"No One Should be Alone..."

The human rights project OVD-Info was created in 2011 to help those detained at protests. It currently has more than five thousand volunteers. They not only process requests from people participating in mass protests, but also perform other tasks: decipher audio recordings, search for information, edit and translate texts, provide IT support and design.

D. ​​[name withheld for security reasons] has been working as an OVD-Info volunteer for six years. Drafting appeals to the ECHR, staff duty during large protests, and appeals are her usual to-do list.

According to the volunteer, it is important for her to engage in activities that are useful to other people: “If I didn’t do this, it would be worse for me.”

The most difficult time for D. is the emergency mode during large-scale protests, which in the internal language of OVD-Info is called “headquarters”.

"No matter how hard you try to take care of yourself, you can't. But perhaps the headquarters are what pulled me out when the war started. Because you have no time to think about yourself, it's easier for you to sit and cry because of other people [who were detained]."

In 2022, a police officer detained N. when she was hanging posters with anti-war slogans around St. Petersburg. N. is over 55 years old [her exact age is not given for security reasons], she sells books, and believes that "the city should speak" - she helps with this with her graffiti and stickers.

From the police department, N. called the OVD-Info hotline and a project advocate came to the department, helped the woman and even later managed to get the fine reduced.

Volunteer D. has firmly decided to stay in Russia, in order to help those who need help the most: "Who among us hasn't thought about leaving? But I think I'm not that old yet, I can clearly live to see better times."

And N. describes what's happening this way: "It's not just a time for small deeds, but for things that are completely sealed in asphalt." The most important thing for a woman now is to maintain her sense of self-worth and maintain ties with loved ones. And also "to do something beautiful, peaceful and beloved, if there is such an opportunity."

More stories about the lives of OVD-Info volunteers can be found (in Russian) at New Tab.

Translated from Bumaga summary.