back the tendency to volunteer may go in Russia, the country is still lacking in present-day volunteer activity. “People do really want to help,” said Elena Alshanskaya, the founder of a Russian charity and volunteer organization “Otkazniki,” which works with abandoned children. “It’s a normal human desire to help another person. Another issue altogether is that this sphere isn’t developed.”

There are various reasons for the lack of willing and eager volunteers in Russia. Alshanskaya pointed first to the years of enforced collectivism in the Soviet Union, which backfired with strong individualistic currents. “We have fewer volunteers than in the rest of the world, firstly because of enforced collectivism and secondly because there was a very strong Soviet socialist government. It took on all the functions that the community is normally responsible for. It took them all on, and then just dropped them. And people are completely unprepared to take these functions upon themselves, to set up connections on a ‘neighbor-to-neighbor’ level. We have to build this entire system from scratch. We need to learn to organize help for each other on our own, and not to wait for the government to do everything for us,” she said.

But the 20 years that the new Russian volunteer movement has so far had to develop have been propitious. Alshanskaya noted many positive trends in Russia’s volunteer movement over the past few years. The number of organizations and scope of their work has expanded. “If when we started ‘Otkazniki’ in 2004 there were very few similar organizations, now we see that more are springing up every year. Five or six years ago, the majority of organizations involved in helping children just visited orphanages – meaningless, useless help. Now more organizations are starting to do some real things – socially, educationally, in working with families.”

Furthermore, if ten to 15 years ago many organizations were incompetent and inexperienced, perceived with suspicion as “Western spies doing something with Western money,” the tables have turned. “Organizations have started to approach their work professionally – to research, to learn and to organize their work on their own. Now there’s more trust toward them in society than there was in the 1990s. But that doesn’t mean that everyone trusts or that everything is perfect. There’s just more of it,” Alshanskaya noted.

Bodrenkovo’s research has shown that Russians are now presented with an ever-increasing number of opportunities to freely donate their time and energy to non-profit organizations. Furthermore, there is obvious growth in programs and work designed to raise and support volunteers – from new volunteer centers to programs combining education with volunteer activity and prizes acknowledging and encouraging volunteerism.

Many have noted a positive shift in Russian mentality when it comes to volunteerism. “The role of volunteerism is now more often associated with opportunities for individual, leadership, career, and organizational growth,” Bodrenkovo noted. Vladimir Khromov, the head of the volunteer program at the “Podari Zhizn” foundation, put it simply: “I think that in 2005 to 2006 there was a breaking point in people’s consciousness. They understood that they need to change their lives for the better through helping their neighbors.”

The Russian government has likewise begun to recognize the vital importance of volunteerism to the development of the country. But while Bodrenkovo and others assert the importance of the state’s involvement, still others point out that Russia’s new volunteer movement has been, and still remains, a grassroots movement. “Volunteerism is clearly gaining strength,” Khromov said. “But it doesn’t depend on the government. More likely, the opposite is true: the government is trying to use this social activism to do its work.”

Alshanskaya likewise argues the need for grassroots activism. It may be that Russia’s budding volunteer movement is a sign of the country’s coming-of-age. “The government needs to leave paternalism behind,” Alshanskaya said. “It needs to stop thinking that it has to control everyone. And we need to stop waiting for it to do something for us. In a word, to do it all ourselves. And volunteers are the beginning of that movement. Of course, compared to America, unfortunately this movement is still very small. But I hope that it’s just a matter of time.”