human rights expert, CEO, trainer
About me
A lawyer and human rights defender with a decade of litigation practice in Russia. Expert on transnational repression, statelessness and human rights protection mechanisms
Author and co-author of reports for IPHR, the Friedrich Naumann Foundation and the German Marshall Fund. I have spoken at PACE, the European Parliament and the Munich Security Conference. I design original courses for universities and foundations. Based in Madrid since August 2024. Working languages: Russian, English, Spanish.
Flagship project
The largest community and support system for Russian-speaking people in crisis. Founded in March 2022. kovcheg.live · Wikipedia
220,000
people helped
49
communities
350,000
audience
25+
team
3,200
volunteers
€1.6M
raised
Areas of work
01
Transnational repression, disinformation, the Russian-speaking diaspora, entrepreneurship
02
Process automation, data security, working with volunteers, institutional fundraising and crowdfunding, advocacy and media presence
03
Courses on human rights, management and NGO resilience for universities and foundations
04
Transnational repression, extradition and deportation cases, statelessness, political persecution
05
Campaign automation, public campaigns, work with volunteers and supporters, legal support, social media
Track record
Grown into a team of 25+ with a €1,600,000 budget. 220,000 people have received help and the project reaches an audience of 350,000 since March 2022.
Emergency help, adaptation, professional networks and research within one infrastructure.
A community of 1,700 entrepreneurs in exile: accelerators, conferences, retraining courses.
A project supporting independent municipal deputies: 400 elected across 5 Russian regions. Campaign management and automation.
Regional legal aid, public seminars and training for lawyers and activists.
Election monitoring across Russian regions, including the North Caucasus, from 2012 to 2021.
The Invisible Citizens report was presented to the PACE Committee on Migration; policy papers for European partners.
European Parliament
Practice
Defending independent media and politicians in politically motivated cases: Meduza against the Ministry of Justice, challenging its foreign-agent designation; Dovod, The Insider and Meduza in defamation suits brought by Yevgeny Prigozhin; Andrei Pivovarov in a suit by the Interior Ministry; Leonid Gozman in a defamation suit by Russia Today.
Preventing the misuse of international policing tools against politically persecuted people: analysis of extradition requests and Interpol Red Notices, and work with international partners and national authorities.
Publications
IPHR × The Ark · April 2026 · co-author Mariia Novikova
How the systematic denial of documents creates de facto statelessness for politically persecuted Russians in the EU
02Friedrich Naumann Foundation · December 2025
Transnational repression across the South Caucasus, Central Asia and the Western Balkans
03German Marshall Fund / ReThink.Democracy · February 2025 · co-author Nicolas Bouchet
The mobility and civic engagement of Russians who left after 2022
Media
Trainings
I design original courses on human rights, management and NGO sustainability for universities and foundations.
Entrepreneurship
A professional community of entrepreneurs from Russia in exile. 1,700 members. kovcheg.business
Conferences
Amsterdam · 26 November 2024
A Moscow Times conference on women standing up to the Kremlin.
Berlin · December 2022 and December 2023
Deutsch-russischer Menschenrechtsdialog e.V. and Memorial.
Dublin · June 2022
Congress of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe.
29–30 June 2022
Conference of Teplitsa. Technologies for Social Good.
September 2021
Media and civil society under attack in Russia: What can we do?
Körber-Stiftung, Hamburg · public discussion on the Russian opposition in exile
Data and audience
The Ark is not only an aid project but a research infrastructure. An audience of 350,000 across 49 communities by country and profession makes it possible to gather data on the Russian-speaking emigration that is not available anywhere else.
Collaboration
Research, expertise, lectures, interviews, project management.