On February 18, 2011 the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navanethem (Navi) Pillay, met with NGO activists in Saint Petersburg. The key problems such as abuse of the right to the freedom of assembly, hate crimes and negative state’s attitude towards public organisations were discussed.
Stefaniya Kulayeva, the director of the ADC Memorial programmes, told about threats received by human rights activists, working with ethnic minorities and migrants, and antifascists. She also mentioned the persecution of civil activists and the political case of the artists of the art group Voina (War).