Footage: Yevloev speaking. Suomenlinna, Helsinki, 2008.

Magomed Yevloev, the Ingushetian lawyer who fought for constitutional rights for his people, was killed yesterday in Nazran by the local police forces.

He visited Suomenlinna, Helsinki last summer. Please see the footage on You Tube, linked also here.

Statement on Yevloev

Statement on the killing of Magomed Yevloev

Finnish-Russian Civic Forum, 31.08.2008

The Finnish-Russian Civic Forum is shocked to hear about the killing today of Magomed Yevloev, the publisher of the Ingushetiya.ru website.
Yevloev's main contribution was to defend legality and the constitutional rights of all citizens of his republic. He stood away from the wave of violence raging in Ingushetiya. He was a man of peace in a region plagued by relentless and uncontrollable conflict.

Yevloev did not consider himself a dissident but said that it was only his duty to report events as truthfully as possible. Due to his extraordinary courage, Ingushetians were able to tell the world how flawed the election to the Russian State Duma in Ingushetiya had been.

We remember Magomed Yevloev as a friend after he participated in the second Finnish-Russian Civic Forum in Helsinki in June 2008, speaking to the public and the press about the problems of censorship in today's Russia.

We send our most heartfelt condolences to the family and friends of
Magomed Yevloev.

Helsinki, 31 August 2008

Finnish-Russian Civic Forum

"It was not at all like we were told by the officials."

As my memory card reader does not work, I had to put some photos taken with my telephone. Not good, but that'll do for now.

Ella Kesayeva and Oleg Kozlovsky. Kesayeva's stories on what really happened in Beslan were mind-blowing. I have wondered how these women who were there, who lost a child or children there, how do they cope? And I still do wonder that. (In 2004, in the Beslan school attack 365 people died, half of them children.)


Svetlana Gavrilina and Valentin Gefter. Soldiers' Mothers Committee and Memorial. Among other posts.


Hard talk is hard to listen to. But so so very interesting.


Andrey Babitsky´s (2nd from the right) team getting ready.

From Beslan to Helsinki, Groznyi to Paris. Finrosforum 2008

Bob Amsterdam. Again.

Andrei Babitsky.

Anzor Maskhadov, son of the late President of Itchkeria, Aslan Maskhadov.

Ella Kesayeva, from Mothers of Beslan.

Yuri Schmidt, the lawyer of Nikitin and Pasko. (Who were here last year, by the way.)

Whoa –– what a team!

They are here now.

* * * * *

FINROSFORUM 2008 | Speaker Bios

ROBERT AMSTERDAM (Роберт Амстердам) is Partner at Amsterdam & Peroff, a law firm based in Toronto and London, representing the jailed businessman Mikhail Khodorkovsky, former major shareholder of the YUKOS oil company. Mr Amsterdam is a vocal critic of the policies of the present Russian government, and comments regularly on events in Russia on his blog at www.robertamsterdam.com.

VALENTINA ANUFRIEVA (Валентина Ануфриева) is Vice-Chair of Izvatas, an inter-regional association of the indigenous people of the northern part of Russia's Komi Republic. She has been an active campaigner for the rights of the local people to determine their own future amid growing pressure from the oil and gas industry and the local administration. More information at www.izvatas.ru.

ANDREY BABITSKY (Андрей Бабицкий) is a long-time correspondent for Radio Liberty's Russian service, Radio Svoboda, now based in Prague. He has extensive experience in reporting on the ongoing crisis in the North Caucasus, especially Chechnya, both during and after major combat operations. More on Mr Babitsky's kidnapping and subsequent release in 2000 at www.rferl.org/specials/russia/babitsky.

RUSLAN BADALOV (Руслан Бадалов) is Chair of the Chechen Committee of National Salvation (CCNS), based in the capital of the neighbouring Republic of Ingushetiya, Nazran. Mr Badalov and his organisation has been targeted by the authorities under the draconian legislation against "extremist" activities, and there have been several attempts to close down the organisation. More information at CCNS's website at www.savechechny.narod.ru.

OKSANA CHELYSHEVA (Оксана Челышева) is Deputy Executive Director of the Nizhny Novgorod-based Russian-Chechen Friendship Society, which was refused registration in Russia. The society has since been registered in Helsinki. The organisation is active in protecting the rights of Russia's Chechen minority and promoting interethnic dialogue. Ms Chelysheva's activities span across the wide spectrum of human rights work in today's Russia.

ANDREY DMITRIEV (Андрей Дмитриев) is the Co-coordinator of the opposition's Other Russia coalition (www.theotherrussia.ru) in St Petersburg. He is the former leader of the now banned National Bolshevik Party (NBP) in St Petersburg. Mr Dmitriev has been active in organising the Marches of Dissent in St Petersburg. He is Editor-in-Chief of the St Petersburg-based news agency, APN Severo-Zapad (www.apn-spb.ru).

