February 2025

What We Achieved Thanks to Your Support

Key Highlights

“Emergency Assistance” and Public Discussion of the Ministry of Health Initiative

In February 2025, the Ministry of Health proposed removing mandatory deadlines for providing medical care to prisoners — doctors would no longer be required to arrive within a set timeframe for either urgent or scheduled cases. Previously, urgent cases were reviewed by doctors on the day of the request, while scheduled cases were addressed within three days. Prisons and pre-trial detention centers already lack doctors and medical equipment, and diseases, including tuberculosis and HIV, are spreading widely. If clear deadlines are removed, prisoners will receive medical assistance even less frequently.

To prevent this, together with the “Emergency Assistance” team, we launched a campaign urging people to participate in the public discussion. By law, the Ministry of Health is required to consider all comments submitted on the bill. The comment collection ended on March 2. In just a few days, you submitted more than 500 comments on this draft resolution, and thanks to your activity, it became one of the top three most discussed topics on the platform.

Good News About Our and Your Defendants

Darya Kozyreva has been released from pre-trial detention — this is our shared victory! Thank you for supporting the fundraising for Darya’s lawyer — your solidarity helped ensure that she was not left alone against the system and had the protection of an experienced human rights defender.

Igor Baryshnikov successfully underwent surgery for glaucoma removal. He was diagnosed with the disease in January. At that time, his right eye’s visual acuity was only 4%, with vision loss caused by optic nerve damage due to high intraocular pressure. Several times, we urged you to sign petitions for Igor through the “Dyatel” service.

Detentions at Memorial Actions

February marks the anniversary of two of the most high-profile politically motivated murders of opposition figures in Russia. February 16, 2025, is the anniversary of Alexei Navalny’s murder in the “Polar Wolf” penal colony in the settlement of Kharp. A year ago, thousands of people laid flowers at spontaneous memorials and his grave. A year later, the memory of the politician remains alive, and people continue to bring flowers to memorials — but unfortunately, they continue to be detained. This year, 42 people were detained at memorial events for the politician in February.

Ten years ago, on February 27, 2015, Boris Nemtsov was shot in the back on the Bolshoy Moskvoretsky Bridge. Within an hour of the murder, people began bringing flowers to the site of the tragedy, and by February 28, the memorial stretched over 120 meters along the parapet toward Vasilyevsky Descent.

Since then, volunteers have maintained the memorial despite regular acts of vandalism and crackdowns by the authorities. People continue to be detained after protest actions, and this February was no exception. In February 2025, 13 people were detained at the politician’s memorial.

Russia Owes Its Citizens a Billion for Human Rights Violations

Russia owes OVD-Info’s clients 1 billion rubles — the amount the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has awarded to detainees for unlawful arrests and rights violations. Since 2017, OVD-Info, together with the Memorial Human Rights Center, has filed more than 3,000 complaints about violations during detentions, transportation, and incarceration. Nearly 2,400 applicants have already won their cases.

However, in 2022, Russia withdrew from the Council of Europe and refused to recognize ECHR rulings or pay compensation. Of the nearly 2,200 applicants, only two have received their money — through complaints reviewed by the ECHR before Russia’s withdrawal. Nevertheless, the obligation to pay remains, and penalties have already begun accruing on some amounts.

We will continue to fight for justice and ensure that these compensations are paid. Meanwhile, although Russian authorities ignore ECHR rulings, they still respond to other international demands — for example, regarding medical assistance for political prisoners. Thanks to the intervention of the UN Human Rights Committee, human rights defenders were able to secure the long-awaited surgery for Igor Baryshnikov after months of waiting.

How You Helped

Financial Support

In February, OVD-Info received 15,919 donations totaling 139,687 EUR.

The median one-time donation was 9,28 EUR, and the median monthly donation was 500 rubles;
The average one-time donation was 20,33 EUR, and the average monthly donation was 7,73 EUR.

Attached is the list of donations. As always, we have removed any personal information.

The list includes:

Direct donations to OVD-Info’s clients via the “Zaodno” platform: 652 donations totaling 7065,67 EUR;
Donations for care packages and medical assistance for politically persecuted individuals: 269 donations totaling 3275,76 EUR.

Writing Letters and Sending Appeals

“Lifeline”

You wrote 152 letters in February;
Since the project launched, a total of 12,531 letters have been written for 894 people;
We received 3,232 replies and have already forwarded them to you.

“Dyatel”

In February, you sent 553 appeals to government agencies;
Since “Dyatel” was launched, more than 134,000 appeals have been sent.

