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Laisha, Tatiana. Dzerzhinsk: In the Direction of Cooperation

Tatiana Laisha is a psychologist, facilitator/mediator, and coordinator of restorative justice programs with the Nizhegorodsky regional affiliate of the Public Centre for Legal and Judicial Reform. As she writes, there are two main directions for the work of this regional affiliate. One is to introduce reconciliation programs in the town of Dzerzhinsk and in the Nizhegorodsky region. The other is to establish and develop an association of civic organizations and other groups for restorative justice in the Privolzhsky Federal District. Laisah sketches efforts of the Nizhegorodsky affiliate to accomplish both of these initiatives.

Bolkovaya, Svetlana. Urai: Idea Infection

Svetlana Bolkovaya is the restorative justice program coordinator in Urai in Russia. With the rate of juvenile delinquency in Uria increasing in recent years, it became clear to criminal justice officials and others that the accepted measures of dealing with juvenile offenders and their parents were not successful. New approaches were needed to respond to juveniles with destructive and deviant behavior, as well as with troubled families. Therefore, in 2000 she and others took part in a restorative justice seminar in Tyumen, the seminar being led by the Public Centre for Legal and Judicial Reform. Bolkovaya explains how this led to the development of restorative justice initiatives in Urai, and she describes some of the cases being handled through restorative principles and processes.

Tarasjuk, Olga. Tyumen: Great Expectations

In this article, Olga Tarasjuk shares her personal experiences and convictions that led to her becoming the restorative justice programs coordinator in Tyumen, the capital of an oil region in Russia. Tyumen has many prisons, in part because convicted criminals from all parts of Russia were transported there to serve their sentences. With great expectations, as she says, Tarasjuk began work in a prison school. After a few years she despaired of the prospects for juveniles who were incarcerated, and she became convinced of the need for alternative ways of dealing with juvenile offenders. Thus, in 2000 she became part of a group motivated to implement restorative justice in Tyumen. Tarasjuk recounts the formation of this group and its activities on behalf of restorative justice programs for juveniles. To illustrate the work, she includes the story of a victim-offender reconciliation case in a local school

Zamanova, Tamara. Velikii Novgorod: Restorative Methods in Prevention of Child Abandonment and Runaways

As Tamara Zamanova observes, a team for promoting restorative justice ideas was formed in the city of Velikii Novgorod in Russia, with help from the Public Centre for Legal and Judicial Reform. The restorative justice programs in Velikii Novgorod focus on prevention of child abandonment. Zamanova discusses how referrals are made to the programs, conditions that contribute to the problem of child abandonment in families, and restorative justice responses to these family crises. To illustrate the restorative efforts in Velikii Novgorod, a case study is included at the end of the article.

Kosova, Nina and Gurina, Irina. Arzamas: New Social Practice: Using Restorative Methods in Working with Families in Crisis

When families experience crisis due to harmful patterns of family members relating to each other, outside assistance is often vital in facing and succeeding through the crisis. Professionals, such as psychotherapists or similar practitioners, can of course be helpful. At the same time, write Nina Kosova and Irina Gurina, formal professional processes may not help with some people and in some families. They maintain that restorative methods often can be most appropriate for certain families in crisis. In this framework, they describe the work of Peace to the Family – a civic organization of women of Arzamas (in Russia). Peace to the Family is beginning to use elements of restorative methods to respond to family crises, including cases of domestic violence. Kosova and Gurina include a summary of an actual case to demonstrate the use of such methods to deal with a family crisis.

Shakina, Victoria. Irkutsk: Breaking the Ice of Distrust

Victoria Shakina is director of the Baikal Centre for Judicial Reforms in Irkutsk in Russia. She is also a trained facilitator or mediator. Beginning in April 2000, the Baikal Regional Woman’s Union "Angara" joined the work under Partnership for Restorative Justice in Russia. Hence, in cooperation with the Public Centre for Legal and Judicial Reform, restorative justice methods are now being introduced to Irkutsk. Shakina recounts the development of this initiative in Irkutsk, and she identifies particular activities undertaken by the Irkutsk group. A story at the end provides an illustration of victim-offender reconciliation taken from one of their actual cases.

Grasenkova, Anna. Our Partners: Formation of Teams of Civic Activists who Introduce RJ Practice to Russia

In 2000, the Public Centre for Legal and Judicial Reform began to help its partners from other civic organizations in Russia in implementing restorative justice ideas in their regions. This assistance involves the development and training of local teams which can conduct restorative justice programs. Anna Grasenkova describes the extension of this partnership to seven cities and regions in Russia. In particular she outlines the step-by-step process of collaboration between the Centre and organizations with which it forms partnerships for the purposes of spreading restorative justice ideas and practices.

Fliamer, Michael and Maksudov, Rustem. Moscow: Emergence and Development of the Practice of Restorative Justice in Russia

Michael Fliamer and Rustem Maksudov, with several others, have played key roles in efforts by the Public Centre for Legal and Judicial Reform to change the Russian criminal justice system. Here Fliamer and Maksudov trace the work of the Centre in introducing and developing restorative justice principles and practices in Russia. They describe initial contacts in 1997 with restorative justice experts from outside of Russia and the beginning of victim-offender reconciliation and mediation in Moscow. Fliamer and Maksudov point to major restorative justice influences on their program, the types of cases handled, the primary emphases of the Centre’s work, and the legal effects of victim-offender reconciliation and mediation.

