Rights in Russia

3 October 2025Welcome to the 35th edition of our Russian-language podcast Then & Now with me, Teresa CherfasOur guest today is actor and theatre director Alexander Molochnikov.Alexander Molochnikov (personal archive)In this podcast we are making a break from our usual Russian-language format. This is because our guest has chosen not to speak in his mother tongue. At the age of just 22, he was the youngest director ever to stage a production at the legendary Moscow Arts Theatre. In 2022, aged 29, he had two productions running concurrently on two different stages of the Bolshoi Theatre – one a comic opera, the other a ballet based on Chekhov’s Seagull, for which he won the Golden Mask award. Then on 24th February, 2022, Putin invaded Ukraine…His latest production, Seagull: True Story – a play that is so meta it has your head spinning – is currently on tour in London from New York. He has described it as his third Seagull, but only the second to fly.This podcast was recorded on 2 October 2025.[You can find on the Internet two recent Russian-language interviews Alexander Molochnikov has given to Yury Dud and Mikhail Zygar.]QuestionsThis podcast is about the time before and after the so-called Special Military Operation. What do you remember about the 24th of February 2022?You’ve described your current production in London – Seagull: True Story – as your third Seagull, but only the second to fly. What happened to the one that never took off?When did you decide you could no longer live in Russia?This is the first time we’ve done this podcast for Rights in Russia with a native Russian speaker in English. Is your decision not to speak Russian a political statement?What happened to your stage productions that were still in repertoire in Moscow after you left?Unlike many of your compatriots in the arts, you had a plan. What was that plan?You were a student at Columbia University in New York. What were your impressions of classes there?How did these experiences at Columbia inform the rehearsal process for your latest production: “Seagull: True Story”? How did you work with the actors to build the story and write the script?In Seagull: True Story, you make the point that the profit margin and commercial viability dictate what gets produced on stage in America and that that is every bit as restrictive on artistic expression as political censorship in Russia. What is your own personal experience of this in New York?I completely loved the theatricality of Seagull: True Story – it had an energy and a playfulness, using movement, mime, and props that made it an unmistakably theatrical experience. What is your experience of watching or taking part in theatre productions in the States, or indeed, London since you’re here?There’s a fantastic and surreal scene in it, where Putin, bare-chested on a horse appears to Kon, the director, in his dreams. And yet, there’s no Trump anywhere and no overt mention of the parallels between Putin’s Russia and Trump’s America.Do you think such parallels can be drawn?Kon, your alter-ego, if you like, is desperate to go back to Russia, to visit his mum, to mourn the death of his close friend, who died in a penal colony for speaking out against the war, but he can’t. It’s actually a very moving scene. Do you wish you could go back to Russia for a visit?On the one year anniversary of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by Russia, you posted on social media: “A year ago, at 6:30 a.m., I wrote: “Forgive us.” Today I know you won’t forgive me. I’m 30, I plan to live another 50-70, and I believe I’ll see the day when you will forgive me.” What makes you think that?What’s up next for you after Seagull: True Story? Where do you see yourself, professionally, in 10 or 20 years?

Our guest today is Sergei Davidis, a Russian lawyer, human rights activist and leading member of Memorial. Sergei Davidis has extensive experience in organising various human rights initiatives and political protests in defence of democratic principles in Putin’s Russia. In 2010, Davidis founded the programme in support of political prisoners, which operates within Memorial, a programme he heads to this day. He is also a Memorial board member.In December 2021, a few months before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation ordered the shutting down of Memorial, Russia’s oldest and largest human rights organisation. On 3 March 2022, Davidis appeared as a witness for the defence in the trial of Aleksei Navalny. On 4 March, security forces raided and ransacked the organisation’s Moscow office. A few days later, due to the increasing risks and virtual impossibility of continuing his work in support of political prisoners in Russia, Davidis decided to leave the country with his family. He currently lives in Lithuania. Together with his team, they track the number of political prisoners in Russia, organise support, and maintain a register according to the stringent standards adopted by Memorial.This podcast was recorded on 25 September 2025.Other platforms where you can find our podcasts include: Podcasts.com, Spotify, iTunes, and Amazon Audible.My Questions1 Could you tell us about the history of your project. When did Memorial decide that it was necessary to keep a record of all those individuals you consider to be political prisoners?2 How do you define political prisoners? As you know, other organisations use other terms – for example Amnesty International refers to ‘prisoners of conscience’? What is the difference?3 How many political prisoners are there in Russia at the moment?4 My understanding is that under Gorbachev, all political prisoners were released and there were none under Yeltsin. When did political prisoners first reappear in Russia?5 Two new laws in particular were introduced at the very start of the war criminalising ‘discrediting’ the Russian military or spreading ‘fake news’ about the Russian military. Could you explain the difference between those two laws and the differences in punishments?6  read that some individuals are given ridiculously long terms in prison for an action which even in terms of Russian legislation would seem to be a minor offence – for example 13 years in prison for donating a small sum to a Ukrainian charity. That is far more than someone would get for murder. How do you explain that?7 Russia these days has a whole range of laws criminalising individuals and organisations, for example the foreign agent laws, the laws branding organisations as extremist or as ‘undesirable’. How far are those convicted under these laws represented among those you classify as political prisoners?8 To what extent is criticism of the Russian leader – Vladimir Putin – criminalised? Are people in prison simply for speaking out against Putin? That would tell us a great deal about the regime, given how focused it is on the personality of the leader?9 If we consider Russia as an authoritarian state, in terms of the numbers of political prisoners in the country and the severity of the sentences, how does Russia compare with other authoritarian countries?10 Your colleague Oleg Orlov was imprisoned for calling the regime ‘fascist’. Do you agree with that classification?11 How much harder is it to do your work, based outside the country?12 To what extent are you able to gauge the impact of your work, both inside Russia and internationally?

