A group of human rights activists, dissidents and former political prisoners acquired office space in which to work.
The group soon found financial and moral support from the West, including the National Endowment for Democracy, Phare, and various private foundations.
After receiving a series of small grants, the Center gradually emerged as a focal point for human rights work in 1993.
With generous backing from several private foundations and the Institutional Partnership Program of the USAID Bureau for Europe and the New Independent States, ADF helped MRCHR reach beyond Moscow to become a nationwide organization, with positive results for the cause of increasing human rights awareness and protection in Russia."
Advisory Board of the Center includes Vyacheslav Bakhmin, Elena Bonner, Valeriy Borschov, Sergei Kovalev and Anatoly Pristavkin [5]