For Russia, 2009 was a year of continued contradictions laced with increased strife throughout Russian society. President Dmitri Medvedev spoke out against corruption and the importance of observing human rights, while oppositionists continued to suffer from unlawful detentions and overwhelming censorship. A series of high-profile incidents of police brutality lead to the most intense scrutiny of Russia’s law enforcement agencies in years. The Kremlin’s United Russia party swept election after election, while the documentation of fraud was too clear for even the president to deny. Violence in the North Caucasus continued unabated, with numerous human rights workers and opposition politicians kidnapped, shot dead, or both.

It is in this context that the feats of rights advocates and opposition activists can be fully appreciated. 2009 was the first full year of the existence of the Solidarity movement, a coalition of opposition forces that managed to achieve significant prominence in the Russian political sphere since its founding in December 2008. Leaders from the Other Russia coalition held a nationwide series of protests in defense of the constitutional right to freedom of assembly, which they held despite being unequivocally denied sanction from authorities. Novorossiysk Police Major Aleksei Dymovsky shocked the nation when he released two YouTube videos detailing widespread corruption throughout the police force, and has set out on a one-man campaign to reform Russia’s law enforcement agencies. Despite heavy censorship and brutal repression, oppositionists and human rights advocates continued to fight against the unhindered violence and tired series of false promises from the heads of Russia’s authoritarian regime.

The editors at theOtherRussia.org have compiled a review of notable events in Russia from over the past year.

Political Repression

• January 28: Russian Teacher Fired For Protesting
Yekaterina Bunicheva, a history teacher in the Russian city of Nizhny Novgorod, was arrested and sentenced to five days of administrative arrest after attempting to enter a pro-government rally with a banner reading “Enough of Putin.” School officials then allegedly pressured Bunicheva to resign, threatening to strip her ability to teach at all if she refused.

• March 11: Russian Voters Defrauded With Disappearing Ink
After regional parliamentary elections throughout Russia, electoral monitors brought forth claims that voters in the city of Volgograd had been given pens filled with disappearing ink to cast their ballots with. The Russian Central Electoral Commission said in response that using such ink did not formally violate any laws. The pro-Kremlin United Russia party overwhelmingly swept the elections despite these and other violations.

• April 27: Sochi Election Results Called Into Question
Exit polls indicated a serious disparity between the official results of the mayoral election in the city of Sochi and the number of voters who claimed they had voted for opposition candidate Boris Nemtsov. Official figures give United Russia candidate Anatoly Pakhomov 76.86 percent of the vote, while only 46 percent of voters in the exit polls indicated they had voted for him – a number that would have triggered a run-off election.

• October 11: Rampant Fraud Plagues Regional Elections
Blatant fraud was documented in a set of regional elections throughout the country in October, in which United Russia once again was awarded overwhelming wins. The accusations of fraud were obvious enough that President Dmitri Medvedev admitted that the elections were “not sterile,” but refused to annul them regardless.

• November 18: Internal Memo Indicts Police of Illegal Detentions
After being illegally detained for holding a series of lawful, solitary protests, opposition activists obtained an internal police memo that had ordered officers to do so regardless of their legality. Leaders of the Solidarity opposition movement plan to use the document in a court case against the law enforcement agencies responsible for the incident.

• December 2: University Expels Student Opposition Activist
Anton Zhebrun, one of the leaders of a regional youth branch of the liberal Yabloko party, was expelled from Omsk State University for “academic failure” despite the fact that he had the equivalent of a B+ average. Opposition activists say that there is no doubt that the expulsion was the result of Zhebrun’s political activism.

Violent Repression

• March 6: Political Blogger Involuntarily Psychiatrically Confined
Opposition activist and blogger Vadim Charushev was arrested for unnamed reasons and confined against his will in a psychiatric hospital in St. Petersburg, told “you won’t get out of here, you’ll be here as long as it takes, and you’ll have other problems as well.” His release, which activists called a very rare occurrence, only came two weeks later after a public campaign was launched in his defense. Charushev believes his confinement was punishment for his online political activities.

• March 31: Rights Leader Lev Ponomarev Hospitalized After Beating
Leading human rights leader Lev Ponomarev was hospitalized after being attacked by unknown assailants in Moscow. In an open letter to President Dmitri Medvedev, colleague Sergei Kovalev said that the attack signified the growing prevalence of political violence in the country and a possible reemergence of a neo-Soviet system of “social allies” and “socially alien elements.”

• May 28: Human Rights Group “Justice” Raided
With no warrant or other legal documents, police forced their way into the offices of the Justice human rights group in Moscow, illegally detaining six people while they conducted a search. Lawyers say the raid was undoubtedly connected with the group’s lawsuit against a local politician, whom they accuse of illegally seizing of several businesses.