18 July 2025by Teresa CherfasWelcome to the 33rd edition of our Russian-language podcast Then & Now with me, Teresa CherfasOn 15 July 2009, Chechen human rights activist and member of the management committee of the human rights organization “Memorial,” Natalia Estemirova, was murdered. She was abducted near her home in Grozny and taken by car across the border to Ingushetia, where she was shot five times in the chest. The killers fled, leaving her body at the scene of the crime. Her only child was 15 years old. That child recently published a book about her mother, Please Live, and its author is our guest today – Lana Estemirova. My QuestionsOur podcast is called Then and Now, and most often it’s about how the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by Russia has impacted people’s lives and perceptions. You wrote in your book that few people cared about your mother’s murder, or the Russian-Chechen wars, or the constant human rights violations, and that all these were but brief mentions at the end of the news, or cursory minutes of international meetings, if at all. By the time Russia invaded Ukraine on 24 February 2022, you wrote, it was too late. What does that date mean for you now?In your book, you write warmly about your relatives in Russia and in Chechnya. Are you in touch with them?  Is there a difference between Chechens’ and Russians’ perceptions of the war in Ukraine?I imagine it cannot have been easy to write your book. What was the process of writing like? Did you struggle to find your voice?How would you describe your mother to people who didn’t know her?Your mother’s close friend, Anna Politkovskaya, was killed in the entrance to her apartment building in Moscow in 2006. Do you remember that day? Were you worried about your mother and her safety?Your book clearly outlines the stages of the Chechen wars and of Ramzan Kadyrov’s rise to power. How did you feel about him and his influence on your lives? I’m thinking about your protest against compulsory headscarves for schoolgirls, for example.Two days ago was the anniversary of the murder of your mother, Natalia Estemirova. The title of your book, Please Live, is a direct reference to that day.  I read your account of how you learned of your mother’s death , about your reactions and emotions on the day and the  immediate aftermath, and of how they changed and evolved over time, of your rage and sadness and your final acceptance of what had happened. These are almost indescribable feelings, and yet you describe them in unforgettable language. What were the most important lessons for you?. After all, the last sentence of your book is: “Happiness is victory.” What did you mean by that?You recently became a mother yourself. Tell us about your feelings toward your baby daughter. What will you tell her about her grandmother?You can read Teresa Cherfas’ review of Please Live. The Chechen Wars, My Mother and Me by Lana Estemirova here. 

Welcome to the 32nd edition of our Russian-language podcast Then & Now with me, Teresa Cherfas. Today’s episode illustrates like nothing else the difference between ‘Then and Now’ in Russia.  It concerns the transformation of an entire generation into an instrument of patriotism and militarism in support of Putin’s Russia. In January this year, the documentary film Mr. Nobody Against Putin premiered at America’s prestigious Sundance Film Festival. The film is set in School No. 1 in Karabash, a small town in the industrial Ural region with a population of 10,000 and an average life expectancy of just 38 years. The film offers a fly-on-the-wall glimpse of Z-patriotism in Putin’s Russia and shows how the education and propaganda machine works in one individual school. The hero of the film, and its co-director, is our guest today. He is the Mr. Nobody of the title.  Welcome to our podcast,  Pavel Talankin! This podcast was recorded on 12 June 2025My QuestionsFirst of all, I would like to thank you for your important and courageous film. For those who have not yet seen the film, please tell us how it came to be made.You worked as the events organiser, as well as part-time videographer, at School No. 1 in Karabash, your hometown. What role does the school play in the town? What kind of town is Karabash?As I understand it, you yourself graduated from this very school. Why did you decide to return to work there? What did you like about your job?In the film, you say you always felt lonely and different from other people. In what ways?You created an especially open atmosphere in your office, where students came to relax.  Tell us about it.How has school life changed since Putin announced the special military operation in February 2022? How quickly did things change at the school?  And in the town?What were the new directives from the Ministry of Education? Did you have to change how you work?There is a revealing scene in the film where a teacher cannot pronounce the words “demilitarization” and “denazification” in front of the children—she cannot do it, and you correct her…And there is another teacher, a history teacher, who follows the new guidelines perfectly…You wanted to quit your job. Why?When did you realise that the footage you had shot could be important evidence of these changes in school life?Tell us about the working relationship you developed with your creative partner during filming.Did you have like-minded people around you with whom you could share your ideas? Or whom you could trust to film you for the movie? There are quite a few shots of you that someone else must have filmed.For the viewer, the speed with which the students adopt their new skills in patriotic events, lessons, songs, and morning flag ceremonies is striking. The school changes before our eyes—the children are becoming different. How did you experience these changes yourself? And what about in your relationships at school? And in the town? Did it affect your work on the film?We see how, at a teachers’ meeting, teachers find out that the school’s academic ranking has dropped, that they are not managing to allocate enough time and resources to traditional teaching. What do you think this tells us about values in Putin’s Russia?In September 2022, President Putin announced a partial mobilization. Did this affect the mood and atmosphere at school? And in the wider town?When did you decide that you needed to leave Russia? Was it a difficult decision for you? After all, your much- loved mother worked at the same school as a librarian, and you couldn’t even tell her what you were planning to do.As the school’s event organizer, you organized the “Last Bell” graduation ceremony. You gave a speech in which every word seemed to be meant not only for the graduates but also for you, knowing that tomorrow would be your last day in your hometown. Everyone was crying, the children, the parents, and even the history teacher. What do you remember about that day?Are you aware of what happened at the school, and in Karabash as a whole, after you left Russia?What does love for your homeland mean to you?What do you wish for your film?

