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Freedom in the World - Russia (2005)
Ratings Change
Russia's political rights rating declined from 5 to 6, and its status
from Partly Free to Not Free, due to the virtual elimination of
influential political opposition parties within the country and the
further concentration of executive power.
Overview
uring !""#, President $ladimir Putin too% further steps toward
the consolidation of executive authority &y increasing pressure on
opposition political parties and civil society, strengthening state
control over national &roadcast media, and pursuing politically'
driven prosecutions of independent &usiness leaders and
academics. (he government also announced constitutional
changes that will ma%e governors appointed rather than elected
officials, and Putin advanced plans to ta%e over direct control of
the hiring and dismissal of )udges. *n the +arch !""# presidential
election, Putin easily defeated his closest challenger with more
than ," percent of the vote.
-ith the collapse of the .oviet /nion in ecem&er 0110, the
Russian Federation reemerged as an independent state under the
leadership of 2oris 3eltsin. *n 0114, 3eltsin put down an
attempted coup &y hard'liners in parliament, and a new
Freedom in the
-orld !""5
Freedom of the
Press !""5
Nations in (ransit
!""#
5ountries at the
5rossroads !""5
Programs:
$isiting Fellows
Programs
6xchange Programs
7merican
$olunteers for
*nternational
evelopment
5lic% here for
more ...
Political Rights:
68
Civil i!erties: 5
"tatus: Not Free
Po#ulation:
0##,0"","""
$%&'Ca#ita:
9!,04"
i(e )*#ectanc+:
65
Religious $rou#s:
Russian :rthodox,
+uslim, other
)thnic $rou#s:
Russian ;<!
percent=, (atar ;#
percent=, /%rainian
;4 percent=, other
;00 percent=
Ca#ital: +oscow
constitution creating a &icameral national legislature, the Federal 7ssem&ly, was
approved. (he ecem&er 0115 parliamentary elections, in which #4 parties
competed, saw strong support for 5ommunists and ultranationalist forces. *n the
0116 presidential poll, 3eltsin easily defeated 5ommunist >ennady ?yuganov. (he
7ugust 011< collapse of the ru&le and Russia's financial mar%ets ushered in a new
government that returned to greater state spending and economic control. :ne
year later, Putin, then the head of the Federal .ecurity .ervice, was named prime
minister.
5onflict with the separatist region of 5hechnya, which included a &rutal two'year
war, from 011# to 0116, was reignited in 0111. 7fter a 5hechen re&el attac% on the
neigh&oring repu&lic of agestan in 7ugust and deadly apartment house &om&ings
in several Russian cities &lamed &y the @remlin on 5hechen militants, Russia
responded with an attac% on the &rea%away region. (he second 5hechen war
dramatically increased Putin's popularity, and after the ecem&er 0111 elections to
the uma ;lower house of parliament=, pro'government forces were a&le to shape
a ma)ority coalition.
7n ailing 3eltsin ' who was constitutionally &arred from a third presidential term '
resigned on ecem&er 40, 0111. 3eltsin turned over power to Putin, who, in the
+arch !""" presidential election, secured a 54 percent first'round victory over
5ommunist leader ?yuganov, who received !1 percent. 7fter ta%ing office, Putin
moved to consolidate his power, including implementing legislation removing
Russia's <1 governors from positions in the upper house of parliament ;the
Federation 5ouncil= and allowing the president to suspend them from office if they
violated federal law. Putin also created seven new Asuper regionsA headed &y
@remlin appointees and introduced personnel changes that have considera&ly
altered the composition of the ruling elite through the influx of personnel from the
security and military servicesB they now represent more than !5 percent of the
country's ministers, deputy ministers, legislators, governors, and Asuper
governors.A Putin also challenged the political clout of some economic magnates '
through criminal investigations and legal proceedings claimed to &e part of an
anticorruption campaign, &ut which critics say are selective political persecutions.