• August 5: Nashi to Create Armed Teen Militias
Nashi, a fervent pro-Kremlin youth organization often compared to the Soviet Komsomol, initiated a plan to create armed teenage militias that would supplement Russia’s current law enforcement. Project leader Sergei Bokhan said that Nashi would specifically target “kids who are practically living on the streets, who don’t know how to occupy themselves,” and train and arm them for the militias. Critics say the move is intended to counteract Russia’s political opposition.

• September 9: Journalist Beaten For Report on Dam Disaster
Journalist Mikhail Afanasyev was hospitalized after an attack that he says was motivated by his report on the fatal explosion of the Sayano-Shushenskaya hydroelectric dam. Afanasyev had publically questioned the death toll reported by official media sources, which they put at only 10. As it turns out, 75 people were killed in the disaster.

• October 31: Opposition Activist Tortured By Police
Konstantin Makarov, a member of the banned National Bolshevik Party, alleges that he was abducted and brutally tortured by police the day of a planned opposition rally in the city of Voronezh. He blames the attack on the Russian Interior Ministry’s notorious Center for Extremism Prevention, which has long been accused by international human rights groups of using torture to extract confessions from supposed criminals.

Corruption

• July 14: Corruption Hinders Redevelopment of Russia’s Crumbling Infrastructure
In an article in the Vedomosti newspaper, economic expert Vladimir Inozemtsev argued that the much-needed redevelopment of Russia’s notoriously crumbling infrastructure is hindered by an inept state and unfathomable levels of corruption.

• November 5: Fired Officer Details Massive Police Corruption
Major Aleksei Dymovsky quickly gained notoriety after publishing two YouTube videos in which he detailed systemic corruption throughout the police force in the city of Novorossiysk. After facing threats to his and his family’s safety, Dymovsky left for Moscow, where his initial press conference was attended by a record number of journalists. Authorities have launched an effort to prosecute the former officer for exposing state secrets.

• November 11: State Corporations Face 22 Criminal Charges
A federal audit of Russia’s state-owned corporations revealed gross misappropriation of state funds and resulted in the initiation of 22 criminal cases against the companies. According to Prosecutor General Yury Chaika, all seven of the corporations were guilty of various forms of corruption.

• November 30: Moscow Mayor Wins Libel Suit After Being Called Corrupt
In an ironic court decision, Moscow Mayor Yury Luzhkov won a libel suit against opposition politician Boris Nemtsov for Nemtsov’s statement in a brochure, which read: “For many Muscovites, it has long been no secret that all levels of the Moscow authorities are penetrated with corruption.” Luzhkov is notorious for never having lost a libel or slander lawsuit, which he has filed many of over his 17-year tenure as mayor.

• December 11: Murder of Ingush Opposition Leader Ruled ‘Accidental’
The murderer of Ingush opposition leader Magomed Yevloyev was sentenced to two years in a penal colony for what was ruled to be an “accidental” killing. Yevloyev’s relatives claim that the ruling was the result of external pressure on the judge from former Ingush Internal Minister Musa Medov, the uncle of the man sentenced in the killing.

Murders

• January 19: Stanislav Markelov
Prominent human rights lawyer Stanislav Markelov was gunned down in broad daylight in central Moscow by two masked gunmen, who were later identified as members of a neo-Nazi organization. Anastasia Baburova, a journalist with the Kremlin-critical Novaya Gazeta newspaper who was with Markelov at the time, was also killed in the incident.

• July 15: Natalia Estemirova
Award-winning activist Natalia Estemirova, who had worked to report on rights abuses in the North Caucasus, was found dead in Ingushetia after disappearing from her home in Chechnya that same morning. Her murder sparked outrage from human rights groups, who say there is no doubt that her murder was politically motivated.

• August 11: Zarema Sadulaeva and Umar Dzhabrailov
In a continued surge of similar violence in the North Caucasus, charity workers and activists Zarema Sadulaeva and Umar Dzhabrailov were kidnapped and later found dead in the Chechen capital of Grozny. Human rights groups slammed authorities for allowing the continued violence to endanger activists and reporters in the volatile area.

• October 25: Maksharip Aushev
Ingush opposition leader Maksharip Aushev was killed when his car was sprayed with machine gun fire by unknown assailants in the Kabardino-Balkaria territory of the North Caucasus. He had been a prominent businessman who turned to activism after his son and nephew were abducted in 2007, an attack he blames on Ingushetia’s corrupt security forces.

• November 2: Shabtai von Kalmanovic
Well-known businessman and philanthropist Shabtai von Kalmanovic was killed when unknown assailants shot him dead in his car in Moscow. Investigators believe that his murder may have been a contract killing, harking back to the period after the fall of the Soviet Union when such murders occurred with startling regularity.