Welcome to the 31st edition of our Russian-language podcast Then & Now. Our latest guest is Marina Sapritsky-Nahum, a social anthropologist and author of the book Jewish Odesa, published in 2024 by Indiana University Press. The book explores issues of identity and tradition in the Jewish community in modern Odesa. Marina is currently a visiting fellow in the Department of Anthropology at the LSE.In a review of Jewish Odesa, Lucy Lopata-Varkas writes:‘Marina Sapritsky-Nahum’s Jewish Odesa is a compelling exploration of Jewishness in Odesa against the backdrop of Soviet history, Ukrainian nation-making, and ongoing European Jewish revivals. Drawing on an abundance of materials from history, oral testimonies, anthropology, and Jewish studies, Sapritsky-Nahum depicts a vibrant community whose connection to the port city never falters, despite waves of emigration to countries like Israel or the US, the changing political status quo, and fluctuating levels of religious observance.’ This podcast was recorded on 15 May 2025My questions:What led you to make a study of Jewish Odesa in the early years of the 21st century?Did your own background influence your choice? Tell us a little about your own roots.How does the approach of a social anthropologist differ from that of a historian in the study of a subject such as this?The book begins with the stories and memories of an older generation of Jewish Odesans, those who grew up in the Soviet era. What did you learn from them? What defines them as Jews in their own eyes?  And in the eyes of others?Is oral history a useful tool in this kind of research?  In the book, you write: ‘collecting the life stories of elderly Jewish Odesans is one of my most cherished memories’… What did you personally gain from talking to them?After the collapse of the Soviet Union, there was a widespread resurgence of interest in religion. How did this manifest itself in Odesa after Ukraine declared its own independence in 1991? Was it a genuine Jewish revival?Odesa occupies a special place in Jewish history and in the history of the Russian Empire and of the Soviet Union. How did this come about and what is the essence of Odesa’s identity as a Jewish city?In the book you talk about traditions. This makes me think of the song ‘Tradition’ from the musical ‘Fiddler on the Roof’ based on the stories of Sholem Aleichem, a native of Odesa. Sholem Aleichem, Isaac Babel, Leonid Utesov, Mikhail Zhvanetsky and many other Jewish Odesans gave the city its special character. How would you describe this special character?You write about the myth of Odesa – in what sense is it a myth? Can this myth survive the current war with Russia?You completed your research for the book before the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Are you still in touch with your interviewees? How has Russian aggression changed relations between different ethnic groups in Odesa? Is there a perceived threat to the Jews, since they were always associated with Russian culture and language?There is a lot of controversy and debate surrounding the issue of monuments in Odesa. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, monuments were erected to famous Jews from Odesa, including the mythical Sashka and Rabinovich of Soviet-era jokes. Are they still standing? What about monuments related to Russian culture, such as the one to Pushkin, or to Catherine the Great (the founder of Odesa) and others? What does it say about modern Odesa?In 2023, UNESCO designated Odesa a world heritage city. What do you think prompted this decision, and how will it benefit the city’s residents?What has been the impact on the sense of identity of Odesa’s Jews of post-Soviet research into the part played by some Ukrainians during World War II?  I’m thinking of Ukrainian collaboration with the Nazis, involvement in the Holocaust and in particular in the atrocity of  Babi Yar?Are you planning to write a sequel to Jewish Odesa? About the impact of the current war on Jewish life in Odesa? Do you have any thoughts on what your findings might reveal that you could share with us?

Welcome to the 30th edition of our Russian-language podcast Then & Now with me, Teresa Cherfas. Since the very first episode of this podcast, ‘Then and Now’ has referred to the rupture in people’s lives caused by Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Today, ‘Then and Now’ is equally applicable to the havoc raised in people’s lives across the world, as a result of President Trump’s first few months in office in his second term.On 15 March, the Trump administration announced that it was freezing funding for Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, including its Russian Service. Since the Cold War, Radio Liberty has broadcast in Russian, among other languages, and has played a significant role in spreading democratic values and an understanding of human rights in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union, including Russia, of course. President Trump’s decision to freeze Radio Liberty’s budget will deal a serious blow to Russian-speaking listeners in Russia and elsewhere.My guest today is Andrey Shary, head of Radio Liberty’s Russian Service in Prague. This podcast was recorded on 10 April 2025My questionsPresident Trump doesn’t always cite accurate data when he announces a new White House initiative. Tell us about the resources and the current work of Radio Liberty’s Russian Service. How many hours does it broadcast and on what platforms? How many staff does it employ and what is the size of its audience? What is your budget?What is the current situation with the implementation of President Trump’s executive order? We know that on 25 March a U.S. District Judge issued a restraining order that delayed the immediate shutdown of RFE’s operations.Tell us about the Czech Government’s initiative to save Radio Liberty.  We also know that there have been motions put forward for the EU to intervene with support for Radio Liberty.What plans for saving Radio Liberty do you think are most promising among those being discussed in Prague right now. How do you personally feel about what is happening now? Do you see a possible way out of the situation?What role can Radio Liberty play in a world in which America has abandoned its traditional role as leader of the free world?Tell us a little about your own work at Radio Liberty – you’ve been working there for many years. What are some of your most memorable moments and impressions?When President Putin announced the start of the ‘special military operation’ in February 2022, how did you, as head of Radio Liberty’s Russian Service, respond? Did you set yourself new directives and objectives? Did you create new radio or online projects?What can you tell us about listeners’ feedback? Have you seen a rise in demand for Radio Liberty’s broadcast and online content since the start of the war with Ukraine? Which formats are most in demand among listeners?Perhaps the most important goal of Radio Liberty, established during the Cold War, was to demonstrate why democracy and freedom are worth fighting for. Do you believe that there’s still an audience for those ideals in Putin’s Russia now?Today, we see the suppression of democracy and democratic values in both Russia and America. Democracy is threatened by populist tendencies around the world, including in Europe, undermined by disinformation and all kinds of so-called hybrid warfare. What role can Radio Liberty play in this ideological war?

My guest today is Alissa Timoshkina.  Originally from Omsk in Siberia, Alyssa left Russia to study in England at the age of 15.  She has been living and working in London ever since. She is the author of two cookery books – but cookery books with a difference.  The first came out six years ago and is called Salt and Time: recipes from a Russian Kitchen, and the second about the cuisine of Eastern Europe, was published more recently and is called simply Kapusta.  Between publication of her first and second book, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. For Alissa, 24 February 2022 really did cut her life in two: “Then and Now”. In our podcast she explains why.This podcast was recorded on 13 March 2025My QuestionsDo you remember how you felt on the day Russia invaded Ukraine three years ago?You took a decision to help Ukrainians.  Tell us about this initiative.What does home cooking mean for you?  What are your most vivid memories from childhood? Were there any particular dishes you made for yourself in England as a teenager when you were missing family back home, to remind you of them? The title of your second book is Kapusta.  What associations does this word have for you?You write in your book that food is the language of unity.  But there are no recipes from Russia in the book.  Even familiar recipes like borscht or sauerkraut or potato fritters are attributed to other countries or peoples.  Why is that?If you were to hold your first book, about Russian cuisine, in your hands today, what would your thoughts be? When did you first realise that you were Jewish? What does it mean to you?You have written that your favourite pursuits are history and cooking. How have you  managed to combine them in your professional life?Do you think of Russia as your Motherland? Or is that no longer possible for you?

