Ivan Pavlov (lawyer)

Ivan Y. Pavlov (Иван Юрьевич Павлов, born 1971 in St. Petersburg, Soviet Union) is a Russian lawyer and open government activist. Participated in development of the Russian federal and regional freedom of information legislation. Specializes in protecting the right to access to governmental information in Russia, and defending citizens from ungrounded accusations of disclosing state secrets, high treason, and espionage. Also focuses on raising public awareness regarding the need for modern legislation on state secrets and the use of current legislation as a means of repression.

In 1997, Pavlov received his J.D. degree from St. Petersburg State University, and was admitted to the Russian defense bar. Pavlov received his Candidate of Law Science degree (Ph.D.) in 2009 from the Institute of State and Law, Russian Academy of Sciences.

From 1998-2004, Ivan Pavlov headed the Environmental Human Rights Center Bellona (St.-Petersburg, Russia).

In 2004, Ivan Pavlov founded the Freedom of Information Foundation (FIF). For ten years, FIF rendered legal assistance to citizens and organizations, defending their rights to information access. FIF specialists also audited government bodies' official websites for compliance with actual FOI legislation requirements.

In 2014, FIF was included in the state register of "foreign agent" NGOs. After a series of court hearings when Ivan Pavlov and other lawyers of the FIF contested the "foreign agent" status, the Freedom of Information Foundation formally suspended its activities. However, the work has not ceased. Several ex-FIF staff members, leading by Pavlov, are now joined by Team 29, the only Russian non-governmental initiative performing professional defense of the citizens’ right to freely look for, receive, transmit, produce, and distribute information by legal means. Team 29 is working in a new format for Russia without creating a legal entity – as a free partnership of lawyers, journalists, and civil activists.

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