Rights in Russia30 Mar 2021

Human Rights in Russia week-ending 26 March 2021 - with Vera Vasilieva

This week our guest on the podcast is the well-known journalist Vera Sergeevna Vasilieva. The topics we discuss on the podcast include: human rights journalism in Russia, political prisoners, the ‘foreign agent’ law, Radio Liberty, Aleksei Pichugin, Aleksei Navalny, other landmark court cases, recent amendments to the Russian constitution, crisis in Russia, atmosphere of hate, historical trends regarding human rights, the Russian judicial system, what the future may hold, and books by Vera Vasilieva.

The podcast is in Russian. You can also listen to the podcast on Rights in Russia [https://rightsinrussia.org/podcasts/], SoundCloud, Spotify and iTunes. The music, from Stravinsky’s Elegy for Solo Viola, is performed for us by Karolina Herrera.

Sergei Nikitin writes: “The situation for journalists writing on human rights issues has become very complicated,” Vera Vasilieva told us. “Many of those websites and portals I used to collaborate with have been closed down and blocked. The field of activity is narrowing, there is no doubt about it.” She also told us how her career in human rights journalism began: “Many years ago I used to work for a popular science computer magazine and back in 2003, when the Yukos affair was just beginning, I wanted to form my own opinion about Alexei Pichugin. The first trial in his case was held behind closed doors, and the second trial on 4 April 2006 left me dumbfounded: the charges proved to be unsubstantiated.” It was then that Vera decided she would go regularly to observe such trials. And she also started to write for online human rights websites. Last Sunday, Simon Cosgrove and I talked to Vera about what she is working on now, what she is interested in, and what concerns her.

Simon Cosgrove adds: If you want to listen to this podcast on the podcasts.com website and it doesn’t seem to play, please download by clicking on the three dots to the right. A summary of some of the week’s events in Russia relevant to human rights can be found on our website here.

Denne episoden er hentet fra en åpen RSS-feed og er ikke publisert av Podme. Den kan derfor inneholde annonser.

Episoder(170)

Podcast Then & Now #42: Teresa Cherfas in conversation with Masha Slonim

Pictured: Masha Slonim28 May 2026Welcome to the 42nd edition of the Russian-language podcast Then & Now with me, Teresa CherfasI’m one of thousands of Facebook followers of Russian-British journalist ...

2 Jun 43min

Podcast Then & Now #41: Teresa Cherfas in conversation with Ksenia Luchenko

8 May 2026by Teresa CherfasWelcome to the 41st edition of the Russian-language podcast Then & Now with me, Teresa Cherfas. Ksenia Luchenko (pictured above) is the author of the book Благими Намерениям...

14 Mai 52min

Podcast Then & Now #40 [Part 2]: Teresa Cherfas in conversation with Tanya from Mariupol

20 March 2026by Teresa CherfasWelcome to the second part of the 40th edition of the Russian-language podcast Then & Now with me, Teresa Cherfas Today, we continue Tanya’s story from Mariupol. In the f...

24 Mar 1h

Podcast Then & Now #40 [Part 1] - Teresa Cherfas in conversation with Tanya from Mariupol

Welcome to the 40th edition of the Russian-language podcast Then & Now with me, Teresa CherfasOur latest episode is devoted to the story of a grandmother from Mariupol, who left her home three days af...

16 Mar 1h

RiR Interview: Prosecuting Russian war crimes - with Bill Bowring and Steve Crawshaw

This month Mary Page’s guests to discuss Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine, and in particular the issue of prosecuting for war crimes and other human rights abuses committed by Russia in Ukraine, a...

27 Feb 50min

Podcast Then & Now #39 - Teresa Cherfas in conversation with Dmitry Oreshkin

Welcome to the 39th edition of the Russian-language podcast Then & Now with me, Teresa Cherfas. Among the first guests on the podcast was Dmitry Oreshkin, the well-known political scientist. At that t...

13 Feb 1h 5min

Podcast Then & Now #38 - Teresa Cherfas in conversation with Mikhail Fishman

19 January 2026by Teresa CherfasWelcome to the 38th edition of our Russian-language podcast Then & Now with me, Teresa Cherfas. My guest today, Mikhail Fishman, is known to viewers of the independent ...

21 Jan 43min

Podcast Then & Now #37: Teresa Cherfas in conversation with Maria Alekhina and Olga Borisova

3 December 2025by Teresa CherfasWelcome to the 37th edition of our Russian-language podcast Then & Now with me, Teresa Cherfas.Maria Alekhina, is a founding member of the Pussy Riot art collective. Pu...

4 Des 202550min