The Silencing of Dissent: Russia's Memorial Human Rights Center Faces Closure Amid Putin's Crackdown

Russia's crackdown on civil society has extended to antiwar protesters, independent news media and human rights organizations, silencing dissent and sources of information amid the war in Ukraine. Under Russia's foreign agents law, nongovernmental organizations receiving funding from another country experience increased scrutiny and risk of liquidation. We speak with Anna Dobrovolskaya, executive director of the Memorial Human Rights Center, one of Russia's oldest human rights organizations, which monitors human rights violations and provides legal assistance to asylum seekers. Russian courts ordered it dissolved in December 2021. It's the approach of the Russian government to widely and silently put some limitations on people who are just willing to speak openly," says Dobrovolskaya. The government is just trying to close everything down."