Russia is reviving Soviet-era tactics such as forced psychiatric treatment to silence dissenters and anti-war voices in an increasingly repressive environment, according to a United Nations expert.

Rights groups say President Vladimir Putin's government has lurched further into authoritarianism since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, but Moscow denies that and accuses the West of a smear campaign.

A report this month by Mariana Katzarova, the UN's special rapporteur on rights in Russia, found that state-sponsored repression was escalating and becoming systematic via national security laws and other measures.

"Punitive psychiatry has returned as a tool against anti-war voices," Ms Katzarova told reporters in Geneva on Monday.

Putin approved Novichok poisoining of former Russia

See Full Page