Oleg Kozlovsky is a Russian democracy and human rights activist. He is a co-founder and one of the leaders of Oborona youth movement that is regarded as one of the Vladimir Putin’s worst enemies. This organization, which features a clenched fist in its logo, uses non-violent resistance to oppose the authoritarianism in the country. Kozlovsky participated in the Jeans Revolution in Belarus in 2006 and has been organizing the Dissenters’ Marches, Russia’s biggest protest rallies.

Kozlovsky’s activities didn’t remain unnoticed by the Kremlin; he got arrested and detained numerous times and even conscripted illegally into the army for the duration of 2008 presidential election campaign. During his latest detention he was recognized as a prisoner of conscience by Amnesty International. In 2008, he received the Human Rights Award from Human Rights First.

Despite persistent pressure Kozlovsky received his M.A. in Political Science at Higher School of Economics in Moscow. His master thesis was dedicated to something he knows pretty well—campaigns of civic disobedience and peaceful revolutions in Eastern Europe. Kozlovsky’s pieces were published by Russian and international media like The Washington Post, RobertAmsterdam.com or Ezhednevny Journal. He also runs his English-language blog at http://olegkozlovsky.wordpress.com.

Blog Entries by Oleg Kozlovsky

Last Democratic Party in Russia Surrenders to Kremlin

Posted December 23, 2009 | 11:11 AM (EST)


Yabloko, which had claimed to be the last registered democratic party in Russia, has officially broke up with the opposition. Its convention adopted a resolution last week that bans Yabloko's members from participating in any opposition organizations, movements or coalitions.

Kremlin's most hated "troublemakers" like The Other Russia and...

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Human Rights Protesters Arrested in Moscow for Demanding Freedom of Assembly

1 Comments | Posted November 3, 2009 | 12:40 PM (EST)


Another protest rally was dispersed Saturday night by Moscow police. The action was a part of the so called Strategy 31 -- a campaign in support of freedom of assembly guaranteed by paragraph 31 of the Russian Constitution. This basic right to hold peaceful demonstrations is routinely violated by the...

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Killers of Russian Human Rights Activists Will Not Be Punished

4 Comments | Posted July 20, 2009 | 06:01 PM (EST)


Natalya EstemirovaNatalya Estemirova, a prominent Russian human rights activist and a representative of Memorial, one of the most respected human rights NGOs in Chechnya, was kidnapped and killed last week. She just left her home in Grozny, Chechnya, in the morning of 15...

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Medvedev Imposes Control Over Russian History

1 Comments | Posted May 19, 2009 | 05:53 PM (EST)


He who controls the past controls the future. He who controls the present controls the past. 1984

Russia now has its own little Ministry of Truth. Dmitry Medvedev issued the decree to create a new body with a long but meaningful name: the Presidential Commission for Prevention of Falsification of...

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West Must Speak up for Moldova

Posted April 10, 2009 | 11:28 AM (EST)


Some countries are just more lucky than others. Moldova wasn't lucky enough to be known in America or Western Europe. Indeed, it's a small East-European ex-Soviet country, poorest on the continent, and there's little of interest about it. Except maybe for the fact that Moldova is the only place in...

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Two New Victims of Political Murders in Russia

Posted January 20, 2009 | 02:38 PM (EST)


A well-known attorney, Stanislav Markelov, and a young journalist, Anastasia Baburova, were assassinated on Monday not far from Kremlin. The murderer shot the lawyer in the head with a silencer, the reporter tried to catch the hitman but was also shot dead.

Markelov had represented victims in many public political...

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Russian Police Crack Down On Protesters, Including Me

Posted December 19, 2008 | 02:06 PM (EST)


On Sunday, December 14, Russia's biggest cities had to see one more episode of a political face-off between the democratic opposition and the government. Dissenters' Marches were planned in Moscow and in St. Petersburg. The Moscow march had been illegally banned by the authorities. They said that somebody else had...

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Murder of Anna Politkovskaya: The Trial Begins

Posted December 4, 2008 | 08:23 AM (EST)


Four men, two of them are officers of Russian special services and two others are Chechens, are being tried in the Moscow District Military Court now. They are accused of organizing the murder of Anna Politkovskaya, one of the most outrageous crimes in Russia's recent history.

Who was Anna Politkovskaya?

...
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