Hope is on Our Side
Human rights activist and lawyer Nadezhda Lvovna Kutepova, head of the Russian anti-nuclear movement, is fighting together with her NGO Planet of Hopes against one of the biggest nuclear facility operators. Since a concealed nuclear meltdown in the 1950s, the nuclear factory Mayak in the southern Urals contaminates people and environment. With Nadezhda’s lawsuits in front of the European Court of Human Rights, the fight against the atomic power lobby in Russia is gaining momentum. If she and her mandates win the trials, the fates of thousands of people of this region could change for the better, and the improvement of human rights in Russia would progress. But there are high risks for Nadezhka, because the nuclear industry is supported by the Kreml, and Mayak is one of the biggest and most profitable nuclear factories with international financial connections. On 21th November 2012 two new laws came into effect, that force human rights and environmental activists, to publicly acknowledge their status as „foreign agents“. Furthermore, they could risk many years in prison, if their connections to international organisations are deemed a „threat to national security“. To keep her freedom and accomplish her mission, Nadezhda has to face her enemy step by step, like a game of chess. Will she stay true to her principles and therefore risk criminalization, or will she give in to the repressing state? The film shows exciting political and social developments of Russia, which is at the crossroads between democracy and totalitarianism.