•HRES 455 IH 
which ‘‘political diversity and the multi-party system shall 
be recognized’’; 
Whereas the Constitution of the Russian Federation states 
that ‘‘fundamental human rights and freedoms are in-
alienable’’, and that everyone shall have the right to 
‘‘life’’, ‘‘freedom and personal immunity’’, ‘‘association’’, 
‘‘freedom of ideas and speech’’, as well as the right to 
‘‘assemble peacefully’’; 
Whereas the Russian Federation has continuously and in-
creasingly violated the fundamental human rights and 
freedoms enshrined in the Constitution of the Russian 
Federation as well as international law which it is obli-
gated to uphold; 
Whereas Vladimir Putin orchestrated a sham plebiscite in 
July 2020, in a blatant attempt to maintain power and 
control until at least 2036, that violated the Constitution 
of the Russian Federation and OSCE commitments and 
was widely condemned by international rules-based orga-
nizations; 
Whereas Vladimir Putin’s regime has used the Russian Fed-
eration’s so-called ‘‘Foreign Agent Law’’ to eliminate and 
destroy the free and independent media space as well as 
target civil society and dissenting voices in the Russian 
Federation; 
Whereas the Russian Federation has enacted and the Rus-
sian Duma is considering expanding a law criminalizing 
engagement with so-called ‘‘undesirable foreign organiza-
tions’’, the real purpose of which is to deny Russians 
their basic rights to freedom of association and expres-
sion, which includes the ability to see, receive, and impart 
information, including across borders; 
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Whereas Vladimir Putin has enriched himself and his net-
work of associates at the expense of the Russian taxpayer 
through embezzlement, criminal schemes, and the misuse 
of western financial systems; 
Whereas the Kremlin and its agents have exported corruption 
and malign influence activities to weaken democratic in-
stitutions and foment conflict beyond its borders; 
Whereas February 26, 2021, marked the seventh year since 
the Russian Federation’s assault on the sovereign terri-
torial integrity of the Republic of Ukraine by invading 
and illegally occupying the Donbass and Crimea; 
Whereas domestically, the Russian Federation has continued 
a sustained crackdown on the freedoms of Russian citi-
zens and persecuted over 12,000 political opposition lead-
ers, human rights defenders, civil society activists, and 
journalists; 
Whereas agents of the Russian Federation have repeatedly 
and consistently utilized political assassinations and 
poisonings globally to silence dissent and the opposition, 
and Russian authorities refused or failed to investigate 
properly these cases; 
Whereas February 27, 2021, marked the sixth anniversary of 
the assassination of Russian opposition leader Boris 
Nemtsov; 
Whereas the OSCE report on the investigation of the assas-
sination of Boris Nemtsov concluded in February 2020 
that ‘‘the main issue for addressing impunity is not the 
capabilities of Russian law enforcement, but political 
will’’; 
Whereas leading Russian opposition figure and anti-corrup-
tion activist Alexey Navalny has exposed numerous cases 
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of corruption by Russian politicians and businesses, in-
cluding most recently Putin’s corrupt ownership of a lux-
urious palace located on the Black Sea; 
Whereas Alexey Navalny has continually faced political perse-
cution, harassment, and threats in response to his polit-
ical activities; 
Whereas Alexey Navalny collapsed during an August 2020 
flight from Tomsk to Moscow, requiring him to receive 
medical assistance first in Omsk and then in Germany 
where doctors assessed that he had been exposed to the 
Russian-made chemical weapon called Novichok; 
Whereas the use of chemical weapons under any circum-
stances constitutes a reprehensible crime under inter-
national law, in particular under the Chemical Weapons 
Convention; 
Whereas the Deputy Chief Physician at Omsk Emergency 
Hospital No. 1 who treated Alexey Navalny after his poi-
soning and who was in charge of the department that 
oversaw Alexey Navalny’s care and recovery, died unex-
pectedly on February 4, 2021; 
Whereas the head of trauma and orthopedics department at 
Omsk Emergency Hospital No. 1, who also treated 
Navalny, died on March 26, 2021; 
Whereas the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical 
Weapons, whose technical assistance had been requested 
by the Government of Germany, confirmed that Alexey 
Navalny was indeed poisoned by the nerve agent 
Novichok; 
Whereas a joint investigation by Bellingcat and The Insider, 
in cooperation with Der Spiegel and CNN, reported on 
the Russian security services’ involvement in Russia’s 
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chemical weapons program, which targeted Alexey 
Navalny; 
Whereas prominent political activist Vladimir Kara-Murza 
has been targeted twice by the Kremlin via similar 
poisonings conducted by the Russian Federation; 
Whereas the Office of the Director of National Intelligence 
assessed in the 2021 Annual Threat Assessment Unclas-
sified Report that the Russian Federal Security Service 
(FSB) organized the assassination of a Chechen sepa-
ratist in a Berlin park in 2019 and tried to kill Alexey 
Navalny with a fourth-generation chemical agent; 
Whereas following his recovery in Germany, Alexey Navalny 
