VdP Assessment
Brief overview — mid-2026
The sculpture responds to the indicators below: when freedoms are voted down, the figure erodes further — exposing the wealth inside the wound.
The project's assessment on a 10-light scale. Agree or disagree — vote with the arrows; the sculpture listens.
Vote and watch the sculpture: it crumbles when freedoms fall, and mends when they rise. Your voice is stored on this device.
Indicator 01
International monitoring bodies note limited independence of the judiciary from the executive branch. The number of individuals classified by monitors as political prisoners exceeded 1,200 by the end of 2025, up from around 800 a year earlier. Russia has not been a member of the Council of Europe since 2022 and does not implement judgments of the European Court of Human Rights.
Indicator 02
Restrictions on freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and association intensified during 2025, with legislation increasingly applied against critical voices. By the end of 2025, close to 300 foreign and international organizations had been designated "undesirable," and cooperation with them carries criminal liability. The scope of "foreign agent" legislation continues to expand.
Indicator 03
Between February 2022 and September 2025, at least 1,299 individuals faced criminal prosecution under provisions concerning "false information" about or "discreditation" of the armed forces; over 370 remained imprisoned. Most independent media operate from outside the country; public assemblies remain subject to broad restrictions.
Indicator 04
Internal movement is generally unrestricted. Exit limitations apply to certain categories: persons entered in the electronic conscription register after receiving a summons, some individuals designated as "foreign agents," and many categories of state employees. Travel to the EU is complicated by the suspension of the visa facilitation agreement and limited direct transport links.
Indicator 05
State capacity for traffic filtering has matured considerably. Under the 2019 "Sovereign Internet" framework, state-managed deep packet inspection equipment (TSPU) is installed across virtually all major providers, enabling centralized, near-real-time filtering nationwide. By early 2026, 469 VPN services and the most widely used VPN protocols had been blocked; voice calls on Telegram and WhatsApp were restricted in August 2025, followed by direct restrictions on Telegram in 2026. Major foreign platforms (YouTube, Facebook, Instagram) are blocked or throttled, several hundred media domains are inaccessible, and a "whitelist" access model limited to approved services is being tested in Moscow. State-backed domestic alternatives are promoted as replacements.
Assessment reflects the project's reading of publicly available monitoring data as of mid-2026. Community voting is a prototype: votes are stored in your browser.