Welcome to the twenty-eighth edition of our Russian-language podcast Then & Now with me, Teresa Cherfas. My guest today is Natalia Soprunova, a mathematician, teacher and mother of four children. Her story is so inspiring that it is immediately obvious how much Putin’s Russia has lost as a result of the wave of emigration that followed the start of the invasion of Ukraine. Very soon it will be the third anniversary of the invasion of Ukraine by the Russian armed forces and the beginning of a full-scale war against a sovereign state. Hundreds of thousands of citizens of the Russian Federation left their country after 24 February 2022. Each had their own reasons, their own fears and dilemmas. Each had a different choice. Today, we hear the story of one of them – Natalia Soprunova. This podcast was recorded on 13 January 2025.My questionsTell us a little bit about yourself, about your family. What has been important to you in your life? What moral principles have you followed.You are a mathematician and educator. Tell us about your professional career in Russia and how it developed.What was your inspiration when you decided to found your private school – Moscow School Workshop – in Moscow? How did it differ from state schools?Could you have imagined that your professional world could experience a complete collapse so quickly and irrevocably?Why did you decide to leave Russia? When you learned war had broken out – what did you think and when did you make the decision to leave and why? What was your main fear and your main reason?Tell us how it was. You have, after all, four children….What is the fate of the children who studied with you at the Moscow Workshop School? And your teachers?You and your family now live in Berlin. Tell us about the journey that took you there…You joined the Russian Lyceum, which already existed in Munich. What kind of school is it?How did the idea of Online Master School come about? Is it a virtual continuation of your school in Moscow?What does this teaching work mean for you? And for the children and their parents?Your experience as a teacher and the practical application of a new approach to teaching children – is that relevant to today’s Russia? What do you think about the system of education now in Russia?How do you see the future? Yours and the future of your children?These days some people are returning to Russia – the reasons are different: residence permits are not renewed or not granted, there are no jobs or sources of income. What do you think about this?What is your attitude to people who have not left Russia?Would you return to Russia? What would have to happen for this to become realistic for you? And the children? Is this new generation already lost to Russia?

Welcome to the twenty-seventh edition of our Russian-language podcast Then & Now with me, Teresa Cherfas. My guest today is Mikhail Shishkin, a Russian writer who has resided outside Russia for almost 30 years. Last September, Mikhail Shishkin announced a new literary prize  –  “ Dar” [“The Gift”]. The press release about the new prize states:“The Russian Federation’s full-scale aggression against Ukraine, in addition to its primary goal – the destruction of a neighbouring state – is directed against the humanitarian values of world culture that unite us, and. of which the culture of the Russian language is part.. […]  “Dar” Prize […] is for all those who write and read in Russian, regardless of passport and country of residence. The Russian language belongs not to dictators, but to world culture”.The principle prize is in the form of a grant to cover translation costs for the winning work into English, German and French. Mikhail Shishkin’s own books have been translated into 30 languages, and he himself is the winner of a number of major Russian-language literary awards, including the Big Book Prize, the Russian Booker Prize and the National Bestseller. Shishkin’s most recent book is “My Russia: War or Peace?”.  In this work Shishkin makes clear his attitude towards the Putin regime and its criminal war against Ukraine. As someone who writes in Russian and of Russian origin, Shishkin has never lost the burden of responsibility he feels for his country of birth. But today, his feelings of despair or alienation with regard to Russia have turned into action.  In this episode, we talk about the point of the “Dar” Prize and why the prize is so important today. This podcast was recorded on 13 January 2025.

Welcome to the twenty-sixth edition of our Russian-language podcast Then & Now with me, Teresa Cherfas. In this episode, you can hear the second part of my interview with Irina Shcherbakova, one of the founders of “Memorial”. I first spoke to her in October of this year [you can listen to podcast #24 on our website here, where you can also find links to our YouTube channel and other platforms]. Since we last spoke, there has been another blow to the impartial study of Russian history. On 14 November, the Moscow Museum of the History of the Gulag was shut. The official reason given was that it was a fire risk. This would seem to be the most recent link in the chain that has seen the shutting down of unauthorised interpretations of Russian history. Before that, the Perm-36 museum was declared a foreign agent and then seized by the local authorities; “Memorial” was declared a foreign agent and then closed in 2021; and, in parallel, the authorities took control of all public initiatives, such as the Immortal Regiment, honouring the memory of war victims. The main theme of our conversation today is: what role does insistence on the ‘correct’ interpretation of history play in the political and social life of Russia – and why is controlling the historical narrative so important for the Putin regime? This podcast was recorded on 18 December 2024.My questions:What were the Putin regime’s first attempts to take over control of Russia’s history? This process seems to have begun almost immediately after the mass protests of 2011-12. What was its purpose?Particularly pronounced in President Putin’s third term, was the appearance of articles by various Russian scholars devoted to promoting an ‘authorised’ interpretation of history. In 2014, an article of the criminal code penalising the rehabilitation of Nazism was adopted, which also banned the dissemination of ‘information known to be false’ about the activities of the USSR in World War II. What are the goals of these initiatives from the point of view of the authorities? Was Memorial’s work directly affected by these new laws? Were you personally affected by them in your own work?Why is the Great Patriotic War of such importance for Putin’s goals regarding the country’s history? When did it become such a significant part of the regime’s policies?The Immortal Regiment was a very interesting civil society initiative to preserve the memory of those who died in the Great Patriotic War. How have the authorities used this in their favour? And why?In 2021, Memorial was forced to suspend its activities. The following October, Memorial received the Nobel Peace Prize. Tell us about your emotions and memories of that time.How do you explain why it was that Putin needed to close down Memorial? After all, a couple of months later his full-scale invasion of Ukraine began.Do you remember how you learnt about the invasion of Ukraine by the Russian army? Did it take you by surprise?How did you make your decision about whether to stay in Russia or to leave?There are new history textbooks for schoolchildren now in Russia, access to archives is limited, and the state closely monitors how the country’s history is interpreted, especially in the public arena. What independent sources of historical information remain accessible in Putin’s Russia?What happened to Memorial’s invaluable archives after the organisation was shut down?How do you see the future for Russia? Under what circumstances would you consider returning to your homeland?