NIKOLAY DONSKOV (Николай Донсков) is head of the North-West Russian bureau of the independent newspaper, Novaya Gazeta, in St Petersburg. Prior to this, he served as Editor-in-Chief of Novaya Gazeta's St Petersburg edition. The newspaper has written extensively on government corruption, the war in Chechnya, the curtailment of civic freedoms, and other major issues facing Russia today. More information at www.novayagazeta.spb.ru.

VALENTIN FERAPOSHKIN (Валентин Ферапошкин) is a journalist working for the newspaper, The Caucasian Knot ("Кавказский узел"), and a member of the Committee of Anti-War Action (www.voinenet.ru) and the Memorial Foundation (www.memo.ru) in Moscow. Mr Feraposhkin is one of the founders of a new organisation, Union of Solidarity with Political Prisoners. More information at www.kavkaz-uzel.ru.

SVETLANA GAVRILINA (Светлана Гаврилина) is Press Secretary of the Committee of Soldiers' Mothers (www.ucsmr.ru) in St Petersburg. She is an active member of the St Petersburg-based regionalist movement, Ingria (www.ingria.info), which campaigns for regional autonomy and promotes interethnic dialogue. Ms Gavrilina is a former journalist at the local newspaper, Nevskoe Vremya, apparently ousted for her reporting on the Orange Revolution in Kiev.

VALENTIN GEFTER (Валентин Гефтер) is Director General of the Institute of Human Rights in Moscow. The institute's President is Sergey Kovalev, veteran anti-war and human rights activist. In addition, Mr Gefter is a member of the supervisory council of the human rights centre, Memorial. More information at www.hrights.ru.

YELENA GRISHINA (Елена Гришина) is Director of the human rights information centre, Centre of Public Information (CPI), and Editor of the monthly Chronicle of the Moscow Helsinki Group (www.mhg.ru). She is now head of a joint project of the CPI and the Russian Union of Journalists (www.ruj.ru) to promote cooperation between journalists and NGOs.

ARTO HALONEN (Арто Халонен) is a documentary film director based in Helsinki. His latest works include "Shadow of the Holy Book", a harsh look at the collusion of corporate capitalism with the government of Turkmenistan, one of the most oppressive regimes in the world. The film sparked an important debate about the relationship between business and democracy. More information at www.artfilmsproduction.com.

HEIDI HAUTALA (Хейди Хаутала) is Chair of the Finnish-Russian Civic Forum. She is a Member of the Finnish Parliament, representing the Greens, and a former Member of the European Parliament. Ms Hautala is Chair of the Committee of Legal Affairs of the Finnish Parliament. She was the Greens' candidate in the Finnish presidential elections in 2000 and 2006. More information at www.heidihautala.net.

ANDRES HEINAPUU (Андрес Хейнапуу) is Coordinator for Estonia of the Consultative Committee of Finno-Ugric Peoples. He was founder and director of the Informationi Centre of Finno-Ugric Peoples, based in Tallinn, Estonia. He is an expert on the situation of the Finno-Ugric minorities in the Russian Federation. More information at www.fennougria.ee.

YURI IGNATYEV (Юрий Игнатьев) is Vice-Chair and Board Member of the Mari national organisation, Mari Ushem, based in Yoshkar-Ola, capital of Russia's Republic of Mari El. Mari Ushem, the largest NGO of ethnic Maris, was established in 1917. The organisation has faced severe harassment by the local authorities since the election of Leonid Markelov as the republic's President.

TARJA KANTOLA (Тарья Кантола) is head of international affairs at the Finnish service sector union, Service Union United (www.pam.fi), Chair of the International Solidarity Foundation (www.solidaarisuus.fi), and Chair of the Finnish Refugee Council (www.pakolaisapu.fi). In addition, Ms Kantola serves as a deputy of the Helsinki Cty Council. More information at www.tarjakantola.fi.

ELLA KESAEVA (Элла Кесаева) is Co-Chair of the Voice of Beslan, which represents the relatives of the victims of the school hostage crisis in Beslan, North Ossetia, in 2004. The organisation has criticised the authorities for their failure to properly investigate the facts surrounding the events in Beslan. Ms Kesaeva and her colleagues have faced continuous intimidation and several court cases have been brought against them. More information at www.golosbeslana.ru.

PÄIVI KESKITALO (Пэйви Кескитало) is lawyer at the Refugee Advice Centre in Helsinki. The Centre is a non-governmental organisation founded in 1988 by other Finnish NGOs. The Centre provides legal aid and advice to asylum seekers, refugees, and other foreigners in Finland. More information at www.pakolaisneuvonta.fi.