Public Centre for Legal and Judicial Reform. Transition from the System of "Correction" to Restorative Justice. The Situation in Society

This article begins with a description of the crime and criminal justice situation in Russia. Public perception consists of considerable fear of crime, including juvenile delinquency. In response, the public and the government invoke the notion of a “war on crime." In part because of all of this, Russia has one of the highest rates of incarceration in the world for adults and juveniles. Yet, say the authors of this article, evidence shows that a punitive, “correctional" approach to crime is ineffective economically and socially. Hence, the Public Centre for Legal and Judicial Reform has begun to implement restorative justice ideas and practices (including victim-offender reconciliation) in Russia, with a focus on juvenile offenders and their victims.

Public Centre for Legal and Judicial Reform. Restorative Justice in Russia: Experience and Perspectives for Century XXI

From June 7 to 9, 2004, the Second International Conference, entitled “Restorative Justice in Russia: Experience and Perspectives for Century XXI,�? was held in Moscow. It was organized by the Public Centre for Legal and Judicial Reform in Russia as a part of joint British-Russian project on restorative justice. The aims of the project are to develop restorative justice for young offenders in Russia and to build restorative justice into the Russian system of law and criminal justice. The purposes for this conference were to reflect on prior efforts to establish restorative justice in Russia and to explore the potential for restorative justice in Russia in the years ahead. This document provides an overview of conference participants, topics, and outcomes.

Botchkovar, Ekaterina V. and Tittle, Charles R.. Crime, Shame, and Reintegration in Russia

The article begins with an extensive examination of shaming theory and prior research relating to it. Braithwaite’s shaming theory posits that reintegrative shaming inhibits future misbehavior and that those who participate in the shaming process are less likely to misbehave in the first place. Based on this examination, the authors hypothesize that: 1) participation in shaming is negatively associated with misbehavior; 2) having been reintegratively shamed is negatively associated with misbehavior; and 3) stigmatizing experience is positively associated with future misconduct. Four subsidiary hypotheses were also examined. Data were collected from interviews conducted in July and August 2002 with 224 Russian citizens, of which 70 percent were women. Dependent variables measured were the chance of personally committing one of four specific offenses; independent variables were participating in gossip, being reintegratively shamed, and being disintegratively shamed. Analyses of the data resulted in mixed evidence about shaming theory. The results suggest that contrary to the contention that reintegrative shaming would have a positive effect while disintegrative shaming would have a negative effect, the results provide evidence that shaming of any kind, whether reintegrative or disintegrative, may have negative consequences. The findings also show that participating in gossip is unrelated to future deviance and that guilt or fear of losing respect for others for potential misbehavior do not seem to be related to past shaming experiences nor do they mediate supposed relationships between past shaming experiences and misconduct. These findings, along with previous research, suggest that shaming theory may need further refinement. Study limitations are discussed. Abstract courtesy of the National Criminal Justice Reference Service, www.ncjrs.gov.

Keeping, Janet. National Reconciliation in Russia?

Does the notion of “reconciliation” apply to the events taking place in contemporary Russia? Is national reconciliation occurring in Russia? These are the questions I will address in subsequent sections of this essay, but before doing that, it is necessary to say something about what constitutes reconciliation, and especially about what constitutes “national reconciliation.” (excerpt)

Maksudov, Rustem. The Old Civilization in the New Russia

In this article, Rustem Maksudov writes about the possibility of a transition from a system of "correction" to restorative justice in Russia. Following an analysis of the situation in Russia with respect to crime and criminal justice, Maksudov details the emergence and development of restorative justice ideas and practices in Russia. Particular attention is given to the work of the Centre for Legal and Judicial Reform and its efforts to develop and implement a victim-offender reconciliation program. Discussion of case examples illustrates the work of the Centre. Maksudov highlights collaborations between the Centre and other relevant organizations in Russia.

Maksudov, Rustem and Keenan, Eamonn. Achievements, issues and problems of introducing RJ into Russia.

The Moscow based Centre for Legal and Judicial Reform is the leading organisation in development of Restorative Justice across Russia. Since August 2002 they have been working with the Centre for Social Action and the Community and Criminal Justice Research Centre at DeMontfort University England. Funded by the British Government Department for International Development the organisations have been working to institutionalise Restorative Justice in Russia through a joint project, which ends in February 2005. The workshop will focus on practical examples of the situations that faced the management and staff of the joint project. The presenters will seek to share the lessons learned with reference to: the current position of young offenders in Russia; the approaches developed in partnership working; the activities of the programmes pilot projects; working with the key agencies, courts, offenders and victims; impacts to date; prospects for change and possibilities for the future. (excerpt)

Conference Highlights Restorative Justice in Russia

The Centre for Legal and Judicial Reform in Russia is developing the use of restorative justice in Russia. A recent conference was held to highlight the work that has taken place and the needs of the country as they move forward. Andrew Kravtsov provided this report on the conference proceedings.

Restorative Justice In Russia

De Montfort University (DMU) in Leicester, England, has been commissioned to assist with the development of restorative justice practice in the Russian Federation by the British Government’s Department for International Development (DFID). Working in partnership with The Center for Legal and Judicial Reform (CLJR), a Moscow based NGO, the project team will be developing a number of pilot sites for the establishment of effective practice in diverting young offenders from the criminal justice system. This article was written by Divender Curry of De Montfort University.

Liebmann, Marian. Restorative Justice in Uganda and Russia

This paper is based on one training visit to Uganda in 1999 and two training visits to Russia, one in 1999 and the other in 2001. The reflections are drawn from personal experience and therefore may not convey the total picture in these countries.

Fliamer, Mikhail and Karmosova, L M. Juvenile Justice- an overview of experimental projects in Russia

This paper describes juvenile justice developments in Russia. It highlights the work the Centre for Legal and Judicial reform in incorporating restorative justice into the criminal justice system.