The European Union imposed sanctions on eight Russian individuals over alleged serious human rights violations, repression of civil society and democratic opposition, and actions undermining democracy and the rule of law in Russia. Those listed …
Russia
Haddad and Sundstrom (2023), “Foreign Agents or Agents of Justice? Private Foundations, Backlash Against Non-Governmental Organizations, and International Human Rights Litigation”
Heidi Nichols Haddad and Lisa McIntosh Sundstrom. “Foreign Agents or Agents of Justice? Private Foundations, Backlash Against Non-Governmental Organizations, and International Human Rights Litigation.” Law & Society Review, vol. 57, no. 1 (2023): 12-35. This …
Van der Vet (2018), “‘When They Come for You’: Legal Mobilization in New Authoritarian Russia”
Freek Van der Vet. “‘When They Come for You’: Legal Mobilization in New Authoritarian Russia.” Law & Society Review, vol. 52, no. 2 (2018): 301-336. This article investigates how Russian lawyers respond to escalating state …
Bugaric (2019), “Can Law Protect Democracy? Legal Institutions as ‘Speed Bumps’”
This article investigates how political lawyers in Russia resist emerging authoritarian practices such as disinformation, surveillance, and state secrecy.
Van der Vet (2021), “Spies, Lies, Trials, and Trolls: Political Lawyering Against Disinformation and State Surveillance in Russia”
This article investigates how political lawyers in Russia navigate and resist authoritarian tactics such as disinformation campaigns, government surveillance, and secrecy.
McCarthy (2025), “Oversight of the Legal System in an Authoritarian Regime: Police and Court Monitoring in Russia.”
Lauren A. McCarthy, “Oversight of the Legal System in an Authoritarian Regime: Police and Court Monitoring in Russia.” Journal of Law and Courts, vol. 13, no. 1 (2025): 195-219. Summary: How can citizens in authoritarian …
Givens (2011), “Advocates Of Change In Authoritarian Regimes: How Chinese Lawyers And Chinese And Russian Journalists Stay Out Of Trouble”
In backsliding democracies, this research shows that lawyers remain key actors in the struggle for political change.
McCarthy and Mustafina (2024), “A Measure of Justice: Citizen Legal Advocates, Lay Lawyering, and Access to Justice in Russia”
This article explores how access to justice can be expanded in an authoritarian setting like Russia through the use of citizen legal advocates (CLAs)—ordinary citizens without formal legal education who represent defendants in criminal and administrative cases.
Mustafina (2022), “Turning on the Lights? Publicity and Defensive Legal Mobilization in Protest‐Related Trials in Russia”
This article examines how defense lawyers in contemporary Russia strategically use publicity in trials involving protesters, despite the broader context of a politicized and often predetermined legal system.
Wang (2020), “The More Authoritarian, the More Judicial Independence? The Paradox of Court Reforms in China and Russia.”
Yueduan Wang, “The More Authoritarian, the More Judicial Independence? The Paradox of Court Reforms in China and Russia.” University of Pennsylvania Journal of Constitutional Law, Vol. 22, no. 2 (2020): 529-560. Summary: Drawing conclusions largely …