Moscow Research Center for Human Rights

The Center helps to coordinate a wide range of human rights organizations and activities in Russia today. It seeks to develop a professional infrastructure for the human rights movement in Russia by enhancing communications networks among groups, providing assistance with regard to funding opportunities, assisting with publishing projects, and serving as a central locus for information regarding human rights work in Russia. The office in Moscow also serves as the working base for more than 15 human rights groups.

On the Center's Advisory Board are some of the most respected names in Russian human rights circles, including Elena Bonner, Sergei Kovalev, Valeri Borshov, Ernst Ametistov and others.

MRCHR publishes a monthly 10-page newsletter (in Russian and in English), as well as a longer (approx. 40 pp.) monthly journal, Prava Cheloveka v Rossii ("Human Rights in Russia"). This contains profiles of human rights organizations, practical advice on issues of organizational development, instructions on using telecommunications and Internet resources for human rights work, and commentary on issues facing the human rights community.

An important current program of MRCHR is its Information Network Project, cordinated by Andrei Pribylov with technical assistance from Sergei Smirnov. The INP intends to enhance the infrastructure of the human rights movement in Russia by expanding the telecommunications capacity of regional human rights groups. This involves maintaining contacts with regional groups, making periodic visits to the regions for research purposes, and providing groups with access to the Internet. The Project currently runs training programs for human rights activists on using the Internet for their work. It also provides groups with computers and modems so that they can take part in the Project's network.

Last updated:    January 1997

A print version of much of the information contained in this NIS Third Sector Organizations section can be found in the The Post-Soviet Handbook (Seattle and London: University of Washington Press, 1999).

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