Mikhail Khodorkovsky gave the opening address at the presentation of the Open Media project, in Tallinn, Estonia.

“What is happening in Russia is linked, as you know, to the success of Kremlin propaganda.

“Even before Open Russia became a political movement, we had decided to support independent journalism, of which there is less and less, though through no fault of the journalists themselves.  To this end we decided to set up some competitions, so that those who are stifled by the difficult political climate in Russia could come for a rest, to exchange opinions with others, to get some measure of the recognition they so deserve, and a chance to realise some of their ideas. […]

“I should also like to announce the launch of the Open Media project. We at Open Russia will be offering support to some projects in the form of investment, technological and legal support, and using some of the advances we have already made at Open Russia. The 5 new projects on which we are already working are: Open Economy, the Investigation Management Centre, Infometer, Gauss, and Culttrigger.

“These are to be added to the ongoing Open Russia and Open University projects. I hope that when we come this evening to sum up the position of the start-ups, we shall have some more projects to add on. The list is not closed, so we shall be glad to help with support for any new and interesting media projects.

“I have profound respect for those who, with their pens or their keyboards, are fighting totalitarianism, fighting for human rights and against the bigotry which, sadly, has triumphed in our country – though we hope for not too much longer and not too profoundly. I shall be glad to help by making my small contribution to changing this situation.”