Russia Crackdown

Court judge Vyacheslav Kirillov reads a ruling to outlaw the "international movement" Memorial as extremist in a move against Nobel Peace Prize-winning rights group in Moscow, Russia, Thursday, April 9, 2026.

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Russian court criminalizes the activities of the Nobel Prize-winning rights group Memorial

Russian court criminalizes the activities of the Nobel Prize-winning rights group Memorial

Russia’s Supreme Court has effectively criminalized the activities of the Nobel Peace Prize-winning rights group Memorial, the latest step in an unrelenting crackdown on dissent and civil society organizations. Separately, Moscow police raided the offices of the prominent independent newspaper Novaya Gazeta, whose chief editor Dmitry Muratov was a Nobel Peace Prize laureate in 2021. Memorial said in a statement earlier Thursday that the court's ruling would allow authorities to crack down on any Memorial projects, participants and supporters. Memorial is one of the oldest Russian human rights organizations. It was awarded the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine, alongside Belarusian activist Ales Bialiatski and the Ukrainian organization Center for Civil Liberties.