Terhi Raikas

Ympäristöliikkeen lisääntyvät oikeudelliset haasteet Venäjällä

Introduction

Ympäristöliikkeen lisääntyvät oikeudelliset haasteet venäjällä. Tutkimus Venäjän ympäristöliikkeen oikeudellisista haasteista, kuten Vieraiden agenttien ja Ei-toivottujen toimijoiden laeista. Tarkastellaan kiristyneen poliittisen ilmapiirin vaikutusta aktivismiin.

Abstract

Venäjän tiukentunut poliittinen ilmapiiri on rajoittanut monin tavoin maan ympäristöliikkeen olemassaoloa. Tässä tutkimuksessa analysoitiin kontekstuaalista oikeushistoriaa ja oikeussosiologista analyysia hyödyntäen Venäjän ympäristöliikkeen viime vuosina yhä enenevästi kohtaamia oikeudellisia haasteita sekä niiden syitä ja seurauksia. Oikeudellisesta näkökulmasta eniten ongelmia ovat Venäjällä ympäristöliikkeelle aiheuttaneet varsinkin laitulkomaisista agenteista (2012) sekä ei-toivotuista toimijoista (2015) sekä niitä seuranneet päätökset ja tuomiot. Näiden lisäksi Venäjällä on pyritty rajoittamaan ympäristöjärjestöjen sekä yksittäisten aktivistien toimintaa myös lukuisilla muilla laeilla. Lainsäädäntömuutosten taustalla ovat olleet varsinkin Vladimir Putinin uudelleennousu valtaan vuonna 2012 ja siitä seuranneet poliittiset erimielisyydet. Yksittäisten lainsäädäntömuutosten lisäksi ympäristöjärjestöjen toiminnan oikeudellinen rajoittaminen onkin ollut Venäjällä seurausta myös laajemmasta poliittisen ilmapiirin kiristymisestä, joka on ollut myös esimerkiksi Ukrainassa vuodesta 2022 alkaen käydyn Venäjän hyökkäyssodan taustalla. Sota on vaikuttanut myös ympäristöjärjestöihin, joiden aktivisteista yhä useammat ovat paenneet Venäjältä ja siirtyneet toimimaan ulkomailta käsin. Russia’s political atmosphere has become harder, and this has also affected opportunities forthe environmental movement. In this research, the Russian environmental movement’s legalproblems and the reasons behind them are analysed using contextual legal history and legalsociology. From the legal point of view, most of the problems that faced the environmentalmovement in Russia are caused by the Foreign Agent Law (2012) or Undesirable Organisations Law (2015) and the decisions and judgments that are based on these laws. In addition, many other laws have been used in Russia to make the work of environmental NGOs and activists more problematic. The changes in law were mainly based on Vladimir Putin’s return to power in 2012. The harder political atmosphere is also behind the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine. The war has also affected the environmental NGOs, while many of their activists have fled Russia and continued their activism from abroad.

Review

This paper offers a timely and critical examination of the escalating legal challenges faced by Russia's environmental movement, squarely attributing these difficulties to the country's increasingly repressive political environment. It pinpoints the "Foreign Agent Law" (2012) and the "Undesirable Organizations Law" (2015) as primary legislative instruments, alongside numerous other laws, employed to constrict the activities of environmental NGOs and individual activists. The study importantly contextualizes these legal restrictions within the broader political climate shift that followed Vladimir Putin's return to power in 2012, arguing that these developments are indicative of a wider authoritarian trend, even linking them to the background of Russia's ongoing war of aggression in Ukraine. This work provides an essential and pertinent analysis of the legal and political mechanisms deployed to suppress civil society, specifically within the environmental sphere, amidst a volatile geopolitical landscape. The research employs a dual methodological approach, combining contextual legal history with legal-sociological analysis, which appears particularly well-suited to unraveling the complex interplay between legal frameworks, political power, and societal movements. This interdisciplinary perspective promises a nuanced understanding of how specific legislative instruments are crafted, deployed, and interpreted to achieve political objectives, tracing their origins and evolution within Russia's evolving authoritarian landscape. The abstract suggests a comprehensive analysis that not only identifies the specific laws problematic for the environmental movement but also delves into the underlying political motivations and broader societal consequences, including the forced displacement of activists. The explicit connection drawn between the tightening grip on environmental activism and the larger political trajectory culminating in the war in Ukraine significantly enhances the study's analytical depth and contemporary relevance. While the abstract clearly outlines the paper's significant scope and innovative approach, a more comprehensive understanding of the legal-sociological analysis would benefit from detailing the extent to which specific activist responses, resistance strategies, or in-depth case studies are explored within the research. The mention of activists fleeing Russia and continuing their work from abroad opens a fascinating avenue, and further exploration of this transnational activism under duress could offer rich insights. Nevertheless, this paper presents a highly relevant and incisive analysis of the severe challenges confronting environmental activism in Russia. Its examination of the legal-political nexus provides crucial insights into the mechanisms of state control and the resilience of civil society, making it a valuable contribution to the fields of environmental studies, legal sociology, and post-Soviet political analysis.

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