TIMO KIRAVUO (Тимо Киравуо) teaches Information Security and Data Communication at the Helsinki University of Technology. He has experience in building data security systems, including those used to block free access to information. More information at www.tml.tkk.fi/~kiravuo.

ANDREY KOLOMOISKY (Андрей Коломойский) is a journalist at the Vyborg-based daily, Vyborgskie Vedomosti (www.vyborg-press.ru), specialising in political and cultural affairs, civic rights, and freedom of speech. In 2005, Mr Kolomoisky received the Danish Cultural Institute's prize, "Free Press in Russia". In Soviet times, he took an active part in St Petersburg's underground press ("samizdat").

OLGA KONSKAYA (Ольга Конская) is a film actress, producer, and playwright at Dreamscanner Productions in St Petersburg. Together with Andrey Nekrasov, she authored the prize-winning documentary, "Rebellion: The Litvinenko Case", which recounts the fate of the former KGB officer, Alexander Litvinenko, who was murdered in London in 2006. More information at www.dreamscanner.com.

ALEXEY KOZLOV (Алексей Козлов), PhD, is Co-Chair of GROZA (Green Alternative) and member of the Expert Council to the Ombudsman of the Russian Federation. His expertees covers problems related to racism and xenophobia, freedom of assembly and association. Mr Kozlov is co-editor of Resist.ru. His blog: http://global-evil.livejournal.com/.

OLEG KOZLOVSKY (Олег Козловский) is the Moscow Coordinator of the opposition youth movement, Oborona (www.oborona.org), in Moscow. Oborona is an active participant and organiser of the united opposition's Marches of Dissent. In late 2007, Mr Kozlovsky was illegally drafted into the Russian Army. Following an international campaign in his support, he was finally released after 75 days in captivity. More information at www.kozlovsky.ru.

HENRIK LAX (Генрик Лакс) is a Finnish Member of the European Parliament, representing the Swedish People's Party (www.sfp.fi). He is a member of the European Parliament's delegation to the EU-Russia Parliamentary Cooperation Committee and the Committee on Citizens' Freedoms and Rights, Justice, and Home Affairs. More information at www.henriklax.nu.

JUKKA MALLINEN (Юкка Маллинен) is Chair of the Finnish PEN society (www.pen.kaapeli.fi) and Deputy Chair of the Finnish-Russian Civic Forum. He was Chair of the Finnish Institute in St Petersburg in the 1990s. Mr Mallinen studied literature at Moscow State University. He has translated several works of Russian prose and poetry. His most recent work is "Varastettua ilmaa - Vapaamuotoisia ja -mielisiä esseitä Venäjästä" ("Stolen Air - Essays on Russia Free in Form and Mind").

ANZOR MASKHADOV (Анзор Масхадов) is Chair of the Chechen Diaspora in Norway. He is the son of the late President of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria, Aslan Maskhadov. Anzor Maskhadov enjoys the respect and reverence of the entire Chechen diaspora, and has first-hand knowledge of the plight of Chechen refugees forced to leave their homeland. More information at www.chechnya.no.

ANDREY NEKRASOV (Андрей Некрасов) is a Russian film-maker and playwright from St Petersburg, most famous for his two films, "Disbelief" and "Rebellion: The Litvinenko Case". The latter, on the fate of the former KGB officer, Alexander Litvinenko, was screened at the 60th Film Festival in Cannes in May 2007. More information at www.dreamscanner.com.

PEKKA NISKANEN (Пекка Нисканен) is a contemporary artist who has worked many years in visual arts, producing various works with texts, film, and video. At present, Mr Niskanen is directing a documentary, "Virtual War", which sets out to describe the way wars and conflicts spill into the internet. The film documents the establishment of a "Virtual Chechnya" within the Second Life community. More information at www.illume.fi.

BURAK ÖZTAŞ (Бурак Озташ) is a member of the sizable Chechen minority in Turkey. His interest in the Chechen culture and the plight of his people has led him to work as a volunteer at the refugee centre in Bialystok, Eastern Poland, temporary residence to several hundred Chechen refugees. Mr Öztaş studies International Law at Istanbul University. More information at www.jedenswiat.org.pl.

KERKKO PAANANEN (Керкко Паананен) is Board Member and Secretary of the Finnish-Russian Civic Forum. He works as an Information Analyst at Esmerk Oy (www.esmerk.fi), where he is the trade union representative of the Finnish Media Union (www.viestintaliitto.fi). In addition, Mr Paananen is a personnel representative at Finnish media group Sanoma's European Works Council. His blog: http://kerkko.paananen.fi/.

