A Russian-Ukrainian crisis broke out in March 2014, resulted in an open armed confrontation, has claimed hundreds of lives and has brought Ukraine’s south-east to the brink of human catastrophe.

Against this dramatic background, another consequence of the crisis has caught little attention and has yet to be fully comprehended – a breakdown of civil, cultural, academic relationships between the two countries. Russia’s and Ukraine’s society has been taken hostage by a conflict orchestrated by the authorities; under threat is the long-standing cooperation between research institutions, religious organizations, universities, human rights activities, artists, environmentalists.

The ‘Russia-Ukraine: Dialog‘ Congress that convened in Kyiv on April 24-25 at the initiative of the Russian PEN-Center and the movements ‘The 3rd Ukrainian Republic’ and ‘Open Russia’ demonstrated the dire need, under the circumstances, for a forum for direct professional and personal interactions between civil society activists, academics, and intellectuals from both countries (read the closing documents from the event here).

The ‘Culture Dialog’ portal (cultdialog.org) offers panel discussions where one can view the more eloquent addresses by the participants. But, above all, the website has been launched in order to maintain the dialog that started last April. Registered users of the forum are welcome to join the dialog.