This conference is the unique of its kind with the aim of discussion about a new social mission of the university and possibility of interaction between the university and the institutions of civil society. The conference was organized by the program of St. Petersburg State University “Arts and Human Sciences” (formerly known as the Smolny College of Liberal Arts and Sciences).

Lyudmila Alekseeva, a famous human rights activist, chairwoman of Moscow Helsinki Group and an honorable chairwoman of the Public Council of international Youth Human Rights Movement has been mentioned as one of “100 Individuals to be Heard and Known Across the Country” by the journal “The Russian Reporter.”
“The Russian Reporter, relying on the selection criteria such as colleagues’ feedback, person’s achievements and activities, investigated the personalities of reputable activists in ten professional networks that have impact on the society as a whole” is stated in the preface to Issue 37 of the journal as of September 23, 2010.

We, the representatives of Russian non-governmental organizations working to combat corruption and protect human rights, wish to express our great satisfaction that our proposals and the appeals of our colleagues addressed to Microsoft Corporation have finally been heard.

We sincerely welcome the statement by Vice-President and General Counsel of Microsoft, Brad Smith, placed on the company’s official blog on 13 September 2010. Microsoft has drawn the correct conclusions from a situation where members of the company in Russia’s regions have become involved in politically-motivated criminal prosecutions of civil society organizations and media.

On 21 September in Rostov-on-Don a sitting of the court was deciding about the legitimacy of Rostov region Prosecutor’s resolution issued in February of this year to caution Konstantin Baranov, chief of Rostov branch of the “Young Europe” NGO, because of inadmissibility of extremist actions.

From 20th – 22nd of September 2010 in Kislovodsk (Stavropol Territory) took place a seminar within Human rights school in North Caucasus. The school is conducted by the Committee “Civil assistance” in co-operation with regional representations of the human rights center of “Memorial” of three republics - Chechnya, Ingushetia and the North Ossetia. The lecturers were conducted by the famous legal expert, honorary president of YHRM Andrey Yurov and Igor Sazhin, the chairman of Komi Human Rights Commission “Memorial”.
About 20 young people from Chechen Republic took part in the seminar. Basically, they were students of various Grozny universities, who had passed a selection and had expressed their interest in human rights.

In a historically courageous struggle people in Russia have been able to halt the construction of a high way through the Khimki forest. While the forests were burning all over Russia the authorities started a wave of detaining, torturing and harassing people in movements defending the Khimki forest close to Moscow. They need our solidarity.

From 1st to 6th September, the XXIII Moscow International Book Fair (MIBF-2010) took place. It is the largest fair of publications in Russia and one of the key events within the Russian book world.
Traditionally, the topic "Human Rights" took its place in the exhibition. The joint stand with this name presented the Office of the Senior Adviser on Human Rights in the UN system in the Russian Federation and the Council of Europe Information Office in Russia. At the stand could be found books by leading civil and human rights organizations from Moscow, St. Petersburg and Perm. Among the publications also were books by organizations of the Human Rights House in Voronezh.

Secretary General of the Norwegian Helsinki Committee, Bjørn Engesland, presented on 27 August 2010 the award to Evgeniy Zhovtis, right, in the prison in Ust-Kamenogorsk, Kazakhstan, where Mr. Zhovtis is currently being held. Together with his organization, the Kazakhstan International Bureau for Human Rights and Rule of Law, Evgeny Zhovtis has been one of the most significant human rights defenders in Kazakhstan for two decades.

Through dialogue with the authorities, reporting on the human rights situation, participation in international forums and by offering free legal aid and human rights education for citizens in Kazakhstan, he has contributed to the strengthening of human rights in his home country.

The Expert Working Group has completed a data base and case study on the cases of 10 most outspoken Uzbek political prisoners ahead of the expected amnesty on the eve of the 19th anniversary of the National Day of Independence. Those 10 prisoners were selected mostly because of the critical health conditions which can't be treated accordingly under prison conditions and which implies the Uzbek government should consider releasing them immediately on humanitarian basis applying the expected amnesty act in September.

Michele Curto, President of the International Human Rights Network “Flare”, visited Kharkov to examine the felling of trees and the construction of a road through the largest urban park in the Ukraine. Michele Curto was informed about this situation by representatives of “Flare” in Kiev and regional representatives of YHRM in the Ukraine. The “Flare” Network (48 organizations in 24 countries) is engaged in the combat of organized crime, corruption and support for the development of civil society.