OLEG PANFILOV (Олег Панфилов) is Director of the Centre of Journalism in Extreme Situations (CJES) in Moscow. He has worked as a journalist since 1974. Until 2004, Mr Panfilov presented the weekly radio programme, "Power and the Press", on Radio Liberty's Russian service. More information at www.cjes.ru. Oleg Panfilov's blog: http://oleg-panfilov.livejournal.com/.

ILYA PERESEDOV (Илья Переседов) is a teacher, journalist, internet commentator. Mr Peresedov graduated from the St Petersburg Institute of Theology and Philosophy in 2003. At present, he is writing his Ph.D dissertation on the social-philosophical analysis of the internet at the Russian State University for the Humanities (www.rsuh.ru). Ilya Peresedov's blog: http://peresedov.livejournal.com/.

ARVI PERTTU (Арви Пертту) is a writer and translator born in Petrozavodsk, capital of Russia's Republic of Karelia. For the past five years, he has lived and worked in Lappeenranta, Finland. Mr Perttu has worked in several periodicals in Karelia and translated various works of literature to and from Russian. Arvi Perttu's blog: http://arviperttu.vuodatus.net/.

ANDYU PETRYAN (Андю Петрянь) is a St Petersburg-based activist working to preserve the language and culture of the Erzya people in Russia's Republic of Mordovia. He has administered several internet sites dedicated to the Erzyan culture, including Erzyan Zhurnal (www.erzia.org). He is member of the Russian Association of Finno-Ugric Journalists (RAFUZh) and the Russian Union of Journalists. Mr Petryan's blog: http://erzianj-jurnal.livejournal.com/.

ANDREY PIVOVAROV (Андрей Пивоваров) is Chair of the St Petersburg branch of the Popular Democratic Union of Russia (www.nardemsoyuz.ru), led by former Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov. Mr Pivovarov characterises himself as a conservative democrat. His party has some 2,200 members in St Petersburg.

IGOR SAZHIN (Игорь Сажин) is Chair of the human rights commission, Memorial, in Russia's Komi Republic and member of the international human rights organisation, Memorial. The mission of Komi Memorial is to protect human rights and promote the establishment of institutions capable of supervising the actions of the state. More information at www.memorial-komi.org.

YURI SHMIDT (Юрий Шмидт) is Founder and Chair of the Russian Lawyers Committee for Human Rights in St Petersburg. He is one of Russia's most eminent lawyers and a long-time advocate of human rights. At present, he is member of the legal team defending Mikhail Khodorkovsky, jailed former shareholder of the YUKOS oil company. Mr Shmidt's biography at Lentapedia: www.lenta.ru/lib/14161540.

ALEXEY SOCHNEV (Алексей Сочнев) is Editor of Kasparov.ru, the website of Garry Kasparov, leader of the United Civic Front. In addition, he is a moderator of the LiveJournal community of the March of Dissent, one of the main channels of information on opposition activities. Many opposition websites in Russia have come under increasing pressure in recent years. Mr Sochnev has witnessed first-hand many of these attacks. His blog: http://alex-dars.livejournal.com/.

MIKAEL STORSJÖ (Мкиаэль Стуршё) is a Finnish entrepreneur, journalist, and civic activist. He is Board Member of the Finnish-Russian Civic Forum and Electronic Frontier Finland (www.effi.org). Mr Storsjö is a vocal advocate of the right of the Chechen people to decide their own fate and an ardent critic of the ruling regime in Russia.

TAUNO TIUSANEN (Тауно Тиусанен) is Professor of International Operations and Transition Economies at Lappeenranta University of Technology (www.lut.fi). His research areas include foreign direct investments in transitional economies, investment climate in transitional economies, and the eastern enlargement of the European Union. Prof. Tiusanen is one of the foremost experts on the Russian economy in Finland.

MAYRBEK VACHAGAEV (Майрбек Вачагаев) is former chief of staff and press secretary of Chechen President Aslan Maskhadov and former general representative of Chechnya in Russia. He is now working for a doctorate at the Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales (EHESS) in Paris, France. Mr Vachagaev is author of the book, “Chechnya in the 19th Century Caucasian Wars.”

MAGOMED YEVLOEV (Магомед Евлоев) is owner of the main opposition website in the North Caucasian republic of Ingushetia, Ingushetiya.ru. The site has come under constant attack by the republican authorities. In the latest move, a court in Moscow ordered the closure of the website under legislation intended to counter "extremism". Mr Yevloev has vowed to keep the website running. The security situation in Ingushetia has severely deteriorated during the presidency of Kremlin appointee Murat Zyazikov.