• November 17: Sergei Magnitsky
In a case that sparked outrage on an international scale, lawyer Sergei Magnitsky died after being denied medical attention by prison officials who allegedly tried to bribe him into pleading guilty to trumped-up charges of tax evasion. Following the ensuing media outcry, federal officials admitted to partial guilt in the crime.

The Economy and Society

• April 27: Police Chief Kills 3 in Drunken Rampage
In an incident that sparked a yearlong streak of public criticism of Russia’s law enforcement agencies, Major Denis Yevsyukov killed three people and injured seven in a drunken rampage around midnight in a Moscow supermarket. Calls to drastically reform law enforcement agencies began pouring in from all levels of Russian government and society, but the rest of the year saw what seemed to be an unending streak of high-profile killings and assaults by police officers.

• May 18: Russian Economy Fares Worse Than Expected
Figures published mid-year showed that Russia’s economy had been faring worse than expected, with GDP falling 9.5 percent in the first quarter of the year. The International Money Fund had only expected a 6 percent fall. April saw Russia’s largest fall in manufacturing output since the world economic crisis began in mid-2008.

• May 20: Desperate Residents Seize Pikalevo Town Hall
In the small Russian industrial town of Pikalevo, 200 residents stormed the town hall with demands that the mayor’s office address their dire economic situation. Nearly the entire town had been dropped into poverty when the town’s three aluminum plants were shut down, leaving workers unpaid and triggering a town-wide shutdown of heat and hot water. Residents’ concerns were only addressed when Prime Minister Vladimir Putin caught wind of the situation and staged a populist personal intervention, widely covered by the media.

• August 6: Russia Lags Behind Neighboring Countries in Economic Development
Compared to its former Soviet neighbors, Russia has shown some of the worst results in terms of economic decline, inflation, and falling income levels, according to a report by economic analyst Mikhail Sergeyev. Russia’s continued dependence on commodities markets has set it apart from other nearby countries, leading to an inflation rate that in August was even higher than predicted.

• August 31: Growing Number of Russians Living in Poverty
A government survey found that the number of Russians living in poverty rose for the first time since 2002, with official estimates hovering at 17.4 percent of the population. Other experts were skeptical, however, putting the figure closer to 40 percent or more, saying that the government used the artificially low sustenance level of 5,083 rubles ($160) a month in their calculations.

• December 16: ‘Russia for the Russians’ Polarizes Population
A survey by sociologists at the Levada center showed that Russian society was becoming increasingly polarized by the phrase “Russia for the Russians,” a slogan used by ultranationalist groups that has gained prevalence in recent years. While the survey indicated that more Russians are taking positions on aspects of nationalism, thus stimulating public debate, experts fear that the polarization may lead to a surge of violence in the country.

Censorship

• March 5: Scholar’s Russian Publisher Backs Out Under Political Pressure
The would-be Russian publishers of a book detailing life under Stalin in the Soviet Union backed out of a printing deal due to political pressure, according to the book’s author, renowned scholar Orlando Figes. About a third of the sources for the book had been materials from the archives of the Memorial human rights organization, which had been subjected to a government raid in December 2008.

• May 2: Russian Legislators Try to Ban Internet Slang
In a measure to combat what some deem to be “improper” use of the Russian language, Russian legislators introduced a measure to ban the purposeful misspellings and emoticons that make up internet slang. Similar moves by legislators in the past have sought to fine or arrest “hooligans” who “unreasonably use jargon and slang expressions.”

• June 15: Artist Arrested for Depicting Putin in a Dress
An artist in the city of Voronezh was arrested when he attempted to hang a collage of Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin in a dress in front of the town hall. Alexander Shchednov was held overnight by police after allegedly refusing to bribe his detaining officers, and charged for “obscene speech in a public place” before being released to await a hearing. It was postponed when the artist failed to appear in court.

• September 4: Conde Nast Bans Article Critical of Putin
In a move that was somewhat thwarted by an enthusiastic group of internet translators, Conde Nast took extreme lengths to ban an article implicating then-Russian President Vladimir Putin in a string of Moscow apartment bombings that eventually lead to a renewed military campaign in Chechnya. Translators crowdsourced by Gawker.com were able to compile a full Russian-language version of the article in under twenty-four hours, which they published online in what they said was a “public service.”

• November 7: Cast Against Historian Elecits Public Outcry
A criminal case was brought against historian Mikhail Suprun for his work researching settlers repatriated from German territory to the Russian region of Arkhangelsk at the end of World War II. Authorities allege that the research materials used by the historian violated the privacy of relatives of the settlers, and say that he was “planning to transfer the information abroad.” Human rights advocates accuse Russian authorities for intentionally hindering the historian’s work, which they say “sheds light on the dark times of Stalin.”

