Duma upholds ban on adoptions by citizens of ‘unfriendly’ countries

State Duma upholds ban on adoption of Russian children by citizens of unfriendly countries Children’s ombudsman Maria Lvova-Belova has reported that the number of Russian children adopted by foreigners has dropped significantly over the last decade. 07.03.2023 In August 2022, a bill was introduced to the State Duma that bans people from adopting or becoming …

Winners of Russian social projects competition

Winners announced for the Innosotsium social projects competition The six winning projects will be presented at the St Petersburg international economic forum in June. 06.03.2023 Students submitted 887 entries to the competition. The judges’ panel chose one winner in each category. The winner in the category Growing older actively was Kristina Bardasova from the Urals …

Russian women’s charitable donations are more frequent but smaller than men’s

Women donate more frequently than men, but women’s average donations are lower The service “Dobro Mail.ru” has published a gender-based profile of Russian internet donors. 06.03.2023 Between February 2022 and February 2023, Dobro Mail.ru analysed its users. Their results show that women (56% in total) log on to Dobro Mail.ru more frequently than men. In …

Transparency International declared an ‘undesirable organisation in Russia

Transparency International declared undesirable organisation in Russian Decision taken by Russian Federation Public Prosecutor’s Office 06.03.2023 The Office set out online that the decision was based on a review of material it had received. The review found that, “while officially working as a worldwide anti-corruption body, Transparency International has been interfering in the internal affairs …

Bringing help and justice to the victims of wartime sexual violence In Ukraine

Anxiety, Depression, Nightmares’: Bringing Help, And Justice, To The Victims Of Wartime Sexual Violence In Ukraine Published by RFE/RL, March 04, 2023  By Kateryna Hatsenko, Kristina Zakurdaeva   In November, a court in the Ukrainian city of Chernihiv convicted two Russian soldiers in absentia of “violating the rules and customs of war” through repeated incidents …

Applications open for assisted places at Russia’s Higher School of Economics

Applications to take part in the Higher School of Economics (HSE) “Social Lift” project now being accepted   01.03.2023   This initiative is aimed at helping people in challenging life situations who cannot compete on equal terms for State-financed places or pay for higher education.   This year, 264 people will have the opportunity of …

Launch of Russian website about bullying in schools

Launch of a new website about bullying in schools   28.02.2023   This initiative has been developed by the travli.net project which helps schoolchildren, parents and professionals to combat bullying.   According to the website, “Bullying in classrooms is more common than in those where everyone is friendly toward one another. When someone is being …

ECHR to consider appeals from Russian ‘foreign agents’

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) receives its first appeals from foreign agents   27.02.2023   The ECHR will consider all the complaints together in a single session and assess their merits in terms of freedom of expression and association.   The petitioners include 42 organisations and individuals, including the Andrey Rylkov Foundation, the …

Elton John – still helping people in Ukraine living with HIV

The promise I made from a Kyiv stage still stands: more than ever I’ll be there for the people of Ukraine Elton John in the Guardian There are 250,000 Ukrainians living with HIV, and more than 600,000 in communities at risk from it. I said I would do everything to help and renew that pledge …

Russia’s Higher League club launches charity races around the world

The Higher League Club will hold a series of charity races around the world   The Higher League charity club has launched a new sports project called I’m Running to Help Children! Within the scope of their League of Dreams programme.   21.02.23   The first charity race was held on 18 February in Phuket, …