KONSTANTIN ZAMYATIN (Константин Замятин), originally from the Republic of Udmurtia, is a long-time expert on the situation of the Finno-Ugric minorities of the Russian Federation. He has served as Coordinator of the Youth Association of Finno-Ugric Peoples (www.mafun.org) in Estonia and has worked at the Fenno-Ugria Foundation in Tallinn. Mr Zamyatin has studied extensively linguistic and minority rights. His paper on state nationality policy and human rights: http://www.suri.ee/papers/lund.html.

Movement on solidarity. Outflanking the siege. And more coverage.

Firstly, please see what Zahar Prilepin from Nizhny Novgorod, Andrei Kolomoisky from Viborg and Andrei Dmitriev from St. Petersburg wrote about the Civic Forum.

In those pages of our guests there are also some photos of the forum. And if you want to have (more) fun, try the Google translator (into English), it should be linked there, somehow.

*****

But then.

Answers. At last.

This is what Neil Hicks from Human Rights First wrote for the Finnish-Russian Civic Forum. This is just the end of his paper, and a very rare comment:

Finally someone says what should be done, instead of telling how bad and difficult everything is.

(the last chapter only)
How to Promote Human Rights and Democracy: Outflanking the Siege

Neil Hicks, Human Rigths First


The goal of international support must be to outflank the official siege that has been placed around independent Russian human rights defenders. One way to do that is to build an international coalition of support for Russian human rights defenders that mobilizes prominent individuals from the worlds of politics, academia, the arts and even sport and popular culture – people who will not be ignored by the international and even the Russian media, and who will reach an audience in Russia beyond the small constituency that is already associated with human rights and democracy.

In its efforts to resist the closure order imposed on it and to continue to function the Russian Chechen Friendship Society in Nizhny Novgorod has provided one example of how this can be done. Through inviting prominent individuals to become “supportive members” of the RCFS it has attracted public support from a number of leading European parliamentarians, as well as from internationally recognized intellectual figures like Francis Fukuyama, Andre Glucksman and Moises Naim. Such figures, and others like them, can command an audience in Russia and cannot be ignored or swept aside by the authorities.

--

The point of such initiatives, if they are to be different from what has gone before, is that they should be innovative, they should involve new constituencies, they should adopt a positive tone: emphasizing in the face of official hostility and apparent popular indifference that human rights are inclusive, universal values that are good for Russia. As many such events as possible should take place inside Russia, with the expectation that the involvement of prominent international figures, and the adoption of a message that is first and foremost pro-human rights, not anti-Putin, should provide some protection from the type of repression that has faced activities like the marches of dissent. It is also vital that international interest, support and participation in events must be sustained until such a time as the level of threat against the independent Russian human rights movement diminishes.

I hasten to add that conventional efforts to promote human rights and democracy in Russia should not be abandoned. By this, I mean the political pressure on the Russian government to abide by its international obligations in the human rights field from other governments and from international organizations, as well as the monitoring and exposure of violations and campaigning against injustices carried out by local and international non-governmental organizations. We have to recognize, however, that such conventional pressure alone has not been sufficient to bring about the desired change in the behavior of the Russian authorities.

It is vital that a sophisticated official response to international human rights pressure should not be seen to deter such pressure in the case of Russia. Repressive governments around the world seek to undermine and discredit their critics using some of the same methods. If Russia is able to get away with it, because it is a large influential country, then this would be a setback for the international human rights movement not only in Russia, but also globally.

My answer to the question -- on how to promote human rights and democracy in Russia is that we need a new international people’s movement of solidarity with independent Russian human rights activists. The institutions for exerting pressure on the Russian government to improve its human rights practices exist and we should make use of them, but the time has come for a new approach that can reach a new constituency in Russia that is sympathetic to human rights and democracy, but which has been placed beyond the reach of conventional human rights mechanisms and organizations.

Coverage. And the third skier.

Andrei Dmitriev, Kerkko Paananen and Yulia Malysheva coming back to the central Helsinki. By boat, of course. This photo was taken by Alexander Mnatsakanyan.


See some media coverage of our recent Finnish-Russian Civic Forum 2007 in Kerkko Paananen's pages. The clips are in Russian, English, Swedish and/or Finnish. The persons interviewed are Oksana Chelysheva, Yulia Malysheva and Olga Kurnosova.

(Photo of Malysheva being interviewed on my previous blog post.)

*****

I want to quote Lyudmila Alekseeva's speech. She addressed this in Radio Liberty's 50th Anniversary Celebration Conference 6 June 2003.

The path to a law-based democratic Russia is still long and difficult.

However, never in its centuries-long history has Russia moved so far along that path so quickly as it has over the last decade. I am not asking you to believe in miracles. I know that we need to muster our patience and not weaken in our efforts to achieve this sacred goal. But I would like to say something that I know you all know -- none of the Soviet-era human rights activists ever believed that during our lifetime, the Soviet Constitution would be replaced by one in which it was written that the main purpose of the state is to guarantee and defend human rights.

