The 2002 Russian Anti-Extremism Law: An Introduction

This introduction offers an overview of the 2002 Russian anti-extremism law and a summary of the contributions by individual authors to this special journal issue. The authors detail the significant impact of the law, particularly for religious minorities. They note that the authors approach the law from different angles, ranging from the evolving rhetoric of extremism in Russia and the law’s application to particular religious minority cases to the censorship of the online world and the politicized and partisan nature of the Russian legal system. In doing so, they draw out the contradictions, inconsistencies, and arbitrariness of the law's application and some unexpected continuities with earlier historical periods. Overall, they conclude that the anti-extremism law represents a serious impediment to democracy, human rights, and the rule of law in contemporary Russia.