It will be organized by the Free Russia Forum, the largest independent platform of the Russian opposition. The main goal of the conference: to develop ways to counteract Putin’s military machine in Ukraine and unite all healthy forces for a common goal – an early victory of Ukraine in the war.
Conference participants will also discuss assistance to political migrants and Ukrainian refugees and the experience of anti-war initiatives. And, of course, participants will consider it important to develop realistic scenarios for restoring freedom and democracy in Russia after its defeat in the war.
More than 150 significant politicians and public figures from 26 countries will attend the conference. Among them: Garry Kasparov – politician, the Head of the Council of the Human Rights Foundation, co-founder of the Free Russia Forum; Gennady Gudkov – politician, member of the State Duma from 2001–2012; Ivan Tyutrin – politician, co-founder of the Free Russia Forum; Evgeny Chichvarkin – entrepreneur; Alfred Koch – publicist, Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation (1997); Alicia Kearns – Chairman of the Russian parliament.); Alicia Kearns – the Chairman of the UK Parliamentary Committee on Foreign Affairs; Ivars Iyabs – Member of the European Parliament; Daniel Fried – Sanctions Coordinator at the US Department of State (2013–2017); Vladislav Inozemtsev – economist, Director of the Center for Postindustrial Society Studies; Taras Berezovets – officer in the AFU, political scientist, journalist.
“The 4th Anti-War Conference this time will be held in Riga as one of the important political centers of Europe, in Latvia as a country with a firm position to support Ukraine. This conference is important to unite the efforts of all healthy forces that want to rid Europe of Putin’s fascism and the threat of aggression. Once and for all. For good,” says Garry Kasparov.
“Now is not the time for a vague political position. On February 24, 2022, everything changed dramatically, including in the Russian opposition. We, the Free Russia Forum, were considered radicals, but this war proved our historical correctness in assessing the development of Putin’s dictatorship. The position of the FRF has become the main opposition discourse today. It reads simply: “Victory to Ukraine! Freedom to Russia!”. It is under this slogan we held a protest rally in front of the Russian embassy in Riga on February 25,” said Ivan Tyutrin.
March 24, the 4th Anti-War Conference will begin in private at the Latvian National Library. The first day will be devoted to work in closed groups and the development of concepts and solutions. On March 25, there will be panel discussions. The topics of the discussions are varied:
Z-ideology as the basis of aggression. Who and how is involved in its implementation.
Exodus. Social and political movement abroad in conditions of mass exodus from the Russian Federation. What forms will it take?
Russian aggression and the global world in 2023.
Tribunal and transitional justice. New steps in 2023.
The Kremlin’s policy of circumventing sanctions. How to strengthen the global democratic alliance?
The collapse of Russian aggression and Ukraine’s victory. Implications for Russia’s domestic and foreign policy.
For reference
The Free Russia Forum is the largest platform of the Russian opposition, founded in 2016 in Vilnius by Russian politicians Garry Kasparov and Ivan Tyutrin.
Since its founding, the Free Russia Forum has brought together representatives of the Russian public, living both in Russia and abroad, who have taken an uncompromising stance against Putin’s regime: advocating for the complete dismantling of Putin’s dictatorship, restoration of the territorial integrity of Ukraine and liberation of all Russian-occupied territories.
Permanent participants of the Forum are leading Russian politicians, experts, journalists, publicists and representatives of culture.
In addition to representatives of the Russian opposition, politicians, public figures, and journalists from Ukraine, the United States, Great Britain, and the European Union participate in Free Russia Forum events. There have been 11 Free Russia Forums since 2016, and three anti-war conferences have been held in Vilnius under the auspices of the FSR since the start of Russia’s full-scale military invasion of Ukraine.
In 2023, the Russian General Prosecutor’s Office recognized the Free Russia Forum as an “undesirable organization.