“Emergency Assistance”

You submitted over 500 comments on the draft law concerning medical care for prisoners;
Thanks to your efforts, the status of the proposed amendments — which could worsen conditions for prisoners with chronic illnesses in penal colonies and detention centers — was changed to “partially considered.”

What is “Emergency Assistance”?

This is a new OVD-Info project launched in August 2024 in a test mode, which we have now decided to continue;
Since January 2024, we have:
- Helped politically persecuted individuals who are denied medical care or suffer from serious conditions that should prevent their imprisonment;
- Assisted lawyers in filing complaints at national and international levels, submitting petitions for the release of critically ill political prisoners, and requesting medical transfers for diagnosis and treatment;
- Raised funds for medication and covered costs for surgeries and treatment.

Any politically persecuted person can receive help if their lawyer or a close relative submits a request on their behalf. Applications for “Emergency Assistance” can be submitted on [this page] or via email at med@ovdinfo.org.

What We Did

Provided Protection

Express help

Legal Bot and Hotline

Responded to 5,704 inquiries.
By the end of the month, 185,511 active users were connected to our Telegram bot.

Legal Consultations

Handled 96 inquiries via the hotline and email;
Reviewed 2 cassation appeals submitted through “Generaptor,” our court complaint generator.

Legal Guides

Updated the guide: “I Was Beaten by the Police”;
Helped edit a guide for volunteers working with organizations labeled as “undesirable” in Russia (MitOst Hamburg);
Our legal guides were viewed 13,718 times this month;
The most popular guide in February: “I Have Been Assigned Community Service”.

If you or your loved ones are facing political persecution, contact us via our bot or call the hotline: 88007070528 (for calls from Russia).

Legal Assistance: Lawyers, Attorneys, and Defenders

In February, our legal team helped 196 people:

27 trips to police departments, assisting 68 detainees, including:
- 13 people detained at memorial events for Navalny;
- 12 people detained at memorial events for Nemtsov;
Defended 25 people in administrative court cases;
Achieved 1 case being sent for reconsideration or dismissed;
Accompanied clients during 2 searches (in Moscow) and 5 interrogations (Moscow and Ivanovo);
Took on 6 new criminal cases for 6 defendants;
Our lawyers represented 103 defendants in 89 criminal cases.

Sentences in Cases Handled by OVD-Info Lawyers

Six people prosecuted after the people’s assembly in Baymak were sentenced to up to five years in prison:
- The Lenin District Court of Izhevsk sentenced Vilyur Karachurin and Aytugan Malabayev to 5 years in prison;
- Fatikh Akhmetshin, Azat Mirzin, Danis Uzyanbaev, and Venera Yaubasarova received 4.5-year sentences.

They were charged with participation in mass riots (Article 212.2 of the Criminal Code) and using non-dangerous force against law enforcement officers (Article 318.1 of the Criminal Code).

An anonymous OVD-Info client was sentenced to mandatory outpatient psychiatric treatment.

We consider all these charges and criminal cases unlawful and politically motivated.

Media and Awareness

Publications in February

179 breaking news reports on political persecution across 58 regions.
79 updates covering detentions, trials, anti-war statements, LGBTQ+ repression, protests against mobilization, and government pressure under “moral” pretexts.
3 in-depth articles on political persecution.

Sharing Knowledge on Political Persecution

Data and Analytics

We have updated the ongoing infographics on political prosecutions in Russia. The pressure on the opponents of the state has been increasing in Russia for over two decades now. But how to measure it? We have collected everything: cases of prosecution, imprisonment, sentences into one report.
“Anti-War Repression Report: Three Years of Russia’s Full-Scale Invasion of Ukraine”

The start of the full-scale invasion of Russia into Ukraine not only meant the start of the largest war conflict in Europe since World War II, but it also meant the rapid worsening of the situation with human rights in the country. The civil society became an immediate target and everyone who was openly vocal about opposing the war, immediately became a target for persecution. In the comprehensive report about the pressure on the civil society in three years of war, we reflect on how the situation has worsened.

The main outtakes are:

While mass protests have decreased, censorship and pressure on civil society have intensified.
The state uses various repressive tools, including:
- Criminal charges for “fake news” about the Russian army;
- “Discrediting the armed forces” charges;
- Extrajudicial punishments like job dismissals and pressure on family members;
The crackdown on online dissents has increased — most criminal cases now stem from social media posts, including ones made years before the persecution began.

