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Citizen’s Watch organizers like Pustintsev and Rodionov readily admit that the
average citizen has yet to witness any significant change in the work of the militia, and
that it will take a long time and a lot of work to bring change to this level. Given the
many problems facing Russian law enforcement, it would be unrealistic to expect
otherwise. As Boris Pustintsev remarked, “we work now for the good of our
grandchildren…at best.”
Center for Justice Assistance: Moscow and Nizhniy Novgorod
The Center for Justice Assistance (Tsentr Sodeystviya Pravosudiyu, hereafter
CJA), even more than Citizen’s Watch, has positioned itself as an NGO working
cooperatively with the state to improve the rule of law. Their web-site describes their
work as seeking “to improve the administration of justice and increase collaboration
among criminal justice agencies” by working “in partnership with government agencies
and nongovernmental organizations to design and implement projects that test
innovations in the justice system.” CJA is part of the Information for Democracy
(INDEM) Foundation, headed by former Yeltsin advisor Georgiy Satarov.
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CJA has multiple projects in the rule of law area, including with Russian law
enforcement. Their work is marked by close collaboration with reformist elements
within the law enforcement and legal community at both the national and regional level.
They have conducted several experiments in Nizhniy Novgorod that are intended to
demonstrate that progressive legal reforms can serve the interests of both state agencies
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CJA’s website is at: http://www.cja.ru/pages/index2.htm
Convention