(he ecem&er !""4 uma election was marred &y extensive &ias in media
coverage. *n the run up to the vote, opposition political parties widely criticiCed the
distorted and un&alanced coverage of their campaigns and the limits placed on
their a&ility to reach voters through the airwaves. Duestions of vote manipulation
were raised when two li&eral opposition parties fell )ust short of the 5 percent
threshold reEuired for representation, despite exit polls that showed they had
surpassed it. (he @remlin'controlled /nity Party captured 4"6 of the uma's #5"
seats.
Freedom in the
-orld !""5
Freedom of the
Press !""5
Nations in (ransit
!""#
5ountries at the
5rossroads !""5
Programs:
$isiting Fellows
Programs
6xchange Programs
7merican
$olunteers for
*nternational
evelopment
5lic% here for
more ...
-ith the national &roadcast media and most print media uniformly favora&le to
incum&ent President Putin, no challenger was a&le to mount a respecta&le
challenge in the +arch !""# presidential election. Putin, who refused to ta%e part
in de&ates with his challengers, received ,0.# percent of the vote to 04., for his
closest rival, 5ommunist Ni%olai @haritonov, in a first'round victoryB voter turnout
was 6#.4 percent.
.trife in 5hechnya continued throughout the year, with Russian counterinsurgency
operations and guerrilla warfare, assassinations, and acts of terrorism &y 5hechen
re&els inside and outside Russian territory. 7t the same time, the Russian'&ac%ed
5hechen government, a&etted &y Russian Federation forces, engaged in
widespread acts of &rutality, including a&ductions, the %illing of suspected 5hechen
separatists, and the intimidation of organiCations not fully under the control of the
+oscow'&ac%ed local authorities.
*n 7ugust, there were ma)or terrorist incidents involving A&lac% widows,A female
suicide &om&ers from 5hechnyaB these terrorists were responsi&le for explosions at
a +oscow metro station and for the destruction of two civilian passenger airplanes.
(he following month, in the town of 2eslan in North :ssetia ;an area that ad)oins
5hechnya=, extremist fighters too% over a school and held more than a thousand
schoolchildren, teachers, and parents hostage. (he occupation resulted in the
deaths of hundreds, mostly children.
/sing the 2eslan tragedy as a pretext, Putin pu&licly put forward a plan, already
long discussed in the upper reaches of government, to further centraliCe control
over Russia's o&lasts ;regions= and affect the hiring and dismissal of )udges.
Proposed constitutional reforms will ma%e the post of governor appointed &y the
president rather than elected. *n the face of Putin's growing power, most governors
pu&licly endorsed the curtailment of their autonomy despite well'%nown private
unhappiness with the plan. (he uma, where Putin's /nity Party commands more
than a two'thirds constitutional ma)ority, is expected to vote in favor of these
changes that reduce pu&lic voice.
(he year saw the ongoing trial of &illionaire oil magnate +i%hail @hodor%ovs%y and
several of his %ey corporate associates on charges of tax evasion. 6fforts were
made to sell off and dismantle his 3u%os energy company to meet huge tax
assessments. (he year was also mar%ed &y the government's support for the
expansion of the economic power of the state'controlled >aCprom concern into a
conglomerate with vast, varied interests including oil, gas, and media interests.
Russia continued its repressive campaign against scholars and academics
throughout the year. *n 7pril, *gor .utyagin, head of the +ilitary'(echnical and
+ilitary'6conomic Policy su&division of the +oscow'&ased *nstitute of /... and
5anada .tudies of the Russian 7cademy of .ciences, was sentenced to 05 years in
prison on charges of passing state military secrets to 2ritish and /... intelligence.