International Direction OVD-Info at RightsCon 2025

The OVD-Info team participated in the RightsCon 2025 conference — one of the largest international events dedicated to human rights and technology. The conference annually brings together activists, researchers, civil society representatives, and the tech sector to discuss global challenges and exchange experiences.

At RightsCon, we:

Presented a report on the use of facial recognition technologies in Russia and their use to suppress freedom of assembly. In our speech, we highlighted the risks of mass deployment of such systems, including cases of preventive detentions, and called for more transparent regulation of these technologies;
Held meetings with international partners and activists working in the fields of digital rights, access to information, and countering transnational repression;
Discussed potential joint initiatives and exchanged contacts with organizations engaged in digital security, financial crime investigations, human rights violation data collection, and the development of educational projects.

On our website, there is a special page dedicated to international advocacy. There, we share reports and other communications with international institutions, as well as the outcomes of such communications.

How much was spent

Total project expenses for February amounted to 347,414 EUR.

94,270 EUR — payment for legal assistance. Our lawyers, attorneys, and defenders assisted detained individuals in police stations and courts throughout the month and coordinated support for criminal cases. The expenses include:

Payment for lawyers, legal professionals, and defenders working on administrative offense cases (first and second instance courts);
Payment for lawyers traveling to police stations to assist detainees;
Payment for lawyers participating in criminal case processes;
Payment for lawyers in juvenile cases commissions;
Payment for lawyers attending interrogations;
Search, training, and coordination of lawyers, defenders, and attorneys in different cities, as well as the operation of the legal hotline — these tasks are handled by our legal assistance team.

16,800 EUR — support for new or friendly initiatives. To make the project more sustainable and flexible, we invest in the development of new projects that help us in the fight against political persecution. Sometimes we do this together with new small partners, strengthening each other with expertise, knowledge, and resources. Other times, we launch new directions in test mode, such as medical or humanitarian assistance to politically persecuted individuals.

33,942 EUR — work of hotline operators and news writers. Our monitoring group answers calls on the hotline, messages in the Telegram bot, and writes news daily, helping detainees not only during large actions — detentions in Russia occur every day.

35,225 EUR — work of the media team. We believe that information protects. To make information about political rights violations publicly accessible, we prepare and publish in-depth articles, guides on major criminal cases, launch special projects, conduct interviews, and share this information on social media. The media team’s tasks also include launching campaigns and running the “Lifeline” project.

15,865 EUR — data projects, reports, and research. To make the right decisions here and now and to assist journalists and researchers in understanding what is happening, we collect and analyze data on political persecution, publishing datasets. Based on the collected data, we prepare reports that analyze how legislative practices and repressive laws make political persecution possible.

19,963 EUR — international advocacy. We defend the freedom of assembly, speech, and association both inside Russia and internationally, striving to make Russian repression visible and influence changes in laws and practices that violate international standards. To do this, we prepare reports and analytical materials, participate in events and conferences, and hold our own meetings to publicize violations and obtain independent assessments from international institutions such as the UN, OSCE, and Council of Europe. Legal support in preparing complaints for submission to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), as well as work by lawyers on strategic cases, also falls under this direction.

35,360 EUR — work of the IT team. We develop services that help protect ourselves and others, ensure the stable operation of the entire system of tools and developments, and share our developments with other initiatives.

14,866 EUR — volunteer coordination. Volunteers are our support and the best team of like-minded people. We actively work on expanding the community, attracting volunteers to solve tasks that are not only important for the project but also interesting for them, and we try to involve them more in our work and life, as well as in helping other initiatives.

21,413 EUR — care for team members. We have allocated a separate area for the care of team members, which includes psychological support, compensation for medical expenses, development of participants' competencies, and their safety. Until August 2024, this part of the expenses was included in the operational support of the project.

41,089 EUR — operational support of the project. Thanks to this often unnoticed work, we continue to assist those in need and use our resources and efforts more efficiently. These expenses include the costs for team members who ensure the daily operation and planning of the project’s activities, as well as those responsible for the long-term sustainability of OVD-Info, budget planning, strategic goals, communication with donors, and financial transparency.

18,632 EUR — infrastructure expenses. Since October 2023, we have included the payment for key services (such as telephony) in the expenses of the respective areas. Infrastructure expenses now include those parts of the infrastructure related to the work of the team and the project as a whole (such as the office, accounting, and commissions for infrastructure partners who assist us). This also includes taxes and commissions from payment systems that we use for receiving and processing donations.

Thank you for staying with us!