Welcome to the twenty-fifth edition of our Russian-language podcast Then & Now with me, Teresa Cherfas. My guest today is human rights activist and founder of the European LGBT human rights organization Equal – PostOST, Evelina Chaika. A year ago, the non-existent “international LGBT movement” was designated an extremist organization and banned in Russia. This was the culmination of long-drawn-out struggle against anything not considered ‘traditional family life’ in Putin’s Russia. The history of homosexuality in Russia – as in other countries – is not straightforward. But while in other countries it was decriminalized long ago, in post-Soviet Russia this happened only in 1993 by decree of the first president of Russia, Boris Yeltsin. This was a preamble to joining the Council of Europe, an organisation for which the right to choose one’s sexuality is an integral part of human rights. However, it took a few more years for homosexuality to be removed from the list of illnesses in Russia. This only happened on 1 January 1999. At that point in time, homosexuals received the right to serve in the army. But today, in Putin’s Russia, the situation for the LGBT community is becoming more serious and dangerous. With the passage of the law banning transgender transition on 14 July 2023, trans and non-binary people have lost a legal avenue for recognition of their identity. The law has also jeopardized the safety of trans people who have already transitioned. Over the past ten years, Russian authorities have consistently restricted the rights of the LGBT community and shaped negative public attitudes through official statements and the media. The most important signal of a change of course was the adoption of a law on the banning of LGBT propaganda in relation to children in 2013. According to the All-Russian Public Opinion Research Center, 90% of Russians were in favour of this law. After its adoption, many members of the LGBT community decided to leave Russia, and the number of those who have left continues to grow.This podcast was recorded on 28 November 2024.Questions:Evelina, tell us a little bit about yourself. What kind of family were you born into, and what do you remember about your own journey to the realization that you have a different orientation?You have been living in Germany for many years now. Was there a moment when you realized you could no longer live in Russia?Why did you decide to found Equal-PostOST? Please explain its goals. Who do you help and with what? How much demand is there for Equal-PostOST’s services?In your opinion, why is the LGBT community so persecuted in Putin’s Russia? What role does this struggle play in the ideology of Putinism?What have been the key stages in the persecution of the LGBT community under Putin?Gays in Chechnya have long been subjected to severe discrimination and persecution by the local authorities. What is the situation there now? And what can LGBT people do in Chechnya to protect themselves?Do you have any information about how LGBT people live in Russia now? Could you give us a few examples of things that can happen to members of the community?Is there any data on how many LGBT people have decided to leave Russia since 2013? Do any stories of individuals come to mind?Can you explain why Russia’s anti-LGBT laws are in violation of human rights?Do you believe that 90 percent of Russians supported the law banning LGBT propaganda to children in 2013? Why are most Russian people so intolerant of different orientations?What is the main factor in today’s Russia determining attitudes towards gay people – is it public opinion or state repression?Is there hope for change for the better?

Welcome to the twenty-fourth edition n of our Russian-language podcast Then & Now with me, Teresa Cherfas. There is a well-known saying from the late Soviet period: “Russia is a country with an unpredictable past”. It resonates anew, this time in Putin’s Russia. My guest today is Irina Shcherbakova, a historian, who has been associated with the Russian grass-roots organisation “Memorial” since its foundation in 1988. After graduating from the Faculty of Philology at Moscow State University in the 1970s, she worked in the field of oral history, collecting the testimonies of victims of Stalinism. Through her work, Irina Shcherbakova has gained a deep understanding of how first the Soviet and later the Federation of Russia’s regimes’ interpretation of Russian history has changed over the years.  From glasnost in the Gorbachev era, when Memorial was founded, to the present day, the past in Russia has indeed been “unpredictable”.  It is about this and other more personal matters that I hope to talk to our guest today. This podcast was recorded on 10 October 2024.My questions:Tell us a little about yourself.  Who were your parents? What moral guidelines or role models did you take with you from your childhood?Back in the 1970s, you began collecting the testimonies of victims of Stalinism.  How did you find people who were willing to talk back then? What was the most important thing for you personally that you learned in the course of your research? How easy was it to do this work in Soviet times before glasnost and when the memory of the Stalinist era was still very fresh?How did it happen that you became one of the founders of “Memorial”? What were the goals that you and your co-founders hoped to achieve in setting up the organisation?At what point, in addition to researching Stalinist repressions, did “Memorial” become actively engaged in contemporary events? Was this during the Yeltsin era? What is your attitude to lustration? Should it have been carried out in the early 1990s in your opinion?On the theme of what more could have been done after the collapse of the Soviet Union, people often talk about the need to give a ‘legal assessment’ of historical events or to hold a tribunal to judge Stalin’s crimes. What do you think about this, and is such a process possible in the future?

