January

Rallies were held in several Russian cities on December 19, 2011 in memory of Stanislav Markelov and Anastasia Baburova. Markelov – a lawyer and civil rights advocate, and Baburova – a left-leaning journalist and activist, were shot and killed in Moscow as they left a press conference on that date in 2009. It has since become a day of protest in Russia not only to oppose racism and discrimination, but also to draw attention to the inadequate response from the authorities in addressing racially motivated violence.

On January 18, 2011, the "Rights in Russia" website published an English translation of an article with commentaries by the director of the SOVA Center Alexander Verkhovsky. The article dealt with actions in memory of Yegor Sviridov which took place in Moscow and St. Petersburg on January 15, 2011. It was originally posted on the Caucasian Knot website.