One of the biggest regional Human Rights centres in Russia may become “homeless” in some months to come.

Voronezh House of Human Rights – a union of regional and inter-regional human rights and civil organizations – was founded at the beginning of 2009 to strengthen the positions of the human rights organizations in the region, building dialogue with the authorities, joining the efforts in defending and promoting Human Rights.

This document was initiated by the Human Rights Watch, the Moscow Helsinki Group, the Inter-regional Human Rights Association "Agora", the Youth Human Rights Movement and the Human Rights Resource Centre. The proposals of human rights defenders directed to the Ministry of Justice are the results of discussion at the "round table" which took
place on April 8th in the Independent Press Centre. The initiatives to change the NGO legislation concern establishment and registration, reporting and inspections of the Russian non-governmental organizations.

We are shocked. When honest people, who are fighting for the truth and justice, are killed 100 meters away from the Kremlin in the very center of Moscow - this is eternal disgrace.

Stas Markelov was a well-known human rights defender and antifascist. As a lawyer he protected the rights of eco-defenders, antifascists, Chechen regufees, victims of police tortures and many others whom our state failed to provide with defence or vice versa, violated their rights.

The 16th of December is one year's anniversary of Natalia Morar's, the special correspondent of "The New Times" magazine, being forbidden to enter the territory of Russia. The action devoted to this event was organized.

Participants of the meeting attracted attention not only to Natalia Morar, but also to the general level of freedom in modern Russia, to censorship, civil rights, to the facts that official mass media keep silent of and independent journalists try to speak of.

The slogans of the action were:

On the 21st of December All-Russian action of motorist against increase of gasoline price, rise in housing and communal services tariffs', as well as customs duty, took place. In a number of cities, for example, Vladivostok, actions were cruelly pressed by police and special police squad. In other cities, for example, Belgorod, protesting people were beforehand intimidated to prevent their participation in actions.

"On this Human Rights Day, it is my hope that we will all act on our collective responsibility to uphold the rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration. We can only honour the towering vision of that inspiring document when its principles are fully applied everywhere, for everyone."

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon

On the 9th December, 2008 in the "ROSBALT" press-centre a presentation of the joint project of Transparency International – Russia and Youth Human Rights Movement "Anti-corruption WebRoom" (ASK), which is aimed at reducing the level of everyday corruption, took place.

Amnesty International is calling for a full investigation into the legality of a raid by law enforcement officers at the office of an independent research and information centre in St Petersburg, amid concerns that serious violations of Russian law were committed during the process.

A popular wisdom says if a force could not be fought, it should be led. There is an impression that this is the way Russia chose to shape a civil society.

So, the general course of the Third NGO Congress organized by the INGO Conference of the Council of Europe on December 4-7, 2008 in Penza, the Russian Federation, served as yet another illustration for the Russian government concept of "guided" or "imitating" democracy. The first two congresses were held in Warsaw and Kyiv (2007).

On 4 December, following a decision passed by the City Prosecutor, a search was undertaken of the research and information centre "Memorial" in St. Petersburg, the organization researching the history of the Stalinist Terror . The search was carried out under the pretext of an investigation into the case of what the Prosecutor asserts was an "extremist" publication a year and a half ago in a newspaper called "New Petersburg".