Welcome to the twenty-third edition of our Russian-language podcast Then & Now with me, Teresa Cherfas. My guest today is the Russian artist Slava Ptrk.The Crypt Gallery in central London recently hosted a multimedia exhibition called The Brainwashing Machine, about the uses of propaganda.  The exhibition, which first opened in Madrid, showed works by artists from a range of different countries, but the great majority was from Russia. The venue in the basement of the Crypt at St. Pancras Church provided a dark and atmospheric labyrinth, with dark cells where little light penetrated.  In these alcoves and on their rough walls, were displayed intriguing interpretations of the role of propaganda in contemporary life. Among them, were works by Sasha Skochilenko, made while she was still in prison in Russia, Pavel Otdelnov and Nadia Tolokonnikova. One could also read and hear the words of dramatist Zhenya Berkovich and director Svetlana Petriichuk, both still in a Russian prison today. But personally, I was most taken by the works of our guest today: Slava PtrkThis podcast was recorded on 19 September 2024.My questions include:Tell us about your name, if you would. It’s a pseudonym, but why did you choose to glorify PTRK?Tell us about how you came to be a part of The Brainwashing Machine exhibition about propaganda?Your works exhibited in the exhibition – did you make them especially for the exhibition ?Perhaps your most memorable work in the exhibition is called ‘I am not interested in politics.’ Tell us about it and how it came about.You started your professional career as a journalist. Is that why propaganda and its impact are important subjects for you? What were your experiences as a journalist in this regard?What served as the impetus for you to become an artist? What were your first steps in this direction.What is most for you in expressing yourselMy questions include:Tell us about your name, if you would. It’s a pseudonym, I guess,  but why did you choose to glorify PTRK?Tell us about how you came to be a part of The Brainwashing Machine exhibition?Your works for the exhibition – did you make them especially?Perhaps your most memorable work in the exhibition is called ‘I am not interested in politics.’ Tell us about it and how it came about.You started your professional career as a journalist. Is that why propaganda and its impact are important subjects for you? What were your experiences as a journalist in this regard?What served as the impetus for you to become an artist? What were your first steps as an artist?What is most important to you in giving expression to yourself and the surrounding reality in your art? You have said that your chief instrument is irony.Another work in The Brainwashing Machine exhibition in London is called ‘Steps’ and next to it is a work titled ‘Ways.’ What do these works represent? How do they relate to propaganda? Looking at your street art, one could guess that Banksy was a strong influence on your work. Is that so,  or did you take inspiration elsewhere?Your final work in the London exhibition is called ‘The Sinnerman.’ It is uses a mobile phone screen. How should one understand this work and what, or who, is depicted in it?When and why did you decide to leave Russia?How does being outside Russia affect your choice of subjects for your current and future work?Do you have hopes of returning to Russia?

My guest today is documentary filmmaker Askold Kurov, whose latest film, “Of Caravans and Dogs,” was screened this past June in England as part of the Sheffield Documentary Film Festival, the largest festival of its kind in the UK.According to the festival programme, this “bold and compelling documentary looks at the curtailment of press freedom in Russia on the eve of and during the invasion of Ukraine.” The credits list two directors. One is “Anonymous Number 1” and the other is our guest today, Askold Kurov.This podcast was recorded on 29 August 2024.My questions include: 1. Askold, I watched your film with great interest. Please explain the origins of the title. 2. In the Sheffield Docfest programme, your unique access to people and events is much praised.  Tell us how the documentary came about?  In the credits, it says that the film was made with the support of Novaya Gazeta.  Was it their idea or did you approach them with the idea?3.  Tell us about the relationship between you and your team. Your co-director, as well as two others in key roles – the sound recordist and the editor - all chose to remain anonymous, but you didn’t.4.  I heard a journalist at TV Dozhd say that the Russian authorities had played the independent opposition media, that they had done everything to get opposition journalists to quit Russia voluntarily so that there would be no one left to push back against government pressure and censorship in Russia.  What do you think?5.  You didn’t leave Russia straight after the beginning of the war.  You now live outside Russia.  What prompted your departure finally? 6.  Do you keep in touch with your “anonymous” colleagues from the film?  How are they doing?7.  Many people, including in your film, talk about Russian journalists’ own self-censorship.  Do you think this is an option?  Does it promote or destroy quality journalism?8.  Access to all independent sources of information in Russia is increasingly restricted.  What sources of information remain open to Russians and is there a demand for it?  Has this changed since the Ukrainian army’s recent incursions in the Kursk region?9..  Tell us a little about yourself.  Where did you grow up and how did you become a documentary film-maker?10. I remember very well the strong impression I took away from your 2017 film about Ukrainian film-maker Oleg Sentsov, who was arrested during the annexation of Crimea and taken away to be imprisoned in Russia.  What did your close interactions with and observations of Ukrainians reveal about the differences between Ukrainians and Russians?11.  Could you have predicted then that Russia would start a full-scale war against Ukraine?12.  How do you see the war ending?13.  Are you currently working on a new project?  14. How do you find living in a foreign country?15. How do you see your future? In Russia?  Under what circumstances?

Hello and welcome to the Then and Now podcast with me, Teresa Cherfas. Our guest today is Nadezhda Skochilenko. On November 16, 2023, the Vasileostrovsky court sentenced her daughter, Aleksandra Skochilenko, to seven years in a general regime penal colony. Sasha Skochilenko’s ‘crime’ was committed about a month after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and consisted in the substitution by Sasha of price labels in a Perekrestok supermarket with short anti-war texts. It was a small subversive act by a witty and talented artist. But the aftermath changed both her own and her mother’s lives.My questions include:1. Were you aware that Sasha was going to replace the price labels in the supermarket? Or did you find out about it later?2. Did it surprise you? How did you react?3 I remember seeing pictures of these new price labels by Sasha on Facebook, and being amazed by the subtlety of the idea and its execution – you had to look pretty closely to realize that the labels had completely different texts from the usual ones. The font, the format, the size – everything had been carefully copied but with added facts about the victims of the Special Military Operation. Did she imagine then what consequences it could lead to? And did you realize the danger of what she was doing?4. Tell us about Sasha – what kind of person is she and what was she like as a child? I understand that she’s a talented musician and artist.  How did you bring her up?5. You now live in France. Had you previously thought of leaving Russia, or was it because of Sasha’s arrest?6. Sasha was kept in prison for more than 19 months before her trial. What were conditions like for her and how did she cope? Did it affect her health?7. Seven years in prison for such a ‘crime’ – at the time this seemed unimaginably severe.. Was it a surprise to Sasha? And to you?8. What can you do to help her from outside Russia?9. Various organizations, including Rights in Russia, encourage people to write letters to political prisoners in Russia. Does Sasha receive such letters? What do they mean to her?10. Where possible, do you try to disseminate information in the West about other political prisoners in Russia? Do you think the West does enough to support them and intercede on their behalf?11. Does the fact that both Amnesty International and Memorial have recognized Sasha as a prisoner of conscience and a political prisoner, and demand her immediate and unconditional release, have any impact on her fate?12. How do you see the future for Sasha? And for yourself?

