Staff
Stichting Russian Justice Initiative (Moscow)
Vanessa Kogan, Executive Director
Vanessa earned a degree in Comparative Literature from Columbia University in 2004 and a law degree from Cambridge University in 2009. As a recipient of a Third Millennium Foundation grant in 2006-2007, Vanessa worked as a fellow with RJI and also with a refugee rights organization in southern France, where she managed a caseload of refugees from the North Caucasus. Vanessa has also worked in the Legal Office of Human Rights Watch in New York and as a junior researcher with the Human Rights League in Paris.
Anastasia Kushleyko, Legal Director
Anastasia since 2001 worked for the Regional Delegation of the International Committee of the Red Cross in Moscow. She was responsible for advising on issues of implementation of international humanitarian law (IHL) at the national level as well as contributing to the process of promotion of IHL among academic circles. Since 2007 she served as a legal adviser in charge of the Program on IHL
Implementation in the CIS States. Anastasia graduated from Tomsk State University and earned two Master degrees (in International Peace Studies from Notre Dame University and in Advanced IHL and
International Human Rights Law from the Geneva Academy of international humanitarian law and human rights).
Andrei Nikolaev, Senior Lawyer
In addition to his work at RJI, Andrei serves as a law instructor at the Moscow State Social University (MSSU), where he lectures on constitutional and comparative law and the European Court of Human Rights. He holds a PhD in Law from Moscow State Social University (MSSU) and has completed a training course on "Protection of human rights in the European Court" organised by the International Protection Center and INTERIGHTS. In addition, he has participated in several human rights trainings in Poland and the Netherlands, including the International Advanced Course on Human rights (Warsaw, Poland, 2006-07). He has co-authored a series of books on the impact of the European Court of Human Rights.
Grigor Avetisyan, Lawyer
Grigor has a degree in International Public Law (from the University of World Economy and diplomacy, Tashkent, Uzbekistan) and earned Master Degree in International Human Right Law (from Durham University, UK). Grigor is lawyer with over 9 years’ experience in Central Asia and Russia. He has litigation experience in Criminal, Civil law and Arbitration. Grigor worked in the joined project of the Moscow based NGO Memorial and European Human Rights Advocacy Centre of the London Metropolitan University. Since 2009 Grigor is member of Moscow regional Bar association. He is currently focused on implementation of the ECtHR judgements regarding violations of the European Convention on Human Rights in the North Caucuses.
Daria Boyarchuk, Lawyer
Daria is a cum laude graduate of University of California with an Honors degree in Political Science and French. In 2008, she received joint degrees in common and civil law from McGill University. Previously, Ms. Boyarchuk held a judicial clerkship with the Special Court for Sierra Leone and worked as a research assistant with the Former Prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia and international law professors at McGill University on some of the leading cases litigated before the international criminal tribunals.
Galina Sergeeva, Grants and Finance Manager
Galina's educational background is in International Relations, in which she earned a BA from the University of Mississippi, and in Urban Planning, in which she received her Master's degree from the University of Minnesota. Having previously worked in several non-profit organizations, Galina has experience in non-profit financial management and administrative support.
Olga Ezhova, Moscow Office Manager/Legal Assistant
Olga Ezhova graduated from the Kazan State Pedagogical University with a degree from the Russian Philological Department. She also holds a certificate from the Fifth International Summer School for Human Rights, organized in Moscow (2005) and a certificate from the Summer 2007 International Human Rights School held in Warsaw, Poland.
Lyudmila Polshikova, Legal Assistant
Lyudmila Polshikova holds a PhD in Literary Theory from the Russian State University for the Humanities (RSUH). She previously worked as a lecturer in Literature. She has authored a series of articles on the Literary Theory. Lyudmila has written numerous book reviews for Òhe Moscow Times. She holds a certificate from the Summer 2008 International Human Rights School held in Warsaw, Poland.
Julia Dilmukhambetova, Legal Assistant
Julia has a degree of Master of Arts in Theory and Practice of Human Rights from Essex University, UK. Julia worked previosly as project coordinator with the International Organisation for Migration in Kazakhstan. She also has experience of working with different organisations within UN system (UNV, UNDP, UNIFEM).
Pravovaia Initsiativa (Ingushetia)
Arsen Sakalov, Coordinator
Arsen Sakalov is the founder and director of Pravovaia Initsiativa. He worked for four years as a research consultant for Human Rights Watch in Ingushetia, and previously worked as a schoolteacher. He holds a certificate from the Winter 2002 International Human Rights School held in Warsaw, Poland. In 2005 Arsen received the Swedish Per Anger Prize.
Tanzila Arsamakova, Research Assistant
Tanzila Arsamakova has worked as research assistant for Pravovaia Initsiativa since February 2002. She graduated from the Moscow State Press Univerisity. She holds a certificate from the International Helsinki Federation’s Winter School, held in Moscow in February 2004, and a certificate from the Summer 2007 International Human Rights School held in Warsaw, Poland.
Farida Chemurziyeva,Legal Assistant
Farida Chemurziyeva has worked with Pravovaia Initsiativa since 2009. Farida graduated from the Pyatigorsk State Linguistic University with a degree from the English Philological Department. She also worked as the school teacher.
Dokka Itslaev, Part-time Researcher
Dokka Itslaev is the director of the Urus-Martan (Chechnya) branch of the human rights organization Memorial. He has worked with Pravovaia Initsiativa part time since April 2003 and assists in maintaining contacts with clients in several regions of Chechnya and also drafts legal documents for local courts and the European Court of Human Rights. |
