Svetlana Anokhina's Biography

Profile of Svetlana Anokhina

Svetlana Anokhina is a prominent women's human rights defender and journalist from Dagestan.

She is the editor-in-chief of Daptar, an online media outlet in the North Caucasus that focuses on women’s rights.

Russia's North Caucasus is a Muslim-majority region straddling Eastern Europe and Asia.

In 2020, she co-founded "Marem", a volunteer initiative that assists women facing the threat of domestic violence or death in Dagestan and other North Caucasus republics. "Marem" provides a range of services, including organising evacuations, finding temporary accommodation, and providing legal and psychological support to victims.

Anokhina left Russia in 2021, ten days after Chechen and Dagestani law enforcement raided her women's shelter in Makhachkala. She has been living outside of Russia for over three years.

In April 2023, the Investigative Committee of the Russian Federation in Makhachkala, Dagestan, launched a criminal case against Anokhina. She is being accused of violating Article 207.3 of the Russian Criminal Code for “public dissemination of deliberately false information about the use of the Russian Armed Forces” in relation to her Instagram posts regarding the Russian invasion of Ukraine. If convicted, she could face up to three years in prison. Although a criminal case has been instituted, Anokhina has not received any official documents about the charges.

In April 2022, law enforcement officials visited Anokhina's 93-year-old mother in Makhachkala. They showed her printouts of Anokhina’s Instagram posts and forced her to sign documents, which Anokhina believes was an attempt to confirm the ownership of her social media accounts. In September 2024, police visited Anokhina’s now 95-year-old mother again to take a saliva sample, which she believes is an attempt to intimidate her.

The Tverskoi Court of Moscow banned Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, in March 2022 due to alleged extremist activities.

She was included in the BBC's list of 100 inspiring and influential women from around the world for 2024.