Russia After the European Convention on Human Rights

The Council of Europe (COE) has ended the membership of the Russian Federation. This will have implications for Russia’s international legal obligations, in particular under the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). While the step was necessary, it will make Russia’s eventual transition to democracy more difficult. In this text, utilizing the text of the Convention, academic literature and case law, it will be shown that the protections provided by the European Convention on Human Rights will not be lost immediately but indeed remain relevant and crucial in the current situation. It will be proposed that, as Russia is entering a neo-Stalinist era, the country’s generation-long experience with the ECHR might provide the seeds for a future renaissance of human rights in Europe, although at this moment, it is imperative to focus on the present challenge of preventing Russia from committing genocide against the people of Ukraine.