Russia and the Council of Europe

Many analysts point to a difficult relationship between Russia and the Council of Europe, particularly with regard to Russia’s adherence to the European Convention on Human Rights and other Council of Europe instruments.

While there have been some amendments to laws which violate the European Convention, there have also been many significant breaches of Convention rights in Russia, and the country has one of the highest numbers of applications and findings of violations at the European Court of Human Rights out of the 47 Council of Europe Member States.

This Note looks at Russia’s membership of the Council of Europe and its implementation of the European Convention on Human Rights. It also considers the Council of Europe’s response to the alleged Russian action in Ukraine and Russian views on Council of Europe membership.