.utyagin denied the charges, saying he made use only of declassified source
materials in his research. Fuman rights groups widely condemned the sentence,
asserting that it was &ased on spurious charges intended &y the government to
limit international cooperation among scholars. *n Novem&er, physicist $alentin
anilov was sentenced to 0# years in a .i&erian prison on charges of passing space
secrets to 5hina. anilov had earlier &een found innocent of the charges in a )ury
trial, &ut the .upreme 5ourt had overturned the verdict and ordered a new trial in
Gune !""#.
Political Rights and Civil i!erties
Russians cannot change their government democratically, particularly in light of the
state's far'reaching control of &roadcast media and the growing harassment of
opposition parties and their financial &ac%ers. *n the parliamentary elections of
ecem&er !""4, more than two'thirds of seats in the uma were won &y the
@remlin's /nity Party, while most of the remaining seats were captured &y parties
promoted &y the @remlin'controlled media. (here was significant evidence that
there had &een an undercount in the vote for li&eral opposition parties that %ept
them from attaining the 5 percent threshold reEuired for parliamentary
representation. (he leader of the third largest legislative party, +otherland
;Rodina=, &ac%ed President $ladimir Putin in the +arch !""# presidential race. (he
Hi&eral emocratic Party, the fourth largest group in the uma, is an
ultranationalist faction %nown for the long'standing ties of its leaders to
intelligence circles. (he 5ommunists are the sole party in the legislature generally
free of @remlin influence. *n the presidential election of +arch !""#, state
dominance of the media was in full display, de&ate was a&sent, and Putin won a
first'round victory with ,0.# percent of the vote, more than five times that of his
closest rival.
(he 0114 constitution esta&lished a strong presidency with the power to appoint,
pending parliamentary confirmation, and dismiss the prime minister. (he &icameral
legislature consists of a lower cham&er ;the uma= and an upper cham&er ;the
Federation 5ouncil=. (he power of the president is li%ely to &e strengthened in the
coming months, when the president gains control over the appointment of regional
governors, who until now have &een elected officials.
5orruption throughout the government and &usiness world is pervasive. (ough
legislation to com&at money laundering entered into force in !""!, leading the
Financial 7ction (as% Force of the :rganiCation for 6conomic 5ooperation and
evelopment to remove Russia from its list of noncooperating countries. Fowever,
the ongoing trial of 3u%os chairman +i%hail @hodor%ovs%y and his associates, as
well as new tax assessments and pressures on other Russian magnates, coming on
the heels of the persecution and prosecution of former media owners $ladimir
>usins%y and 2oris 2ereCovs%y, reaffirms the view held &y many independent
Russian analysts that Putin's anticorruption efforts are selectively applied and have
often targeted critics and potential political adversaries. Russia was ran%ed 1" out
of 0#5 countries surveyed in the !""# (ransparency *nternational 5orruption
Perceptions *ndex.
7lthough the constitution provides for freedom of speech, the government
continues to put pressure on the dwindling num&er of media outlets still critical of
the @remlin. .ince Gune !""4, when the last independent national television
networ%, ($., was seiCed &y the government, allegedly to settle the company's
de&ts, all Russian national television networ%s have &een controlled &y the
government or &y economic interests that support the government and uniformly
praise the president. (he government routinely intimidates media outlets for
unsanctioned reporting on issues related to terrorism and the war in 5hechnya.
-hile the independent 6%ho +os%vy radio station airs a wide range of viewpoints,
it is vulnera&le &ecause it is owned &y the @remlin'controlled >aCprom
conglomerate.
Hi&el laws are used to intimidate independent media. *n 7ugust !""#, 7lfa 2an%, a
top financial institution owned &y Roman Fridman ' a magnate with strong @remlin
support ' filed a lawsuit against the daily Kommersant, one of the country's few
independent newspapers. (he suit charged the newspaper with damage to the
&an%'s reputation through its coverage of a summertime liEuidity crisis. (he suit
demanded more than 900 million for li&el in a move that the newspaper's owners
&elieved was motivated &y the government's vendetta against the newspaper,
which is owned &y exiled Russian &usinessman 2oris 2ereCovs%y and is sharply
critical of Putin and the @remlin's policies.