returned to the Russian Federation on January 17, 
2021, where he was immediately detained for violating 
his parole from a 2014 conviction that the European 
Court of Human Rights had determined to be ‘‘arbitrary 
and manifestly unreasonable’’; 
Whereas, on February 2, 2021, in hastily convened pro-
ceedings that were an affront to due process, Alexey 
Navalny had his probation revoked and was sentenced to 
roughly two and a half years in prison for violating his 
parole while in Germany in a coma recovering from the 
Kremlin-led assassination attempt; 
Whereas surrounding Alexey Navalny’s sentencing, hundreds 
of thousands of Russian citizens across the country 
braved freezing temperatures to show support for 
Navalny, constituting the largest protests in decades in 
which they called President Putin a ‘‘thief’’ and de-
manded Navalny’s release; 
Whereas during these peaceful demonstrations Russian au-
thorities used harsh physical punishment and repression 
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tactics, and arbitrarily detained over 12,000 peaceful pro-
testers and journalists; 
Whereas in Moscow and Saint Petersburg, peaceful protesters 
have been held in overflowing detention centers, in many 
cases overnight with little to no access to food, water, 
proper sanitation, and no COVID–19 precautions; 
Whereas following Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty’s live 
coverage of Alexey Navalny’s return to Russia, his arrest 
and the subsequent protests, the Putin regime acceler-
ated its crackdown on RFE/RL’s Russia operations, lev-
ying large fines and court actions against it for refusing 
to abide by a discriminatory administrative order to 
prominently label every individual web article, social 
media post, video and radio broadcast with a ‘‘foreign 
agent’’ label in an attempt to undermine RFE/RL’s rep-
utation for independence and intimidate RFE/RL’s large 
audience in Russia; 
Whereas Russians, particularly Russian youth, have used so-
cial media to debunk state-sponsored disinformation and 
encourage peaceful demonstrations, leading to a renewed 
crackdown against social media by Russian authorities; 
Whereas Russia expelled diplomats from Poland, Germany, 
and Sweden on February 8, 2021, after they observed 
pro-Navalny protests; 
Whereas the European Parliament issued a Joint Motion for 
a Resolution on January 20, 2021, calling for the imme-
diate release of Alexey Navalny and all other individuals 
detained in relation to his return to Russia and con-
demning Russian authorities’ use of chemical nerve 
agents against its own citizens and continued attacks on 
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dissidents and civil society through attempts to silence 
any opposition; 
Whereas the January 20, 2021, European Parliament resolu-
tion also calls on the EU and its Member States to ex-
pand sanctions against Russia and ‘‘to critically review 
cooperation with Russia in various foreign policy plat-
forms and on projects such as Nord Stream 2, the com-
pletion of which the EU must stop immediately’’, fol-
lowing Navalny’s wrongful imprisonment; 
Whereas the European Court of Human Rights has on Feb-
ruary 16, 2021, called for the ‘‘immediate’’ release of 
Alexey Navalny by the Russian authorities under Rule 39 
of the Rules of Court; 
Whereas the Biden administration imposed costs for harmful 
foreign activities by the Government of the Russian Fed-
eration, including imposing additional sanctions on enti-
ties supporting Russian malign influence activities, expel-
ling Russian diplomats, and formally attributing the Rus-
sian Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) as the perpe-
trator of the SolarWinds cyber attack; 
Whereas Amnesty International on February 10, 2021, 
issued a joint letter with 84 other human rights organiza-
tions from around the world calling on the United Na-
tions Human Rights Council to respond to the human 
rights abuses being committed by authorities in Russia 
and the recent crackdown on dissent and voices of inde-
pendent civil society in the Russian Federation that vio-
lates citizens’ rights to freedoms of expression, associa-
tion, and assembly; 
Whereas, on March 13, 2021, the Kremlin security services 
entered a Congress of elected municipal deputies and ar-
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rested nearly 200 people for the crime of not adhering to 
the Kremlin’s command of how to interact with local con-
stituents; 
Whereas some of those charged include elected leaders such 
as Ilya Yashin and Yulia Galyamina, pro-democracy re-
formers Andrey Pivovarov and Anastasia Burakova, and 
well-known politician Vladimir Kara-Murza; 
Whereas Mr. Navalny’s press secretary, Kira Yarmysh, and 
activist Lyubov Sobol, have continually faced political 
persecution for their actions in support of Alexey 
Navalny and the democratic movement in Russia; 
Whereas Alexey Navalny began a twenty-four day hunger 
strike on March 31, 2021, in an attempt to receive ap-
propriate medical attention, which he ended after he was 
transferred to a prison hospital due to his deteriorating 
health condition; 
Whereas, on April 16, 2021, the Kremlin designated Alexey 
Navalny’s Anti-Corruption Foundation and his regional 
political headquarters as ‘‘extremist groups’’, effectively 
liquidating the organization in Russia and, following this 
