Both Russian and international law provide a number of protections for human rights.  This page has links to some of the most important international instruments to which Russia is a signatory, and will soon have translations of important Russian legislation on human rights.  On paper, Russia's human rights law is actually quite good.  For the most part it follows the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (to which Russia is a signatory).  Unfortunately, the lofty ideals embodied in many of the instruments to which Russia has acceded remain on paper.

Many of the documents below are frequently cited in articles written about Russia (especially in articles about Chechnya), and have been included for that reason.

See also the following related sections of theRussiaSite.org

Conflicts
Human Rights NGOs and International Organizations
High Profile Court Cases

Russian Human Rights Law

Constitution of the Russian Federation

International Human Rights Law Resources

Universal Declaration of Human Rights
http://www.un.org/Overview/rights.html

(European) Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms as amended by Protocol No. 11
http://conventions.coe.int/treaty/EN/WhatYouWant.asp?NT=005&CM=8&DF=20/10/00
http://conventions.coe.int/treaty/EN/STEList.asp?CM=8 (complete list of the Council of Europe's treaties)

Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide
http://fletcher.tufts.edu/multi/texts/BH225.txt

Cornell University Index of Human Rights Internet Resources
http://www.lawschool.cornell.edu/library/guides/foreign/topic11.html

Fletcher School Multilateral Conventions Project (Organized by Subject)
http://fletcher.tufts.edu/multilaterals.html

Human Rights Web (useful summaries and explanations)
http://www.hrweb.org/

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