-ith print and &roadcast media increasingly under government control, the
*nternet, where there is wider access to independent information, is used regularly
&y #.! percent of the population. (his cohort of regular users is growing &y !" to
#" percent a year, according to a Russian Federation government report.
*n the &rea%away repu&lic of 5hechnya, the military continued to impose severe
restrictions on Russian )ournalists' access to the war Cone, issuing accreditation
primarily to those of proven loyalty to the government.
Freedom of religion is respected unevenly in this predominantly :rthodox 5hristian
country. 7 011, law on religion reEuires churches to prove that they have existed
for at least 05 years &efore &eing permitted to register. 7s registration is necessary
for a religious group to conduct many of its activities, new, independent
congregations are conseEuently restricted in their functions. Regional authorities
continue to harass nontraditional groups, with the Gehovah's -itnesses and
+ormons among the freEuent targets. *n Gune !""#, Gehovah's -itnesses were
&anned from organiCed activity in +oscow. Foreign religious wor%ers are often
denied visas to return to Russia. *n recent years, several Roman 5atholic priests
have &een deported, &arred from entry, or refused visa renewals.
7cademic freedom is generally respected, although the academic system is marred
&y some corruption at the higher levels and &y very low levels of pay for
educators. (he year's prosecutions of scientists and researchers on charges of
treason created a chill in some research institutes, engendering a climate that is
restrictive of international contacts.
(he government provides some space for freedom of assem&ly and association.
Fowever, legislation passed in !""! gives the authorities the right to suspend
political parties or N>:s whose mem&ers are accused of extremism. 5ritics argue
that the law offers an excessively &road definition of extremism, giving the
government great latitude to suppress legitimate opposition political activities. *n
his +ay !""# state of the nation speech, Putin launched a stinging attac% on
nongovernmental organiCations ;N>:s= that are Areceiving funding from influential
foreign foundations and serving du&ious groups and commercial interests.A *n
!""#, human rights groups were attac%ed on state'dominated media for wor%ing
against Russia's interests, and the offices of some rights groups were raided.
:fficials called for a state investigation of the 5ommittee of .oldiers' +others, one
of the country's most respected rights organiCations.
(he nongovernmental sector is composed of thousands of diverse groups, with
many of them dependent on funding from foreign sources. -hile there had earlier
&een trends among Russia's newly wealthy to support the N>: sector through
charita&le giving, the prosecution and repression of &usiness magnates ;including
+i%hail @hodor%ovs%y, patron of the :pen Russia charita&le fund=, who had earlier
supported N>:s focused on democratic reform has had a chilling effect on such
funding. *n !""#, a series of nationwide commemorations of the terrorist attac% in
2eslan was organiCed nominally under the leadership of youth, civic, and la&or
groups, although in fact its slogans and agenda were determined &y government
officials.
-hile trade union rights are legally protected, they are limited in practice. 7lthough
stri%es and wor%er protests occur, anti'union discrimination and reprisals for stri%es
are not uncommon, and employers often ignore collective &argaining rights. *n a
rapidly changing economy in transition from the former system of total state
domination, unions have proved una&le to esta&lish a significant presence in much
of the private sector. (he largest la&or federation wor%s in close cooperation with
the @remlin and coordinated a mass rally in +oscow under the direct supervision of
the authorities to protest terrorism after the 2eslan tragedy.