Now we have such a constitution. I believe that Russia will make the journey from our present lawlessness to a genuine law-based state in a relatively short historical period -- the lives of two or three generations. That is much less time than Western countries required to achieve democracy. I believe this not because Russia is special in some ways, but simply because Russia started out on this journey later than the others. Here's an analogy: When the first cross-country skier sets out into deep snow, the going is slow as he cuts a new path. The second skier moves faster, and the third simply flies over the trail that the others blazed.

Russia is that third skier.

*****

I love her optimism. I wish there were more people like her.

The Finnish-Russian Civic Forum 2007. Thanks, everybody!

"I believe that in ten years things have changed for the better. That the civil society has by then won over the bureaucracy."
–– Lyudmila Alekseeva, Helsinki Conference & the Other Russia movement, Moscow


Alexander Mnatsakanyan in the boat. And the Finnish flag.




Panel on Freedom of the Media. Or the media not being so free. Andrey Kolomoisky, Alexander Mnatsakanyan, Grigori Pasko and Andrei Nekrasov.



"I have been a journalist for over 30 years. I started when Brezhnev was in power. And I could have never thought the day would come when a journalist is shot to death in an elevator at her home building".
–– Grigori Pasko, journalist, Moscow

Grigori Pasko



A big audience. On a hot summer day. In an island, far from the pleasures of Helsinki. Can you imagine?



"Once again, it is impossible for the opposition to really participate in these [upcoming presidential] elections".
Oksana Chelysheva, Vice Chairperson of the Russian-Chechnyan Friendship Society


Mariana Katzarova and Oksana Chelycheva



"Times are changing. Everybody around Putin want to have changes, too. And things are not stable right now. But only the future will show how the changes will be like".
–– Yulia Malysheva, Chairperson of the Popular-Democratic Youth League, and the Other Russia Movement

Yulia Malysheva being interviewed by the Finnish television.



"It [the war in Chechnya] in not 'war against terrorism'. It is terrorism. Against innocent civilians".
–– Ivar Amundsen, Chechnya Peace Forum, London

Friends taking some time off. Aaron Rhodes and Ivar Amundsen discussing in the front, while others like Katzarova, Hicks, Chelysheva, Matinpuro, Harju, Sailo and IStori having their own funny talks.



"There is also a huge on-going environmental catastrophy in Chechnya. And these problems can not be solved in some small round-table meeting. That's why we have created the All-Russian Civic Congress. Please help us in every political level and fora – in the EU, everywhere".
–– Ruslan Kutaev, All-Russian Civic Congress and advisor of the late Chechnyan president Aslan Maskhadov. Grozny, Chechnya

Ruslan Kutaev met a Finnish fan. Who looks very Chechnyan, she was told.




"[the Russian] People don't see the connection between how they vote and what takes place after the elections. Most people think their personal safety is depending on their families, not on the state".
–– Alexander Nikitin, Bellona, St. Petersburg

Oksana Chelysheva, Lyudmila Alekseeva, Alexander Nikitin, Dmitry Lanko and Yulia Malysheva. And the Rule of Law.




"I just want to live in a normal European country where people are free and not tortured".
–– Andrei Dmitriev, editor in chief, Agency of Political News

Our dear bolsheviks. Andrei Dmitriev, Zahar Prilepin and Alexei Volynets are soon heading home, what a pity...



The sad fact that Lyudmila Alekseeva is leaving is not making Ruslan Kutaev laugh. It must have been just something she said.



*********


Million thanks to our guests and co-organisers. It was great to make new friends – and to see some old ones again.

And very special thanks to Asman & her troops for the wonderful Chechnyan food!

(To see the list of speakers, please take a look at a the previous blogging on this below.)

Precious and not-so-valuable things.

Film director Andrei Nekrasov and producer Olga Konskaya on a water bus on the way to the Sveaborg islands in Helsinki archipelago. I like these guys a lot. But burning sun and strawberries? No thanks, not for me!




I was challenged by a. ja Korvenranta to tell seven things about myself. At random.

The Finnish-Russian Civic Forum 2007 has just ended, our guests have (almost) left and my notes are (almost, almost) completed. Now I have time to take a deep breath and reveal the seven things.

1. I long for adventures and new experiences. I wish I could take the train to Vladivostok and back. Well, maybe I can. The real question is "when"?

2. My favourite season is autumn. Even without proper, long holidays (which I never have had, and probably never will have), around August–September I feel refreshed and energetic. And too much sunshine make me feel dizzy or even sick.

