In this episode of the Strasbourg Observers Podcast, Cathérine Van de Graaf speaks with Professor Philip Leach (Middlesex University, former Director of the European Human Rights Advocacy Centre) about one of the most significant ruptures in the European human rights system: Russia’s expulsion from the Council of Europe in March 2022. They discuss what the withdrawal means for individual applicants before the European Court of Human Rights, the fate of pending cases, the role of local partners in Russia, and the broader implications for international human rights law.