(he )udiciary suffers from corruption, inadeEuate funding, and a lac% of Eualified
personnel. 7fter the )udicial reforms of !""!, the government has made progress
in implementing due process and holding timely trials. .ince Ganuary !""4,
Russia's reformed criminal procedure code has provided for )ury trials throughout
the country, &ut the legislature has voted to postpone introducing )ury trials in
certain areas &y up to four years &ecause of financial and technical difficulties. (he
new code also gives the right to issue arrest and search warrants to the courts
instead of prosecutors, and it a&olishes in a&sentia trials. 7fter the 2elsan attac%,
Putin declared his intention to esta&lish full control over an office in the .upreme
5ourt that supervises the hiring and removal of )udges. Fuman Rights -atch called
the proposal Aanother erosion of the independence of the )udiciary.A
5ritics charge that Russia has failed to address ongoing pro&lems, such as the
widespread use of torture and ill treatment &y law enforcement officials to extract
confessions, and that the courts will &e una&le or unwilling to handle their
expanded duties. *n Gune !""#, $ladimir Hu%in, the legislature's human rights
om&udsman, reported that police are guilty of widespread rights violations. A(he
most impermissi&le means of influence are used in temporary holding cells and
police offices,A Hu%in charged. 7mong the AmeansA cited in his report were electric
shoc%, cho%ing, and severe &eating.
-hile prisons suffer from overcrowding, inadeEuate medical attention, and poor
sanitary conditions, authorities too% steps in !""4 to reduce the prison population,
including introducing alternative sentences to incarceration. (he new criminal
procedure code limits pretrial detention to six months and has reduced
overcrowding in pretrial detention centers ;%nown as .*?:s=. *n the spring of
!""#, the penal system saw a wave of hunger stri%es against what the rights
om&udsman said was a system of prison guard Aextortion ... IofJ food, money and
valua&les from prisoners and their families.A Putin has dis&anded the presidential
pardons commission, which was viewed as a safeguard against the harsh penal
system and had released a&out 6",""" inmates since its inception in 0110, and
ordered the creation of commissions in each of the country's regions. Fuman rights
groups are freEuently denied access to prisoners.
6thnic minorities, particularly those who appear to &e from the 5aucasus or 5entral
7sia, are su&)ect to governmental and societal discrimination and harassment.
Racially motivated attac%s &y s%inheads and other extremist groups occur
occasionally. Fringe anti'.emitic and racist parties organiCe small pu&lic rallies, and
periodicals with racist and anti'.emitic content are pu&lished &ut attract a small
readership.
(he government places some restrictions on freedom of movement and residence.
7ll adults are legally reEuired to carry internal passports while traveling,
documents that they also need in order to o&tain many government services.
.ome regional authorities impose residential registration rules that limit the right
of citiCens to choose their place of residence freely. Police reportedly demand
&ri&es for processing registration applications and during spot chec%s for
registration documents, and these demands often unfairly target the 5aucasian
and dar%'s%inned populations.
*n recent years, property rights have &een legally strengthened. 7 land code that
esta&lished the legal framewor% for &uying and selling nonagricultural land was
adopted in late !""0. *n Gune !""!, parliament passed a law allowing the sale of
agricultural land to Russian citiCensB such sales had &een severely restricted since
the 010, 2olshevi% Revolution. Fowever, recent prosecutions of economic
magnates that have criticiCed government policies and &ac%ed opposition
politicians, coupled with large tax liens on select companies, have reinforced
perceptions that property rights are &eing eroded and that the rule of law is
su&ordinated to political considerations.
-idespread corruption remains a serious o&stacle to an effective mar%et economy
and is an impediment to genuine eEuality of opportunity. 7ccording to a !""!
report &y the +oscow'&ased *N6+ Foundation, Russians spend an estimated 94,
&illion annually on &ri&es and %ic%&ac%s, ranging from small payments to traffic
police to large %ic%&ac%s &y companies to o&tain lucrative state contracts. +em&ers
of the old .oviet elite have used insider information to gain control of %ey industrial
and &usiness enterprises.
omestic violence remains a serious pro&lem, while police are often reluctant to
intervene in what they regard as internal family matters. 6conomic hardships
contri&ute to widespread traffic%ing of women a&road for prostitution. (here is
credi&le evidence that women face considera&le discrimination in the wor%place,
including lower pay than their male counterparts for performing similar wor%.