Tatiana Moskalkova

Tatyana Nikolayevna Moskalkova (, []; born May 30, 1955 ) is a Russian politician, lawyer, and former law enforcement officer. She served as Russia's Commissioner for Human Rights from 2016 to 2026. Previously she was a deputy of the 5th and 6th State Duma convocations. She is a retired major general in the police of Russia.

Moskalkova is known for her pro-Kremlin stance. She has condemned the Pussy Riot movement as "an attack against morality" and is critical towards the West.

In 2021, Moskalkova's declared income was 13.5 million rubles.

In February 2023, the European Union imposed sanctions on Moskalkova for her support of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and spreading disinformation about Russian filtration camps for Ukrainians. In May 2023, Moskalkova was included in Canada's sanctions list as part of "close associates of the regime" for "human rights violations, including the transfer and custody of Ukrainian children in Russia". She was also added to the United States sanctions list imposed on those involved in "unlawful transfer and unlawful deportation of Ukraine’s children". Since July 2023, she has been under Australian sanctions for her "role in directly or indirectly supporting Russia's illegal and immoral invasion of Ukraine". For similar reasons, Tatyana Moskalkova was included in the sanctions lists of Switzerland, Ukraine, and Japan.

Biography Early life Tatyana Moskalkova (née Nosenko) was born in Vitebsk, Byelorussian SSR, Soviet Union. Her father was an airborne officer, and her mother was a housewife. Her father died when Moskalkova was ten years old, after which the family moved to Moscow.

Since 1972, she has worked as a bookkeeper at the Foreign Legal Collegium, and later as a records manager, senior legal in-house lawyer, and consultant at the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic office for pardons. In 1978, she graduated from the All-Union Correspondence Institute of Law (now Kutafin University). However, she did not fully resign from law enforcement but rather suspended her service, remaining on the ministry's personnel roster. Her party colleagues, including party leader Sergey Mironov, did not support Moskalkova's legislative initiative. Later that year she proposed a draft law on conscription for females together with a group of deputies. In 2015, she suggested renaming the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MVD) to the All-Russian Extraordinary Commission (Cheka) and granting it "corresponding powers to restore order, and ensure the country's tranquility and security".

Commissioner for Human Rights

After Ella Pamfilova's appointment to the office of Chair of the Central Election Commission, the State Duma was tasked with electing a new Commissioner for Human Rights. The candidates nominated by the parliamentary factions were Tatyana Moskalkova (put forward by A Just Russia), Deputy Oleg Smolin (Communist Party), and Senator Sergey Kalashnikov (Liberal Democratic Party). United Russia party, the Federation Council, and President Vladimir Putin did not put forward their own candidates. During the vote on 22 April 2016, Moskalkova received 323 votes, Kalashnikov received 140, and Smolin received 97. After being questioned about the existence of political prisoners, Moskalkova cut the conversation short, making Kanygin get out of the car where the interview was being recorded. The report also lacked information on how many of the complaints resulted in the full restoration of the applicants' rights through her efforts.

In January 2017, Moskalkova's request to retain Article 212.1 of the Criminal Code, which provides for criminal liability for repeated violations of the rules governing the conduct of rallies, was read out during a session of the Constitutional Court of Russia. Moskalkova requested that the article be preserved "taking into account the demands of society". The lawyer for Ildar Dadin (Dadin being the only person convicted under this article at the time) called this statement "a stab in the back to human rights". In the end, the Constitutional Court upheld Article 212.1 of the Criminal Code but limited its application, following which the convicted Dadin was released and fully acquitted.

In 2018, Moskalkova supported State Duma deputy Leonid Slutsky, who was accused of sexually harassing three female journalists. Moskalkova dismissed these accusations as "utterly vile lies".

At Moskalkova's request, the Supreme Court of Russia overturned the decision to deport Ali Feruz. Additionally, Moskalkova requested that the case of Oyub Titiev be transferred from the Chechen police for investigation by a higher police authority.

On 14 June 2018, Moskalkova met with Ombudsman in Ukraine, Liudmyla Denisova, in Moscow. On 15 June 2018, she went for a meeting with Russian citizens held in Ukrainian prisons.

In 2019, Moskalkova supported the claims brought before the Supreme Court by young women from Tolyatti. They were challenging orders from the defence minister and the national guard director that barred women from military service under contract in positions such as sharpshooter, sniper, driver, mechanic, and tank operator, based on sex.

On 1 April 2021, President Vladimir Putin proposed that the State Duma reappoint Tatyana Moskalkova to the office of Commissioner for Human Rights.

In April 2023, Moskalkova was expelled from the European Network of National Human Rights Institutions (ENNHRI) because the Russian NHRI had failed to meet its membership obligations. This marked the first time in the organization's history that a member was expelled. In response, Moskalkova stated that she herself was leaving.

Opinions Moskalkova's appointment as Commissioner for Human Rights drew mixed reactions from human rights activists, who noted her lack of experience in the field of human rights protection, her support for several laws that they believed violated and restricted citizens' rights, as well as a potential conflict of interest stemming from her background with the internal ministry. The new Commissioner was also supported by Andrei Babushkin, a member of the Presidential Council for Civil Society and Human Rights. Leaders of human rights organizations, Svetlana Gannushkina and Valery Borshchyov, spoke positively about their first meeting with Commissioner Moskalkova.

Subsequently, assessments of Moskalkova's work have varied. For example, Zoya Svetova criticized Moskalkova for a 2016 visit to a Moscow pre-trial detention center, during which inmates were unable to pass complaints about conditions to the Commissioner, and the visit itself was accompanied by a crowd of journalists and the creation of feel-good photo ops. Another human rights figure, Lyudmila Alexeyeva, head of the Moscow Helsinki Group, spoke approvingly of Moskalkova's service as Commissioner in 2018.

Awards Order "For Merit to the Fatherland", 4th class (2025) Order of Honour (2006) Gratitude of the Government of the Russian Federation (2014) Honoured Lawyer of Russia