Welcome to the twentieth edition of our Russian-language podcast Then & Now with me, Teresa Cherfas. My guest today is Olga Sadovskaya, a lawyer from the civil society group, Team Against Torture. The project’s members have been investigating complaints by Russians about torture for over two decades. Thanks to their work, hundreds of cases of torture by law enforcement officers have reached the courts and compensation from the state has been awarded to their victims. Olga Sadovskaya lives and works in her native city of Nizhny Novgorod. She graduated from Lobachevsky State University with a degree in Public International Law, defending the first thesis in Russia on the prohibition of torture and the practice of the European Court of Human Rights on this issue. She has been taking cases to the European Court of Human Rights for over 20 years. This podcast was recorded on 20 June 2024.My questions include:You chose a rather unusual topic for your diploma. In 2003, when you defended it, what profession did you think you would pursue in the future?How did it come about that you specialised in torture?In Russia, it seems to me, few people are concerned about torture – people think ‘that’s just how it should be’, or ‘they deserve it, and that’s all there is to it.’ How do you explain the rather high tolerance for violence in Russia?Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, has the Russian public’s attitude to torture changed? Has it become better, worse, or have moral and ethical guidelines shifted in general?Previously, in such situations it was common to appeal to the ECtHR, but in 2022 the Russian Federation withdrew from the jurisdiction of the European Court. What tools are now left for Russian human rights defenders to seek justice?I read somewhere that you have said that “all wars end in a resolution of peace.” In your opinion, will Russia’s war against Ukraine also end through peace negotiations? With the intervention of international forums, or do the warring parties no longer have confidence in them?  What is it like for you and other human rights defenders to work under current conditions?Since the spring of 2022, when the register of foreign agents is updated every Friday, have many of your colleagues left the country or given up their human rights practice?How does the ‘foreign agent’ label affect your professional work. And can you explain what is an “undesirable organisation”?Have you ever received any threats yourself? Or have there been administrative cases initiated against you?What is meant by the word “torture” and what should a person do if they find themselves in a situation where, in their opinion, they are being subjected to torture? And what if they are exposed  to torture in detention? What should they do then?Is there such a thing as psychological torture? Have you experienced it yourself in your work as a human rights defender?Can such a term be applied to what happened to your fellow resident of Nizhny Novgorod, Irina Slavina, who committed suicide in the most horrible way in front of the Interior Ministry building in the city centre in 2020?You said somewhere that ‘even if a person is not themselves directly involved in torture, they could still be party to the system of violence.’ Can you elaborate? What does the police treatment of suspects in the terrorist attack on Crocus City Hall in March this year tell us about today’s Russia?In Russia now everyone is living with uncertainty. What options for the future of your work do you see?Can you imagine ever being forced to give up your work – that the screws will be tightened to such an extent that it will be impossible to work in the field of human rights in Russia?

Our guest today is Iryna Khalip, a Belarusian journalist and participant in the 2010 protests against election fraud in the presidential elections in Belarus. Her husband is the politician Andrei Sannikov who ran as an opposition presidential candidate in those very elections. Since 2006, Iryna has been working as Belarus correspondent for Novaya gazeta, now Novaya gazeta – Evropа. Before that, Iryna worked in local opposition media, was an activist, was sent to prison, subjected to threats from the Belarusian special services and was a victim of psychological threats from the authorities. Today we will talk to Iryna about herself, the war in Ukraine, and the relationship between Lukashenka and Putin, between Russia and Belarus.This podcast was recorded on 30 May 2024.Our questions include:Iryna, I was honestly amazed when I read about you in Wikipedia. Tell us about your activism against President Lukashenka of Belarus and his unlimited power in the country?  When did you start your activism and what have been the consequences for you personally?You took part in the protests against election fraud in 2010. How did the 2020 protests differ from the 2010 protests?What are the reasons for the failure of the latest protests, perhaps the most massive protests in the history of Belarus? It is said that the prison system and the situation of political prisoners in Belarus is much worse than in Russia.  Can you comment on this?  Have they tightened the screws in prisons since you were there?What made you decide to leave Belarus?Today there is a lot of talk that Russia is following the path that Belarus has already travelled. Is this true?What has changed in Belarus since Russia announced the Special Military Operation on February 24, 2022?  How has Russia’s war against Ukraine affected the relationship between Belarus and Russia?What does Lukashenka see as Belarus’ role in this war?   How can one explain the location of the Wagner base, and previously Prigozhin himself, on the territory of Belarus?  How would you describe the state of democratic forces in Belarus today?  Do they have a chance to influence the situation in the country? How would you characterize relations between those who left the country and those who stayed? In Russia, the gap between the two seems to be getting wider and deeper.We know about the changes in school textbooks in Russia, especially in Russian history, about the militarization of education even in elementary schools.  What is the situation in Belarus?  Is it true that many children study abroad?What can be said about the shortage of labour in Belarus? Can we assume that Belarus has its own path for the future? What will it look like? Can the West somehow influence the political future of Belarus, or is it doomed to remain a satellite of Russia?Do you think you will ever return home? And what needs to take place in the country for that to happen?