• December 18: Justice Ministry to Control Which NPOs are ‘Russian’
The Russian Ministry of Justice introduced a measure that would allow the government to decide what non-profit organizations could or could not use the words “Russian” and “Russian Federation” in their titles. Critics assert that the move is an obvious attempt to give authorities free reign to ban opposition organizations from labeling themselves as Russian.

Propaganda

• January 16: Pro-Kremlin Party Holds Presidential Pep Rallies
Russia’s leading political party, the pro-Kremlin United Russia, organized a series of pep rallies to garner public support for the government’s response to the worsening economic situation in the country. Oppositionists claim that state propagandist groups, such as the youth movement Nashi, have launched public campaigns to shift blame for Russia’s domestic situation away from the government and onto the United States and the West in general.

• May 9: Heavy Artillery Goes On Display in Victory Day Parade
In its largest show of force since the fall of the Soviet Union, Russians celebrated the 64th anniversary of the country’s victory in World War II with a massive military parade through Moscow complete with battle tanks, rocket launchers, nuclear missiles, and the world’s most powerful air defense system. In a markedly nationalistic address, Russian President Dmitri Medvedev reminded potential foreign adversaries that “any aggression against our citizens will be given a worthy reply.”

• October 26: Lines Praising Lenin and Stalin Return to Moscow Metro
The Kurskaya metro station in Moscow was reopened in August after a thorough restoration, shocking visitors with the inclusion of two lines from the old Soviet hymn: “Stalin reared us — on loyalty to the people, / He inspired us to labor and to heroism.” Despite an outcry from human rights groups and religious organizations, metro Director Dmitri Gayev insisted that the restoration is true to the original architecture. After the opening, he realized that another couplet had been accidentally omitted and made plans to have it reintroduced: “Through tempests shone on us the sun of freedom, / And the great Lenin lighted the way.”

• October 30: Book of Pro-Putin Children’s Poetry Released
A topographer in the Russian city of Saratov published a book of children’s poems entitled “Putinyata,” combining Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin’s surname with the Russian word for “guys.” The first of the book’s twenty-one poems praises “Uncle Putin” for reversing the country’s problematically low birthrate: “They are many…they are beautiful / Just like flowers, here and there. / Young children in Russia now / Have the name of PUTINYATA!” The author insists that the book is non-political.

• December 4: Putin Postures in Four-Hour Live Q&A
In a highly-choreographed live broadcast call-in show, Prime Minister Putin took questions from Russians throughout the country on topics ranging from the economic crisis, terrorism, the United States Congress, his love for Belarus, the necessity to not be overly critical of the police, the “subtleties” of Stalin, and the fact that “Here, thank God, there aren’t any elections.” It was the longest of the prime minister’s annual question-and-answer sessions, broadcast on Russia’s three main television channels for a full four hours and one minute.

Work of the Opposition

• January 31: Day of Protest Marked Around Russia
In a national day of protest, thousands of Russian oppositionists took to the streets in rallies against the government’s response to the economic crisis, calling for officials to resign. Activists turned out en masse despite physical attacks and attempts to hinder communication networks.

• February 22: Solidarity’s First Rally Draws Unexpected Turnout
Turnout at the first-ever rally of the newly-formed opposition movement Solidarity was double what organizers had expected, with six hundred demonstrators turning out at the event in Moscow. Leaders of the movement say that they called the rally in defense of the social rights of Russian citizens.

• March 12: Russian Opposition Marks Day of Dissent Throughout Country
Leaders from the Other Russia coalition organized a series of peaceful protests throughout the country despite being denied sanction from authorities. Regardless of the 4,000 on-duty police, the 200 protestors marched down Moscow’s Prospekt Mira (Avenue of Peace) and called for the release of political prisoners.

• October 31: Oppositionists Hold Rally in Defense of Freedom of Assembly
Five hundred protestors turned out at a rally in central Moscow organized by leaders of the Other Russia coalition in defense of the constitutional right to freedom of assembly. Approximately 70 people were detained at the rally, which turned violent after members of a radical pro-Kremlin youth group lit fireworks in the middle of the crowd.

• December 13: Mock Funeral Held to Commemorate Constitution Day
Opposition activists in Moscow marked Russia’s Constitution Day with a mock funeral for democracy and demonstrations to demand that the government obey the country’s vital document. Former Prime Minister and Solidarity leader Boris Nemtsov asserted that despite the alienation of most citizens from the ability to protect their own rights, “there are nevertheless people in this country who are prepared to fight for freedom.”

• December 31: New Year’s Eve Protest Attracts International Attention
In a year-end demonstration in defense of right to freedom of assembly, approximately 400 protestors rallied in central Moscow after being denied official sanction by authorities for the event. Police detained an estimated 60 of those present, including internationally renowned human rights activist Lyudmila Alexeyeva, drawing scorn from the United States, the European Union, and human rights groups worldwide.

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