Russia in the Council of Europe: A Difficult Relationship

This short introduction presents some background facts and policy dilemmas concerning the admission, membership, and expulsion of the Russian Federation from the Council of Europe, with a special emphasis on the European Convention on Human Rights. It then introduces the six articles that compose this special issue of Russian Politics. Finally, it summarizes the process by which these articles came to be gathered together – a two-day workshop funded by PluriCourts and organized by Geir Flikke and Jeffrey Kahn.