My guest today is Leyla Latypova, a journalist who works as a special correspondent for the English-language newspaper The Moscow Times. An ethnic Tatar from the republic of Bashkortostan, Leyla writes about politics and civil society in Russia’s regions and national republics.  In her work, she promotes and defends the rights of indigenous peoples and ethnic minorities in the Russian Federation. She now lives in Amsterdam. In this edition of “Then & Now,” we talk to Leyla about the war, about national movements and about the future of ethnic minorities in Russia – and of Russia in general.My questions include:Where were you when you heard President Putin’s announcement about the Special Military Operation in February 2022? What was your first reaction?What were your thoughts as to the future impact of the war on ethnic minorities in Russia?Why is it that a disproportionate number of conscripts from ethnic minorities in Russia’s regions serve in the Russian army – Buryats, for example, or Tatars?Tell us a little about yourself. Where were you born, what did your parents do, and do you have any key memories that have particularly shaped your life?Have there been times when you personally encountered Russian chauvinism or observed its impact on others in Bashkortostan?Do you sense an imperial mindset in Russian people? What do you attribute this to?What was your motivation when you decided to change your place of residence and move to another country? Was it related to Putin’s policies?How do you work as a journalist when you are located far from your sources?Tell me about the recent protests in Bashkortostan? After all, they were quite large-scale and yet little is known about them in the West.Do you think the war against Ukraine could be a catalyst for major changes in Russia?When people talk about the de-colonization of Russia, what does it mean?At the beginning of the war, many analysts believed that the logical outcome of the war would be the collapse of the Russian Empire. They see this as a process which began in 1917, continued in 1991, and has not yet been completed. They see the war against Ukraine as striking a kind of a death blow to the empire. In your view, is the further disintegration of the Russian Empire inevitable? How might the country look in the future?

Our guest today is Zoia Svetova, renowned journalist and human rights activist. She continues to live and work in Moscow.  She is the author of several books, including Priznat’ nevinovnogo vinovnym [To Find the Innocent Guilty]. Her voice is perhaps one of the few authoritative oppositionist voices still heard in Russia today.  This podcast was recorded on 26 March 2024.My questions include:When it became known that Russian troops had invaded Ukraine in 2022, could you ever have imagined such a thing happening?You decided to stay in Russia. Did you discuss with your family, your four adult children, whether to leave or stay in Russia?Can I ask you to tell us a little about your family? After all, you are part of Russia’s hereditary dissident aristocracy, if I may put it like that. Tell us about your parents, what you most remember about them, about their lives? Your husband was also involved in the dissident movement.  How did you meet? And how did you bring up your children, what were the main moral values you tried to pass on to them?When Putin became president in 2000, did you have any hopes?Was there a key episode when it became clear for you which direction his regime was heading?The title of this podcast, “Then and Now,” is associated with the fateful date of 24 February 2022. But there has since been another terrible date that will be a significant event in the perception of the world and of Russian public opinion  – 16 February this year. What was your first reaction when you learned of Aleksei Navalny’s death in the Polar Wolf penal colony.What did Navalny mean for Russia, what did he symbolise? And what did his death in prison mean for the future of Russia?You were at Aleksei’s funeral in Moscow. Could you share the mood that prevailed there, what you observed –  tell us about your impressions.Should other political prisoners in Russia now fear for their lives?Just recently, a presidential election was conducted in Russia. If I’m not mistaken, you were abroad at that time. Did you take part in the “Noon against Putin” protest? Did the protests bring any benefits? And is there any difference between such protests in Russia and abroad?Your sons Tikhon and Filip are engaged in interesting work abroad. Does the fact that Tikhon is on the register of foreign agents and is editor-in-chief of the Dozhd TV company, which has been declared an undesirable organization in Russia, affect your life in Moscow in any way?After the attack on Leonid Volkov, a leading member of Navalny’s team, in Vilnius, do you fear for your own children and other Russian oppositionists living outside Russia? What would have to happen in Russia for you to change your mind and leave the country?What needs to happen in Russia for your children and grandchildren to return home? What are your thoughts about the recent terrorist attack at Crocus City Hall in Moscow?  Do you think 22 March 2024 will be another milestone in the history of the Putin regime?

My guest today is Anastasia Burakova, a human rights lawyer and democratic activist from Russia. We are still in shock at the news of the murder of Aleksei Navalny in a high-security penal colony in the settlement of Kharp. Aleksei Navalny’s political star rose as a leader of the opposition to the Putin regime in 2011.  That year, 2011, played a significant part in the  political coming of age of  today’s guest - Anastasia Burakova, a Russian human rights lawyer and activist for democratic change in Russia - and influenced the trajectory of her professional life.However, ten years later, in November 2021, Anastasia was forced to leave Russia. She moved to Georgia after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, where she founded the Ark Project (‘Kovcheg’). Initially, set up to offer help to exiled Russians because of their opposition to the war, over time, Ark’s activities have broadened.This podcast was recorded on 22 February 2024.My questions include:I am haunted by two thoughts that never leave me now – the death in prison of Aleksei Navalny and the second year of war inUkraine. What thoughts have occupied you most this past week?In an interview almost one year ago, you talked about a ‘white rose’ of resistance in Russia. Are there grounds for optimism in Russia today?The journalist Elena Kostyuchenko wrote in her book about Russia: “Why did I ever think my life would be different?” Do you have an answer for her?Tell us a little about your childhood. Were there any key moments in your biography that led you to your choice of profession and the path you followed?You have said that the year 2011 played a big role in your own development. What does 2011 in Russia mean to you? What are your most vivid impressions of that year?You left Russia at the end of 2021, just 10 years later. What happened in the intervening years in the field of civic activism?To what extent did human rights and civic activism face new and more difficult challenges in the period leading up to the invasion of Ukraine? What defined the relationship of the authorities to civil society?Soon after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, you founded the Ark Project. What was the idea behind the project and who are the beneficiaries?Is there any real hope for the Russian opposition in exile? What can it really do? What do the countries that have welcomed Russian exiles have to gain from their presence? Aleksei Navalny from prison urged the Russian people to act. He proposed that people should go to the polling stations on the last day of the election, 17 March, at 12.00 noon local time, and stand in line outside the polling station in protest. Do you think there’s a chance that many will do this following his assassination in prison by the Russian authorities?What do you think the future holds for you? And what are your thoughts about the future of Russia?