Open Russia to Hold Third Conference in Moscow

December 5, 2017

On December 9 2017 the Open Russia Movement is holding its third conference in Moscow. Over 100 delegates from our 27 regional offices across the country are expected to participate in the event. This is the first conference that Open Russia will hold in Russia.  The two previous conferences took place in Helsinki and Tallinn.

The agenda for discussion is the position of the Open Russia Movement regarding the 2018 Russian presidential elections, as well as the intensifying of forceful pressure against Open Russia activists by the authorities.

In April this year, as Open Russia was organizing its #ENOUGH campaign, Otkrytaya Rossiya (a UK entity) and the Institute of Modern Russia (based in the US) were officially declared undesirable organizations by the Russian authorities.  Since then there have been numerous arrests and raids of Open Russia offices and the personal homes of Open Russia activists.

The conference organisers are anticipating that the event will be subjected to interference by the authorities.  For security reasons the address of the venue will be revealed on the eve of the conference.