The Charitable Fund Humanitarian Action in Saint Petersburg is fighting back against the crackdown on harm reduction organisations: a court recently annulled the government decision to include them in the infamous foreign agent list. We interviewed Alexei Lahov, Director of Development of the NGO.
Russian Drug Policy
5th European Harm Reduction Conference in Prague, Czechia
More than 400 professionals and community activists gathered in Prague to take part in the 5th European Harm Reduction Conference.
The award winning animated documentary Kostya Proletarsky is now available online!
The animated documentary is based on the true story of Kostya Proletarsky, a drug user and HIV activist who died as a result of mistreatment and torture at a Russian prison. The animation features original audio interviews with Kostya and his mother Irina, and aims to commemorate Kostya and many others who have not survived prisons around the world.
Ivan Anoshkin. Survivor
Ivan Anoshkin’s life is a chronicle of the state’s crimes against human beings and his path to strength, truth, and freedom.
MEETINGS WITH NICE PEOPLE. ALEXEY KURMANAEVSKII
Alexei Kurmanaevsky, an activist and human rights activist, emigrated from Russia to Israel four years ago.
Alexei Kurmanaevsky is known to everyone in the countries of Eastern Europe and Central Asia. He was always in the public eye, but disappeared after he moved to Israel. We did not manage to arrange an interview with him for a long time. And just recently he wrote that he was ready to talk.
People by Right
The lives of people who use drugs mean death, prison, disease, stigma and discrimination, lack of access to treatment and employment, destroyed families, and children taken away. This is the story of human rights activists and RuNPUD (Russian Speaking Network of People Who Use Drugs) from the Eastern Europe and Central Asia (EECA) region, from the series of “People by Right” videos.
Imprisonment for up to 15 years for using the word “drug” on the Internet
On February 10 the deputies of the Russian parliament adopted, in the third and final reading, a bill to increase the sentence for “inciting use of drugs” on the Internet to 15 years.
TAKING BACK WHAT’S OURS! – Episode 9. Russia, Georgia and Ukraine
In today’s episode of the oral history of the movement of people who use drugs, we travel to three Eastern European countries, where activists fight very restrictive drug policies.
4 Short Videos about Recent Developments in Global Drug Policies
The Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) is the largest international drug policy decision making forum in the world. This year, at the 63rd session of the CND, our video advocacy team produced four short video reports to inform the public about some of the major developments.
Nonexistent? We Exist!
NONEXISTENT? We Exist!
A documentary on the inspiring efforts of communities
working on the streets of Russia to try and halt the HIV epidemic.
About the Film
‘Nonexistent? We Exist!’ is a documentary film about the communities of people living with HIV in Russia.
It tells the story of how the members of the most vulnerable communities affected by the HIV epidemic, such as drug users, sex workers, and LGBTQ people, struggle for survival and dignity in a hostile cultural and political environment. Through their eyes, it shows the successes and challenges civil society organisations face when they implement HIV prevention, treatment, and care services in 7 Russian cities: Moscow, Saint Petersburg, Yekaterinburg, Naberezhnye Chelny, Almetyevsk, Kazan and Kaliningrad.
The movie is not only about these communities - it was produced by the members of the same communities.
Created in partnership with Drug Users News and with support from Rights Reporter Foundation, the film reveals street outreach work, interviews with clients, personal success stories, and the continuous fight for one's life - all sides of the Program which are not often shown in official reports, yet remain some of the most important.
The film summarises the life saving efforts funded by the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. One of the main issues regarding this work is the lack of mechanisms for continuous funding of these vital efforts, which needs critical attention from Russian and foreign donors. Our film allows you to find out exactly what funding can go towards for the continuation of this work, which is so important for the preservation of services and support for people whose right to health is not always fully upheld due to various barriers.
Still images from the film and the filming process
Credits
Camera: István Gábor Takács and Alexei Kurmanaevskii
Editing & post production: Igor Kuzmenko
Screenplay: Alexei Kurmanaevskii and Igor Kuzmenko
Titles & posters: Igor Kuzmenko
Narration: Alexei Kurmanaevskii
Translation: Pоlinа Tal Meltzer
Produced by DUNews, with support of Rights Reporter Foundation, Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network and "The Candle" Charity Fund.
Producers: Peter Sarosi, István Gábor Takács, Michail Golichenko, Alexei Kurmanaevskii, Igor Kuzmenko, Maria Jakovleva, Victoria Dollen, Alena Asaeva and Katherina Zinger.
