SOVA Center

SOVA Center
Formation2002
HeadquartersRussia Moscow, Russia
Official language
Russian
Websitewww.sova-center.ru/

The SOVA Center for Information and Analysis is a Moscow-based nongovernmental organization and think tank conducting sociological research primarily on nationalism and racism in post-Soviet Russia. Currently, SOVA devotes its monitoring, research and advocacy to three projects: Misuse of Anti-Extremism Legislation, Racism and Xenophobia, and Religion in Secular Society. SOVA publishes print reports in Russian and maintains a website updating readers in both Russian and English. Its reports are often cited by Western media sources including The New York Times and The Guardian.[1][2][3][4]

In December 2016 Russia's Ministry of Justice added Sova Centre to the so-called list of "foreign agent".[5]

In April 2023 the Moscow City Court ordered the SOVA Center to close over claims that it carried out its activities throughout Russia despite only being registered in Moscow. The order occurred during a crackdown on human rights and independent organizations in Russia following its invasion of Ukraine in 2022.[6]

  1. ^ Barry, Ellen (April 13, 2011). "Russia: Moscow Man Sought in Judge's Killing". The New York Times.
  2. ^ Schwirtz, Michael (February 19, 2011). "Russian Trial to Bare a Face of Nationalism". The New York Times.
  3. ^ Tom Parfitt in Moscow (May 6, 2011). "Russian neo-Nazi gets life sentence for murdering lawyer and journalist | World news". London: The Guardian. Retrieved 2012-12-14.
  4. ^ Elder, Miriam (2011-11-09). "Russian nationalism may be biggest threat to Putin's power, experts warn". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2019-06-06.
  5. ^ "Russian Justice Ministry Blacklists Prominent Anti-Racism Research Center". The Moscow Times. Retrieved 2023-08-16.
  6. ^ Times, The Moscow (2023-04-27). "Moscow Court Orders Closure Of Sova Analytical Center". The Moscow Times. Retrieved 2023-04-28.