designation, legislation has been introduced that would 
prohibit any person who has ever worked, volunteered, or 
donated to ‘‘extremist’’ organizations from running in 
elections for several years; 
Whereas, on September 19, 2021, the Russian Federation 
will hold its parliamentary elections, ahead of which the 
Kremlin has introduced policies that might prohibit oppo-
sition leaders from participating in the election; 
Whereas, on April 24, 2021, Alexey Navalny’s doctors pub-
lished an open letter with detailed analysis of his condi-
tion, concluding that there is a grave danger to his health 
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and that he is not receiving adequate treatment and 
should be allowed to receive independent medical inspec-
tion; 
Whereas more than 200 world-renowned writers, historians, 
artists, as well as Russian philanthropy leaders, econo-
mists, and medical professionals have written open letters 
calling on Vladimir Putin to ensure Alexey Navalny’s ac-
cess to proper medical treatment; 
Whereas, on April 23, 2021, the independent media outlet 
Meduza, which has been providing detailed coverage of 
Alexey Navalny’s investigations, activism, persecution, 
and protests in his support, and which published the 
open letter of over 70 Russian charity leaders and philan-
thropists demanding Alexey Navalny be granted access to 
qualified medical care, was designated by the Government 
of the Russian Federation as a ‘‘foreign agent media’’, in 
a clear attempt to undermine its ability to retain and en-
gage with its readers and supporters and to limit the 
Russian citizens’ access to objective journalism; 
Whereas bipartisan members of the United States House of 
Representatives and Senate have condemned the blatant 
poisoning of Alexey Navalny by Russian authorities; 
Whereas the Chair and Ranking Member of the House For-
eign Affairs Committee transmitted letters to the execu-
tive branch triggering a mandatory investigation into 
Russia’s use of chemical weapons in the poisoning of 
Alexey Navalny, as required under the Chemical and Bio-
logical Weapons Control and Warfare Elimination Act of 
1991; and 
Whereas the United States and its allies and partners must 
stand together with the Russian people and condemn the 
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Russian government’s human rights abuses: Now, there-
fore, be it 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 
(1) recognizes the sacrifices and bravery of the 
Russian people in their struggle for democracy, rule 
of law, and respect for human rights while enduring 
state-sponsored violence and oppression from Rus-
sian authorities; 
(2) remembers the numerous Soviet and Rus-
sian dissidents who have been persecuted and re-
pressed by the authorities; 
(3) condemns the continued human rights viola-
tions committed by Russian authorities against 
peaceful demonstrators, civil society activists, opposi-
tion leaders, students, educators, medical personnel, 
and journalists, among others, and calls for such au-
thorities to halt any further acts of violence against 
its own citizens; 
(4) calls on Russian authorities to remove legal 
restrictions to Russians’ basic rights to freedom of 
association and expression; 
(5) finds the continued detention of Alexey 
Navalny to be baseless and a violation of his funda-
mental due process rights as protected under the 
Russian Constitution and calls for his immediate re-
lease; 
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(6) calls for the immediate release of all polit-
ical prisoners, including those detained in connection 
with the peaceful demonstrations in response to the 
detention of Alexey Navalny; 
(7) calls on the Secretary of State and the Sec-
retary of the Treasury to use their authority under 
the Sergei Magnitsky Rule of Law Accountability 
Act of 2012 (title IV of Public Law 112–208) and 
the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability 
Act (subtitle F of title XII of Public Law 114–328) 
to designate individuals whom they determine upon 
investigation to have been involved in the poisoning 
of Alexey Navalny and Vladimir Kara-Murza, as 
perpetrators, organizers, or masterminds, on the list 
of specially designated nationals and blocked persons 
maintained by the Office of Foreign Assets Control 
of the Department of the Treasury, freezing their 
assets and making them ineligible to receive United 
States visas; 
(8) urges the United States Government to con-
tinue to raise the case and call for the release of 
Alexey Navalny, and all other political prisoners, in 
all of its interactions with the Government of the 
Russian Federation; 
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(9) urges the Russian Federation to imme-
diately halt all production of banned chemical weap-
ons and allow for independent verification by the Or-
ganization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons; 
(10) calls for increased coordination among the 
United States, the European Union, the United 
Kingdom, Canada, and other allies and partners to 
increase the cost for the Russian Federation’s con-
tinued human rights violations; and 
(11) continues to support the aspirations of the 
people of the Russian Federation for a democratic 
future based on human rights, transparency, and the 
rule of law. 
Æ 
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