Организация юридических консультаций для беженцев и вынужденных переселенцев в городах и регионах России. Материалы первого семинара. Право-защитный центр “Мемориал”, Нарушение международных норм и российского законодатель-ства в отношении прав беженцев и вынужденных переселенцев. Анализ регионального законода-тельства и нормотворчества. Материалы третьего семинара, прове-денного Правозащитным центром “Мемориал”, Состояние административной и судебной практики по вопросам, связанным с положением бежен-цев и вынужденных переселен- цев. Материалы девятого семина-ра, проведенного Правозащитным центром “Мемориал” по програм-ме “Миграция и Право” (review)

685 Ab Imperio, 2/2004 William R. SPIEGELBERGER Организация юридических консультаций для беженцев и вынужденных переселенцев в городах и регионах России. Мате- риалы первого семинара. Право- защитный центр “Мемориал”. Москва: Звенья, 1997. 183 с. ISBN: 5-7870-009-9. Нарушение международных норм и российского законодатель- ства в отношении прав беженцев и вынужденных переселенцев. Анализ регионального законода- тельства и нормотворчества. Ма- териалы третьего семинара, прове- денного Правозащитным центром “Мемориал”. Москва: Звенья, 1998. 223 с. ISBN: 5-7870-0019-6. Состояние административной и судебной практики по вопросам, связанным с положением бежен- цев и вынужденных переселен- цев. Материалы девятого семина- ра, проведенного Правозащитным центром “Мемориал” по програм- ме “Миграция и Право”. Москва, 2001. 152 с. ISBN: 5-93439-044-9. These three books are devoted to a problem of considerable concern , for different reasons, to both the Russian Federation and human rights advocates, namely: the legal status and treatment of refugees and displaced persons within the Russian Federation. As a result of the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 and, more recently, of the upsurge of various independence movements within the Russian Federation, Russia has experienced a considerable influx of both “refugees” and “displaced persons.” Although both terms denote dislocated persons, they differ in certain fundamental legal and practical respects. Under the existing legislative regime, the term “refugee” (беженец) refers to non-Russian citizens who find themselves outside the country of their citizenship because of a “fully justified threat” of persecution on the basis of their race, religion, citizenship , nationality, membership in a group, or political opinion, and who, in light of that threat, are unable or unwilling to avail themselves of the 8 SeeAdler. The Gulag Survivor and Victims of Soviet Terror: The Story of the Memorial Movement. Westport, CN, 1993 and Leona Toker. Return from the Archipelago: Narratives of Gulag Survivors. Bloomington, IN, 2000. on, but needs more research if we are in fact to determine the impact and nature of the Gulag on Soviet society .8 The Spravochnik offers a fine guide to commence that research. 686 Рецензии/Reviews protections available in their country of citizenship.1 The vast majority are nationals of other CIS states; the rest come primarily from Africa and Afghanistan . Many do not speak Russian . None, by definition, enjoys the right of Russian citizens to remain indefinitely within the Russian Federation . Their first priority is usually to gain the right to remain in Russia, even if only temporarily, until they can make some adequate provision for their future. “Displaced persons” (вынужденные переселенцы), on the other hand, are defined as citizens of the Russian Federation who have left their place of residence because they or their families were persecuted or faced a “real threat” of persecution on the basis of their race, nationality, religion, language, membership in a social group, or political opinion.2 Displaced persons thus enjoy all the rights and privileges afforded to them as Russian citizens, most notably the right to remain within the Russian Federation. The vast majority speak Russian. More than anything else, they need help to reestablish themselves economically and socially in their new surroundings . Temporary housing is often their first concern. The three books under discussion examine, in theory and practice, the matrix of laws and administrative procedures on the federal, regional, and municipal levels that have been implemented in response to the distinct problems posed by, and facing, refugees and displaced persons in Russia. They comprise materials presented at three seminars held between 1997 and 2000 under the auspices of the Russian human rights organization “Memorial,” a non-governmental body whose stated purpose is to make legal assistance accessible to every refugee and displaced person in Russia and to combat locally enacted laws that violate the Russian Constitution and Russian federal legislation.All three books contain extensive appendices with the full texts of relevant treaties, laws, and several judicial decisions. The thrust of all three books is that progress has been made, but much remains to be done to bring Russian legal practice in line with international norms and Russia’s obligations under applicable international treaties and accords. Any analysis of the Russian legal framework must begin with Russia’s relevant international obligations. In 1993 Russia acceded to the 1951 Geneva Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and to the related 1967 Protocol, which expanded the 1 See Article 1(1) of the Federal Law on Refugees, No. 4530-1, of 19 February 1993 (as amended) [Federal’nyi zakon “O vynuzhdennykh pereselentsakh”]. 2 Article 1(1) of the Federal Law on Displaced Persons No. 202-F3 of 20 December 1995 (as amended). [Federal’nyi zakon “O bezhentsakh”]. 687 Ab Imperio, 2/2004 scope of the Geneva Convention to include persons who became refugees after 1951. The Convention and Protocol...