3. I very, very seldom like comedies. Nearly never. On TV – only few are good, like the Monty Python stuff, Yes, Minister and Soap. (The best Finnish one: Tabu.) FILMS – eh, I can't remember any good comedies, but perhaps there are some. Ok, the Blues Brothers. And Jackie Brown – but is that one a comedy? How about THEATER? Nope. I never go to watch comedies in theater. I hate to see actors shouting and laughing out loud and men dressed in women's clothes and bumping into each other and dropping their trousers or anything equaly horrible.

4. I do not eat strawberries. Never.

5. I love going to sauna. To a really hot one, at least 80 C. And swimming, too. I try to do both as often as possible. (The guests of our Finnish-Russian Civic Forum went to a beautiful datcha and sauna day before yesterday. And I was not able to join them! What a pity! Still feel sorry for myself. I would have swum in the sea, too.)

6. I don't have an iPod but I envy people who do. Although I just don't think I have time to listen to anything extra. My days are so full of noises, voices and music already.

7. I don't like cooking anything complicated. Cooks on TV? Never watch them. Tried to see that Jamie Oliver once, but then I got same feeling I get when I open a cook book, any cook book: life is too short.


*****


Ok, Seven radomly chosen details of yourself. And I now pass this on to Vaiheinen, Avaruusajan päiväunelmia, Mane the Mean, Oderazzi, Eksyneen turistin blogi, Terhikki and Vesikoira from Haukilahti (once I find your blog again, dear KK).

They are coming. Alekseyeva, Chelycheva, Nikitin, Pasko, Rhodes...

There is an interesting conference taking place in Suomenlinna fortress, Helsinki tomorrow and day after, 3–4, July.

FINNISH–RUSSIAN CIVIC FORUM 2007


The guests of our Forum in alphabetical order.

Whoah. What a list. And the program is here.

LYUDMILA ALEKSEYEVA is a veteran human rights activist, founder and Chairperson of the Moscow Helsinki Group, one of the foremost human rights organisations in Russia. Ms Alekseyeva is Co-chairperson of the All-Russian Civic Congress and a Member of the Organising Committee of The Other Russia coalition.

IVAR AMUNDSEN is Director of the Chechnya Peace Forum, based in London. He was friend to both slain journalist Anna Politkovskaya and former KGB officer Alexander Litvinenko. Mr Amundsen is a long-time campaigner for human rights.

OKSANA CHELYSHEVA is the Deputy Executive Director of the Nizhny Novgorod-based Russian-Chechen Friendship Society, which was refused registration in Russia. The society was then registered in Finland. The organisation is active in protecting the rights of Russia's Chechen minority and promoting interethnic dialogue.

ANDREY DMITRIEV is the Co-coordinator of the anti-Putin opposition's The Other Russia coalition in St Petersburg. He is the former leader of the now banned National Bolshevik Party in St Petersburg. Mr Dmitriev has been active in organising the recent Dissenters' Marches in St Petersburg.

OLGA GALKINA is a Member of the Regional Party Bureau of the liberal opposition party Yabloko's branch in St Petersburg. She is also one of the leaders of Yabloko's youth wing.

HEIDI HAUTALA is Chairperson of the Finnish-Russian Civic Forum. She is a Member of the Finnish Parliament, representing the Greens, and a former Member of the European Parliament. Ms Hautala was the Greens' candidate in the Finnish presidential elections in 2000 and 2006.

NEIL HICKS directs the Human Rights Defenders programme at New York-based Human Rights First. The programme assists human rights advocates under attack for their work. Mr Hicks is involved in campaigns including overseas missions, diplomatic advocacy, public education, and grassroots lobbying.

MARIANA KATZAROVA is Founder and Director of the London-based peace group, RAW in WAR - "Reach All Women in War". RAW supports women human rights defenders in conflict areas. The organisation has recently launched a special Chechnya Project. Ms Katzarova is former researcher on Russia for Amnesty International.

OLGA KURNOSOVA is the Chairperson of the St Petersburg branch of the United Civic Front, led by Mr Garry Kasparov. Ms Kurnosova is also a Co-coordinator of The Other Russia coalition and an active organiser of the Dissenters' Marches in St Petersburg.

RUSLAN KUTAEV is a Coordinator of the All-Russian Civic Congress, an umbrella organisation of Russian opposition movements, in North Caucasus. He is a Member of the Organising Committee of The Other Russia coalition. Mr Kutaev is a former advisor to late Chechen President Aslan Maskhadov.

DMITRY LANKO is Assistant Professor at the Department of European Studies of the School of International Relations at the St Petersburg State University. His expertise in Political Science spans throughout the Baltic region.

LAURA LODENIUS is Executive Director of the Finnish Peace Association. The organisation is Finland's oldest peace advocacy group in operation. The association unites a dozen peace groups in Finland.

