Grigory Sergeyevich Shvedov (Григорий Сергеевич Шведов, born 14 October 1976) is a

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

human rights Human rights are Morality, moral principles or Social norm, normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for ce ...

activist and journalist, known for his efforts in promoting human rights in

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

, most notably in the

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, mainly comprising Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and parts of Southern Russia. The Caucasus Mountains, including the Greater Caucasus range, have historically ...

region. He is currently the editor-in-chief of the

Caucasian Knot Caucasian Knot (Russian: Кавказский узел, ''Kavkazkii Uzel'') is an online news site that covers the Caucasus region in English and Russian. It was established in 2001 and Grigory Shvedov is the editor-in-chief.

(Кавказский узел), an online news medium established to provide unbiased information regarding

political oppression Political repression is the act of a state entity controlling a citizenry by force for political reasons, particularly for the purpose of restricting or preventing the citizenry's ability to take part in the political life of a society, thereby ...

violations, and the ongoing violent conflict throughout the region. In 2012, he received the

Geuzenpenning The Geuzenpenning ('Beggar Medal') is a Dutch award given to persons or organizations who have fought for democracy and against dictatorship, racism and discrimination. It has been awarded annually since 1987 in the city of Vlaardingen. The Geuzen ...

for his efforts.

Career

Memorial International

Initially, before the creation of the Caucasian Knot, Shvedov worked with the international societ
Memorial
a group that focuses on researching and educating people on past political oppression, the consequences, and how it relates to their world today. The group initially started in 1989 in Moscow by initiating protests against human rights violations. Ten years later Shvedov began his work with Memorial. From 2001-2004 he conducted regional and inter-regional projects that focused on educating and informing the people on regional issues. From 2002-2006 he was a supervisor of 70 regional branches across Russia and other FSU countries. He still serves as a board member, and is the Director of the MEMO.RU Information Agency.

Caucasian Knot

Currently Shvedov is the Editor-in-Chief of the

, an independent information medium that was initially under the auspices of Memorial International. The site was initially founded in 2001 by Memorial, the English version came into operation beginning in August 2003, and in 2007 it became an independent site. Initially, Memorial founded the site as an information resource dedicated to the Caucasus states, since then they have transformed themselves into a professional news source. Shvedov has a simple goal for the site: Caucasian Knot is more than a news broadcasting company. In Russia and the surrounding regions, reporting on crime and corruption can be dangerous to those involved. However, through the use of free Google applications that allow the 50 or so journalists to stay connected and report remotely from anywhere, the government cannot come knocking on the door, "We don't have a door, he explained. We don't have a newsroom at all." This freedom not only allows the site to illuminate issues that officials may wish to keep in the dark, it also serves as a platform for discussion to those on the ground level, readers are encouraged to share and report on events going on in their location as well as interact with others on the site. Shvedov states that:

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shvedov, Gregory Living people 1976 births Russian human rights activists People listed in Russia as foreign agents