The Civic Solidarity Platform (CSP) deeply regrets news on 4 June, 2026 that Russian human rights organization OVD-Info has been added to Rosfinmonitoring’s list of “terrorists and extremists”. In April 2026, Nobel Peace Prize laureates Memorial together with KHPG were also included in the list for reporting on repression in Russia and occupied Ukraine.
While Russian authorities already and for obvious reasons persecute groups that monitor human rights developments in the country, the designation as “terrorist and extremist” provides the regime with an even greater toolkit against peaceful human rights defenders.
Human rights activism is labeled as extremism. This is a massive blow to the ability to defend human rights in Russia.
OVD-Info is the largest project providing assistance to people facing prosecution under political charges.
Since there was no separate lawsuit to designate “OVD-Info” as an extremist organization, it appears the project was quietly “sneaked in” as a subsidiary of “Memorial,” without even being given a chance to defend itself in the Supreme Court.
The very procedure by which it was issued brazenly tramples on the principles of law and the Constitution of the Russian Federation. A completely lawful and socially beneficial activity was declared extremist by a secret decision, without the participation of representatives of the associations banned by this decision and without the right to appeal.
Now, while in Russia, you cannot contact the “OVD-Info” help hotline, conduct fundraising through them, or post non-anonymous comments.
Media outlets, donors, and even ordinary website users may face criminal charges for “financing an extremist or terrorist organization” if investigators claim to find evidence of cooperation. Subscribing may still be allowed for now, but a simple repost can be treated as the dissemination of “extremist information.”
Several organisations operate under the name or the movement ‘Memorial’. The movement began in the 1980s as a struggle for freedom, democracy, and human dignity in Russia and has been closely intertwined with the quest for historical truth and democratic change.
Everyone who wanted to research and commemorate Stalin’s repression began collaborating. Now, different Memorial organizations focus on different topics. Some concentrated mainly on historical research, while others focused on both history and present-day issues.
The Kharkiv Human Rights Protection Group (KHPG) is one of the oldest Ukrainian human rights organizations; it traces its origins back to the Soviet-era dissident movement of the 1970s-1980s. From 1988 onwards, the KHPG was known as the Kharkiv branch of Memorial human rights and historical organization.
Since its foundation the Kharkiv Human Rights Protection Group has been part of the International Memorial Society. In 2022, the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to the Center for Civil Liberties, Ales Byalyatsky, and the International Memorial, whose Ukrainian branch is the Kharkiv Human Rights Group. In general, Ukrainians played a significant role in the dissident movement and the creation of the Memorial: up to 40% of the Soviet Union dissidents came from Ukraine.
When in November 2021 state prosecutors took action to shut the International Memorial and the Memorial Human Rights Centre down, much of the Memorial Human Rights Centre’s work continued through the The Memorial Human Rights Defence Centre фтв Political Prisoners Support. Memorial Project. On 18 February 2026, after the International Memorial Association was declared an “undesirable organization,” the association’s board explained that members and staff who had left Russia, together with European Memorial organizations, had created the International Memorial Association under Swiss jurisdiction in 2023 in order to continue their work in exile during wartime.
Then, on 9 April 2026, Russia’s Supreme Court declared something called the “International Memorial Public Movement” an “extremist organization.” The hearing was held behind closed doors, the case was classified as top secret, and the Memorial lawyer was not allowed to attend. The Memorial Human Rights Defence Centre responded immediately, pointing out that no such organization exists, while warning that the vague wording appeared deliberate. The statement said this would create the basis for future repression in Russia against any “Memorial-affiliated” organizations, their members, and supporters.
Russia’s Rosfinmonitoring compiles the so-called “Register of Terrorists and Extremists,” which already includes a large number of recognized political prisoners. For organizations working in Russia, or regrettably in occupied parts of Ukraine, being placed on this register can mean frozen bank accounts, blocked assets, and severe restrictions on financial, banking, and business activity.
Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 was followed by a significant escalation in political repression. By 29 December 2025, at least 4,884 political prisoners were being held in Russia and the territories of Ukraine under Russian occupation, though the true figure is likely considerably higher. The list includes Crimean Tatars, Jehovah’s Witnesses as well as people prosecuted for their anti-war stance or alleged support for Ukraine’s defence against Russian aggression.
Three broad, and in some cases overlapping, categories of victims of persecution can be identified: individuals subjected to politically motivated prosecutions in Russia, people targeted because of their religious beliefs, and residents of the Russian-occupied territories of Ukraine.
The large-scale suppression of human rights in Russia helped create the conditions for its war of aggression against Ukraine. In turn, the war has intensified domestic repression and expanded political persecution into the occupied regions of Ukraine.
In August 2025, a Russian court sentenced Sergei Davidis, head of Memorial’s Support for Political Prisoners Project, to six years in prison in absentia for calling Ukrainian prisoners of war charged with “terrorism” political prisoners. He was accused of “justifying terrorism.” Although Davidis was sentenced in absentia, any Russian or Ukrainian in occupied territory who shared truthful information about that trial or about the persecution of Ukrainian POWs could face imprisonment themselves.
This has happened repeatedly in occupied Crimea, where Crimean Tatar civic journalists such as Remzi Bekirov, Seiran Saliyev, Osman Arifmemetov, and Crimean Solidarity coordinator Server Mustafayev have received long prison sentences for refusing to be silenced. Political persecution has fostered a climate of fear and widespread self-censorship in both Russia and the Russian-occupied territories of Ukraine.
The implementation of Russia’s repressive laws is uneven, arbitrary, and highly selective, varying across different regions. Residents of the occupied territories of Ukraine are especially vulnerable to persecution. Any settlement of the Russo-Ukrainian war on terms dictated by Moscow would likely prevent meaningful accountability for war crimes and political repression committed in these territories.
The crackdown on Memorial, Russia’s oldest and most prominent historical, educational, and human rights organization, highlights a defining characteristic of the country’s modern history. The Kremlin’s decision to dismantle the Memorial represents the end of a significant chapter in Russia’s history. By seeking to monopolize the historical narrative, the Putin regime aims not only to control public memory but also to reverse key political and geopolitical outcomes of the revolutionary changes that led to the collapse of the Soviet Union more than three decades ago. It is crucial that it does not succeed, and that those outside the reach of Russian repression continue to name the victims, conduct research based on academic freedom and maintain pressure to secure their release.
Supported by:
- Norwegian Helsinki Committee (Norway)
- Public Association «Dignity» (Kazakhstan)
- Center for Civil Liberties (Ukraine)
- Bir Duino (Kyrgyzstan)
- Kazakhstan International Bureau for Human Rights and Rule of Law (Kazakhstan)
- Viasna (Belarus)
- Belarusian Helsinki Committee (Belarus)
- International Partnership for Human Rights (Belgium)
- Freedom Files (Poland)
- Helsinki Committee for Human Rights in Serbia
- Helsinki Citizens’ Assembly Vanadzor (Armenia)
- Index on Censorship (Great Britain)
- Crude Accountability (USA)
- Danish Helsinki Committee for Human Rights