Human Rights in Russia: Public Discussions and the Institution of the Ombudsman

Abstract

Alexander Nezdyurov – PhD in Physics, Assistant Professor, National Research University Higher School of Economics (Saint Petersburg). Address: 16, Soyuza Pechatnikov St., Saint Petersburg, 190008, Russian Federation. E-mail: nezdyurov@gmail.com

Alexander Sungurov – DSc in Politics, Professor, National Research University Higher School of Economics (Saint Petersburg). Address: 16, Soyuza Pechatnikov St., Saint Petersburg, 190008, Russian Federation. E-mail: asungurov@mail.ru

Citation: Nezdyurov A., Sungurov A. (2018) Human Rights in Russia: Public Discussions and the Institution of the Ombudsman. Mir Rossii, vol. 27, no 3, pp. 61–81 (in Russian). DOI: 10.17323/1811-038X-2018-27-3-61-81

This article focuses on the process of the institutionalization of human rights, and particularly the development of the institution of the ombudsman at the federal and regional levels. After briefly introducing the concept of universal human rights and discussing its role in the contemporary world, four main directions of human rights institutionalization are identified: 1) the incorporation of a human rights approach into domestic legal systems; 2) the adoption of human rights concepts in wider public debates; 3) the development of state sponsored institutions such as the commissioner for human rights (ombudsman), 4) the development of human rights NGOs. The current article particularly engages with the second and the third directions. In discussing the second direction, the authors use the case of the reaction of human rights NGOs towards the initiative of Metropolitan Kirill to establish an orthodox understanding of human rights in Russia. As far as the third direction is concerned, the article engages
with the cases of three regional ombudsman offices in the Samara, Sverdlovsk and Perm regions.