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Abstract
This article explores contentious politics within institutions that are neither state bodies nor “civil society” organisations in contemporary Russia. It shows that human rights activists join Public Monitoring Commissions, created by the state to oversee conditions in prisons, to prevent these bodies from “white-washing” the Federal Penitentiary Service and in some cases have effected small but noteworthy improvements inside the prisons under their jurisdiction. Their contentious claims are grounded in the government’s own legislation and made from a platform that is formally endorsed by the state and are therefore more difficult for the authorities to ignore.
Acknowledgements
I am grateful to the organisers of the conference “Russian Politics from Below”, held at the University of Edinburgh in April 2013, where an earlier version of this paper was presented. Thanks also to Andrew Schaap, John Heathershaw, Mary McAuley and Natasha Danilova for their insightful comments on the ideas presented above.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.
Notes on contributor
Catherine Owen completed her Ph.D. in November 2014 on the role of public chambers, public councils and public monitoring commissions in Russian regional politics. She is currently Associate Research Fellow at the University of Exeter, working on the ESRC-funded project ‘Rising Powers and Conflict Management in Central Asia’, led by John Heathershaw. Her primary research interest is civic participation in governance in non-democratic countries, and is currently also exploring this theme in relation to China.
Notes
1. One exception to this is Henry (Citation2012).
2. Interview, Fond “Obshchestvennyi Verdikt”, 6 November 2012, Moscow; interview, Institut Prav Cheloveka, 9 November 2012, Moscow.
3. Interview, Za Prava Cheloveka, 20 July 2012, Moscow; interview former ombudsman, 29 August 2012, Moscow; interview, St Petersburg Human Rights Council, 24 August 2012; interview Soldatskii Materi, 22 August 2012, St Petersburg.
4. See Interview, Chelovek i Tyurma 1, 7 November 2012, Moscow; interview, Soldatskii Materi, 22 August 2012, St Petersburg.
5. Straughn (Citation2005) distinguishes four such genres in his article, see introduction to this special issue.
6. Interview, Pushkinskaya 10, 23 August 2012, St Petersburg.
7. A well-known example of this type of contention is the Pussy Riot performances. The discursive activities of older activists who lived through the Soviet Union and are of the opinion that any collaboration with a corrupt regime is equivalent to collusion and must therefore be avoided also fall into this category (interview, former human rights ombudsman, 29 August 2012, Moscow; interview, Tsentr Razvitiya Demokratii i Prav Cheloveka, 30 August 2012, Moscow). Such views are frequently aired during discussions and in exhibitions at the Moscow-based Sakharov Centre.
8. One such well-known NGO is The Public Verdict Foundation (Fond Obshchestvennyi Verdikt), which campaigns for an end to police arbitrariness. See http://www.publicverdict.ru. Another good example of contemporary consentful contention is the Strategy 31 protests, in which demonstrators highlight the erosion of Article 31 of the Russian constitution, which guarantees citizens the right to peaceful assembly.
9. Interviews were undertaken in conjunction with my Ph.D. research. See also Sovet pri Prezidente RF po Razvitie Grazhdanskogo Obshchestva i Pravam Cheloveka, http://www.president-sovet.ru/.
10. Interview, Grazhdanskoye Sodeistviye, 20 July 2012, Moscow; interview, Grazhdanin i Armeya, 23 July 2012 Moscow.
11. Interview, Institut Prav Cheloveka, 9 November 2012, Moscow; interview, Agora, 9 November 2012, Moscow.
12. Interview, Fond Obshchestvennyi Verdikt, 6 November 2012, Moscow; interview Chelovek i Tyurma 2, 9 November 2012, Moscow; interview, Memorial, 21 August 2012, St Petersburg.
13. Interview, Institut Prav Cheloveka, 9 November 2012, Moscow.
14. See endnote 13.
15. Interview, Chelovek i Tyurma 1,7 November 2012, Moscow.
16. Interview, Moscow State University, 9 November 2012, Moscow.
17. Interview, Tsentr Razvitiya Demokratii i Prav Cheloveka, 30 August 2012, Moscow.
18. Interview, Chelovek i Tyurma 1, 7 November 2012, Moscow; Interview, Fond Obshchestvennyi Verdikt, 6 November 2012, Moscow; interview, Soldatskii Materi, 22 August 2012, St Petersburg; interview Grazdanskii Kontrol’ 1, 21 August 2012, St Petersburg.
19. Interview, Chelovek i Tyurma 3, 9 November 2012, Moscow.
20. Interview, Fond Obshchestvennyi Verdikt, 6 November 2012, Moscow.
21. Interview, Chelovek i Tyurma 3, 9 November 2012, Moscow; Interview, Agora, 9 November 2012, Moscow.
22. Interview, Agora, 9 November 2012, Moscow.
23. Interview, Grazhdanskii Kontrol’ 2, 21 August 2012, St Petersburg.
24. Interview, Fond Obshchestvennyi Verdikt, 6 November 2012, Moscow.
25. Interview, Memorial, 21 August 2012, St Petersburg.
26. Interview, Memorial, 21 August 2012, St Petersburg; interview Chelovek i Tyurma 2, 7 November 2012, Moscow; interview Chelovek i Tyurma 3, 7 November 2012, Moscow.
27. Interview, Chelovek i Tyurma 2, 7 November 2012, Moscow.
28. See endnote 25.
29. Interview, Grazhdanskii Kontrol'1, 21 August 2012, St Petersburg.
30. Interview, Memorial, 21 August 2012, St Petersburg.
31. Interview, Chelovek i Tyurma 1, 7 November 2012, Moscow.
32. See note 31.
33. See note 27.
34. See note 29.
35. Interview, Soldatskii Materi, 22 August 2012, St Petersburg.
36. See note 30.
37. See note 31.
38. See note 29.
39. Interview, Memorial, 21 August, St Petersburg; interview, Grazhdanskii Kontrol’ 1, 21 August 2012, St Petersburg; interview Pushkinskaya 10, 23 August 2012, St Petersburg; interview, Chelovek i Tyurma 1, 7 November 2012, Moscow; Interview Chelovek i Tyurma 2, 7 November 2012, Moscow; Interview Institut Prav Cheloveka, 9 November, Moscow;
40. However, other works have examined similar, though not identical, phenomena in liberal democracies, e.g. McCann (Citation1994).
41. Interview, Chelovek i Tyrma 1, 7 November 2012, Moscow.
42. Interview, Institut Prav Cheloveka, 9 November 2012, Moscow.
43. Interview, Memorial, 21 August, St Petersburg; interview, Grazhdanskii Kontrol’ 1, 21 August 2012, St Petersburg; interview, Soldatskii Materi, 22 August 2012, St Petersburg; interview, Pushkinskaya 10, 23 August 2012, St Petersburg.
44. Interivew, Chelovek i Tyurma 2, 7 November 2012, Moscow.
45. Interview, Chelovek i Tyurma 1, 7 November 2012, Moscow; interview, Chelovek i Tyurma 2, 7 November 2012 Moscow; interview, Agora, 9 November 2012, Moscow; interview, Grazhdanskii Kontrol’ 1, 21 August 2012, St Petersburg.
46. Interview, Grazhdanskii Kontrol’ 1, 21 August 2012, Moscow.
47. Interview, Chelovek i Tyurma 3, 7 November 2012, Moscow.
48. See note 44.
49. See note 44.
50. See note 22.
51. Interview, Chelovek i Tyurma 1, 7 November 2012.
52. For examples of other institutions founded on the same principles, see Rossiiskaya Gazeta (Citation2005, Citation2011).