section_path: Government and politics/Human rights
section_name: Human rights
paragraph_text: Human rights
  
  Violations of human rights in Russia have been increasingly reported by leading democracy and human rights groups. In particular, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch say that Russia is not democratic and allows few political rights and civil liberties to its citizens.
  
  Since 2004, Freedom House has ranked Russia as "not free" in its Freedom in the World survey. Since 2011, the Economist Intelligence Unit has ranked Russia as an "authoritarian regime" in its Democracy Index, ranking it 144th out of 167 countries in 2023. In regards to media freedom, Russia was ranked 155th out of 180 countries in Reporters Without Borders ' Press Freedom Index for 2022. The Russian government has been widely criticised by political dissidents and human rights activists for unfair elections, crackdowns on opposition political parties and protests, persecution of non-governmental organisations and enforced suppression and killings of independent journalists, and censorship of mass media and internet.
  
  Muslims, especially Salafis, have faced persecution in Russia. To quash the insurgency in the North Caucasus, Russian authorities have been accused of indiscriminate killings, arrests, forced disappearances, and torture of civilians. In Dagestan, some Salafis along with facing government harassment based on their appearance, have had their homes blown up in counterinsurgency operations. Chechens and Ingush in Russian prisons reportedly take more abuse than other ethnic groups. During the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, Russia has set up filtration camps where many Ukrainians are subjected to abuses and forcibly sent to Russia; the camps have been compared to those used in the Chechen Wars. Political repression also increased following the start of the invasion, with laws adopted that establish punishments for "discrediting" the armed forces.
  
  Russia has introduced several restrictions on LGBT rights, including a 2020 ban on same-sex marriage and the designation of LGBT+ organisations such as the Russian LGBT Network as " foreign agents ".