In 1966, he entered the law faculty at Lomonosov Moscow State University, but was expelled in 1968 for participating in the human rights movement.

Fedotov has represented the President of Russia before the Constitutional Court in cases involving the CPSU, the National Salvation Front, and the introduction of oversight boards on state TV and radio by the Congress of People's Deputies.

Leader of the Yabloko Party Sergei Mitrokhin, politician Vladimir Ryzhkov,[6] as well as historian Andrey Zubov,[7] have all expressed support for the initiative.

Prime Minister of Lithuania Andrius Kubilius has welcomed the Human Rights Council's proposal to recognize the USSR's responsibility for genocide during World War II, describing it as an "attempt to look honestly at country's history and conscience".

[12][13][14][15] Communist Party leader Gennady Zyuganov has expressed Fedotov's personal responsibility for Russia's current troubles, while the Council he heads has been compared to foreign "Russophobic" centers.