The Human Rights Watch (HRW) World Report 2023 on the Russian Federation highlights a significant escalation in government repression, particularly following the full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2023. The Russian authorities have launched an aggressive campaign to suppress civic activism, independent journalism, and political dissent, ostensibly to mute opposition to the war and any criticism of the government. This includes the adoption of wide-ranging bills introducing war censorship with severe penalties for various acts, such as referring to the conflict in Ukraine as a "war" or criticizing the invasion.
The report also details the conduct of Russian forces in Ukraine, including indiscriminate bombing and shelling in civilian areas, torture, arbitrary detention, enforced disappearances, forcible transfers, extrajudicial killings, and forcible enlistment of Ukrainian civilians into Russian armed forces.
Domestically, Russia has adopted a "besieged fortress" mentality, amplifying rhetoric about foreign influence and expanding the "foreign agents" legislation to include a broader range of individuals and organizations. This has led to the blacklisting of foreign organizations as "undesirable" and the addition of more individuals and groups to the "foreign agents" registry.
The report also notes significant emigration waves from Russia in 2022, following the invasion and the announcement of a general military draft of reservists. New homophobic legislation and anti-migrant rhetoric were also observed.
The Russian government has increased its control over people's biometric data, collecting such data from banks and using facial recognition technology for surveillance and persecution of activists. A new law adopted in July 2022 allows Russian authorities to extrajudicially close mass media outlets and block online content for disseminating "false information" about the conduct of Russian Armed Forces or other state bodies abroad or for disseminating calls for sanctions on Russia.
Additionally, the report discusses Russia's significant contribution to the climate crisis as one of the world's top 10 emitters of greenhouse gases and the third-largest producer of fossil fuels. Environmental activism in Russia continues to be met with physical attacks, harassment, intimidation, and prosecution.
Internationally, the European Union, the US, the UK, Canada, and other governments imposed new sanctions against Russian individuals, companies, and entities in response to these developments. The UN Human Rights Council adopted a resolution to establish a UN human rights monitoring mechanism on Russia, and other international bodies suspended Russian membership or expelled Russia altogether due to these human rights concerns.