Organised by the Open Russia, the online forums unite experts, activists, and ordinary Russians all across the country, in discussions about the most acute issues facing modern Russian society. The forums take place via Google platform and are broadcast live on openrussia.org, allowing the viewers to ask questions and leave comments in the chat rooms.

First Forum

The first online forum took place on September 20, 2014, the same day Mikhail Khodorkovsky announced the launch of Open Russia. From a studio in Paris, the founder of the Open Russia initiated the debate on the current situation in Russia, and the possible ways to return it to the European path of development. He was joined online by activists, politicians, journalists, and experts, from Kaliningrad to Tomsk, as well as participants from across Europe. Among the participants of the first forum were the economist Sergei Guriev, businessman Yevgeny Chichvarkin, politician Dmitry Gudkov, literary scholar Aleksandr Arkhangelsky, and many more. Notwithstanding the relentless harassment by the authorities, the first Open Russia online forum nevertheless managed to set its primary aims, engaging over 70,000 viewers.

View highlights of the forum (with English subtitles)

Watch the full forum (in Russian only)

Political prisoners 2.0: are there legal ways of being a dissident?

On October 29, 2014, the eve of the Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Political Repressions in Russia, Open Russia hosted its second online forum devoted to the issue of political prisoners in Russia. Mikhail Khodorkovsky, himself a prominent former political prisoner, invited the audience to join the discussion on clarifying the meaning behind the term “political prisoner”, ways of supporting the families of political victims, and finding the legal means to disagree with the authorities. Numerous experts and activists participated by answering questions of the online audience, including: Sergei Nikitin, director of Amnesty International’s representative office in the Russian Federation; David Satter, Soviet Union and Russia expert and publicist; Aleksandr Cherkasov, head of Russia’s Memorial human rights centre; Vladimir Ashurkov, a well-known public figure; and Vladimir Akimenkov, formerly imprisoned for his part in the Bolotnaya Square demonstration. During the conference, Khodorkovsky announced his project, formed in cooperation with opposition activist Alexei Navalny, to award 100,000 roubles to 50 victims of the judicial and legal system in Russia.

View highlights of the forum (with English subtitles)

Watch the full forum (in Russian only)

Healthcare reform: pro et contra

In response to the Russian government’s healthcare “optimisation” programme that has resulted in the closure of hospitals, doctor layoffs, and reduction of hospital beds, Open Russia organised an online forum to discuss the main problems of Russian healthcare, and the ways to overcome them through meaningful reform, as well as the state of state medicine in comparison to the private. The analysis of healthcare reform brought together doctors, activists, and experts including: Alexander Myasnikov, doctor; Ella Pamfilova, politician; David Melik-Guseynov, Director of the Centre for Social Economics; Nyuta Federmesser, Director of the VERA Hospice Charity Fund, and many more.

View highlights of the forum (with English subtitles)

Watch the full forum (in Russian only)

Elections: boycott or participation?

Following the unprecedented violations that occurred during the municipal elections held in St Petersburg, on December 7, 2014, Open Russia premiered a series of regional conferences, with a debate about election procedures, between Mikhail Khodorkovsky and Petersburgers. The venue for the debate, the Holiday Inn hotel, where the audience had gathered to engage in a teleconference with Khodorkovsky, became the subject of numerous police provocations: a drug inspection preceded the conference, thereafter the building was evacuated due to a supposed bomb threat, the fire alarm was sounded, and eventually the power was cut. Nevertheless, owing to the backup generator, the forum was able to continue. Its speakers explained the necessity of participating in elections, using the unwarranted police presence surrounding them, as an illustration of why the bringing together of democracy-oriented citizens is of paramount importance.

View highlights of the forum (with English subtitles)

Watch the full forum (in Russian only)

Can Russia live without corruption?

On December 10, 2014, the eve of the UN’s International Anti–Corruption Day, Open Russia presented its online forum to discuss one of the main threats to Russia’s economic wellbeing – corruption. Georgy Satarov, president of the INDEM Foundation; Anton Pominov, head of Transparency International’s Russia branch; Lyubov Sobol, a lawyer with the Anti-Corruption Foundation; Georgy Alburov, working with the foundation’s investigation department; and Dmitry Sukharev and Ekaterina Petrova, two regional anti-corruptionists, were dispelling the myth that corruption in Russia is an inevitable mode of existence of its economy, and explaining how one can contribute to fighting this injurious practice.

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Watch the full forum (in Russian only)

Constitution: revolution or evolution?

After the celebration of Constitution Day in Russia, on December 13, 2014, Open Russia organised an online forum, analysing the current Russian constitution and its future. Experts, lawyers, and political scientists taking part included: Vladimir Pastukhov, political adviser and Visiting Fellow at St Anthony’s College, Oxford; Elena Lukyanova, lawyer; Ivan Starikov, politician. All of them tackled the many questions about the effectiveness of the current constitution, the possibility of writing this document without any interference from Duma deputies and state officials, as well as the nature of the Constitutional Assembly.

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Watch the full forum (in Russian only)

Can You Converge at a Square?

The New Year started with Open Russia’s online forum on January 17, 2015, about the nature of street protests, The novelist Lyudmila Ulitskaya, Pussy Riot activist Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, journalist and human rights activist Alexander Podrabinek, artist, curator, and theorist Anatoly Osmolovsky, and other experts and activists looked into the effectiveness of political protests, and provided an optimistic outlook on reaching the goals of the Russian opposition by means of nonviolent actions. Alexei Navalny was unable to join the conference from the office of his Anti-Corruption Foundation office because the police cut off the Internet connection.

View highlights of the forum (with English subtitles)

Watch the full forum (in Russian only)