A Turbulent Country

Residents of Pugachyov demand that the authorities name the local “overseer” who controls the city — an episode from the mass protests that erupted in Pugachyov (Saratov region) on July 7, 2013. The demonstrations were sparked by the brutal killing of a local resident by a Chechen teenager. The protests were accompanied by clashes with the Chechen diaspora, an attempted riot, and the blocking of a highway.

One episode of a large-scale environmental protest against nickel mining in the black earth region of Voronezh. The protests of environmental activists and local residents were dispersed by police, resulting in arrests and beatings. The situation escalated on June 22, 2013, when radical environmentalists attacked a geologists' camp and set it on fire. Two drilling rigs and two cars were destroyed, and three police officers sought medical attention. Twenty-five people were detained on suspicion of arson. In November 2013, police arrested environmental activists Bezmensky and Zhitenev on charges of extortion, which consisted of demanding money from UMMC in exchange for an end to the protests. A video of their arrest red-handed during the transfer of money was released.

On the night of July 7, 2012, one of the most severe floods in modern Russian history struck the town of Krymsk in the Krasnodar region. The disaster claimed 172 lives. More than 34,000 residents across six settlements in the Krymsk district were affected. The rescue operation continued until July 10. A total of 2,854 people were evacuated, 1,904 lost their homes, and nearly 14,000 sought medical assistance.

The seize of the office of the human rights organization "Za Prava Cheloveka" ("For Human Rights"), with police officers refusing to identify themselves. During the night on the 22nd June, 2013, riot police forcibly dispersed the Moscow office of the "Za Prava Cheloveka" movement. Lev Ponomarev – the center's director – and his supporters were injured. The organization was later designated a "foreign agent" and liquidated.

The seize of the office of the human rights organization "Za Prava Cheloveka" ("For Human Rights"), with police officers refusing to identify themselves. During the night on the 22nd June, 2013, riot police forcibly dispersed the Moscow office of the "Za Prava Cheloveka" movement. Lev Ponomarev – the center's director – and his supporters were injured. The organization was later designated a "foreign agent" and liquidated.

The seize of the office of the human rights organization "Za Prava Cheloveka" ("For Human Rights"), with police officers refusing to identify themselves. During the night on the 22nd June, 2013, riot police forcibly dispersed the Moscow office of the "Za Prava Cheloveka" movement. Lev Ponomarev – the center's director – and his supporters were injured. The organization was later designated a "foreign agent" and liquidated.

The Gezi Park protests in Istanbul began in May 2013 as a peaceful protest against the felling of trees and development in the park, but soon grew into a mass movement against the authoritarian policies of the Recep Tayyip Erdogan government, restrictions on civil liberties, and police violence.

The Gezi Park protests in Istanbul began in May 2013 as a peaceful protest against the felling of trees and development in the park, but soon grew into a mass movement against the authoritarian policies of the Recep Tayyip Erdogan government, restrictions on civil liberties, and police violence.

A picket against Nikolai Tsiskaridze's dismissal from the Bolshoi Theater on Theater Square in Moscow.

Presentation of a collection of memoirs by eyewitnesses and participants of the Chechen war, "Each in Their Own Silence: The Story of One War" at the Sakharov Center.

Businessman Alexey Kozlov, the husband of opposition figure and Russia Behind Bars leader Olga Romanova, has been released from prison. On Friday, May 31, the Presidium of the Moscow City Court reduced his five-year sentence by one year, a term he had been serving on charges of fraud and laundering stolen property. This decision meant the release of Kozlov, who, according to his supporters, spent four and a half years behind bars on a fabricated case.The Moscow City Court planned to send the release documents via special courier to the Ivanovo region, where Kozlov was serving his sentence. However, the paperwork reached the settlement-colony in the town of Kokhma only four days later. During this entire period, Romanova was pressing the Ivanovo branch of the Federal Penitentiary Service (FSIN) to free her husband immediately.

The Gezi Park protests in Istanbul began in May 2013 as a peaceful protest against the felling of trees and development in the park, but soon grew into a mass movement against the authoritarian policies of the Recep Tayyip Erdogan government, restrictions on civil liberties, and police violence.