VLADIMIR LYSENKO is Co-chairperson of the liberal Republican Party of Russia (RPR), which was closed down by the authorities. RPR is co-chaired by Mr Vladimir Ryzhkov. Mr Lysenko is a former long-time Deputy in the State Duma, Russia's lower house of parliament. He is President of the Institute of Modern Politics.

JUKKA MALLINEN is a poet and translator of Russian literature. His most recent translation is Russian journalist Valery Panyushkin's book, "Khodorkovsky: The Prisoner of Silence". Mr Mallinen is Chairperson of the Finnish PEN society and Deputy Chair of the Finnish-Russian Civic Forum.

YULIA MALYSHEVA is Chairperson of the Popular-Democratic Youth League, affiliated to Mr Mikhail Kasyanov's Popular-Democratic Union of Russia. Ms Malysheva is one of the organisers of the Dissenters' Marches in Moscow.

ALEXANDER MNATSAKANYAN is a journalist who has worked as a war correspondent for various newspapers in Transdnestria, Abkhazia, and Chechnya. He has covered the conflict in Chechnya since the early 1990s. Mr Mnatsakanyan is responsible for the project on murdered journalists at the Moscow-based Glasnost Defence Fund.

ANDREY NEKRASOV is a Russian documentarist from St Petersburg, most famous for his films. “Disbelief” was about the FSB being behind the explosion in Moscok, St. Petersburg and Ryazan (which led to the Second war in Chechnya), and the latter, "Rebellion: The Litvinenko Case", about the fate of the former KGB officer, Alexander Litvinenko. The latter was screened at the 60th Film Festival in Cannes in May 2007.


ALEXANDER NIKITIN is Director of the St Petersburg branch of the Norwegian environmentalist organisation, Bellona. Mr Nikitin is a former submarine officer, who was charged with treason for contributing to Bellona's report on nuclear safety within Russia's Northern Fleet. He is Deputy Chairperson of the Green Russia fraction of Yabloko.


GRIGORY PASKO is a free-lance journalist, specialising in environmentalist issues. As Editor of the newspaper of the Russian Pacific Fleet, "Boyevaya Vakhta", Mr Pasko disclosed the dumping of nuclear waste into the sea, for which he was convicted to three years in prison.

YEVGENI (ZAKHAR) PRILEPIN is the Editor-in-Chief of the Nizhny Novgorod edition of "Novaya Gazeta". He is the author of several works of literature, including the novel "Sankya", which was shortlisted for Russia's Booker Prize in 2006. Mr Prilepin is a member of the banned National Bolshevik Party.


AARON RHODES is the Executive Director of the International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights (IHF), based in Vienna. The IHF monitors compliance with the human rights provisions of the Helsinki Final Act of 1975 and its follow-up documents.

BART STAES is a Belgian Member of the European Parliament, representing The Greens - European Free Alliance fraction. Besides environmental issues, Mr Staes has been active in promoting peace. His interests include Chechnya, Turkey, and the Balkans.

MIKAEL STORSJÖ is Secretary of the Finnish-Russian Civic Forum. He is a vocal advocate of the right of the Chechen people to decide their own fate and an ardent critic of the ruling regime in Russia.

NILS TORVALDS is a long-time broadcast journalist. He works with the Finnish Broadcasting Company's (YLE) Swedish-language service. He served as YLE's correspondent in Moscow in 1995-1999. Mr Torvalds was recently elected Deputy Chairperson of the Swedish People's Party.

ANU TUUKKANEN is Country Expert at Amnesty International's Finnish section. She coordinates Amnesty Finland's campaigning on different countries. Russia is one of Amnesty Finland's ten priority regions.

ANASTASIA UDALTSOVA is the spokesperson for the left-wing youth movement, Vanguard of Red Youth (AKM). The AKM is vocal in its opposition to the policies of Russia's present government and has been an active participant in the Dissenters' Marches.

FURUGZOD USMONOV is a contributor to the St Petersburg-based opposition newspaper, Delo. He has focused on the problems faced by Russia's ethnic minorities, especially those from Central Asia. Mr Usmonov has extensive knowledge about politics in both Russia and Central Asia.

KSENIA VAKHRUSHEVA is a member of the Coordinating Committee of the opposition youth movement, Oborona, in St Petersburg. Oborona is a movement of people who reject the injusticies, corruption, and lies of officials.

ALEXEY VOLYNETS is the Editor-in-Chief of "Limonka", the newspaper of the banned National Bolshevik Party. The newspaper continues to be published despite an official ban. The name of the newspaper is a play on words on NBP's leader, Eduard Limonov, and is idiomatic Russian for a grenade.