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TOP NEWS
Meeting with the European Economic and Social Committee in Brussels
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On October 7, 2014, the Joint Seminar "Position and Role of Civil Society in the EU and Russia" is due to take place in Brussels. Within the new granting period, it will be the first official meeting of representatives of the EU-Russia Civil Society Forum and the European Economic and Social Committee.
Possible topics for discussions are civil society as a driver of change, strengthening of relations between the EU and the Russian civil society, role of trade unions and employers' organisations as well as issues of the common EU-Russia interest like environmentally and socially responsible policies and integration of migrants.
The event will be followed up by the EESC next round of discussions on the Russian Civil Society. Besides, further meetings with EU institutions, members of the European Parliament, and other interested organisations and personalities are planned.
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TOP NEWS
Crackdown on the Memorial Centre of History of Political Repressions
"Perm 36"
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The crackdown on the only GULAG Museum in the Russian Federation - Memorial Centre of History of Political Repressions "Perm 36" - has been on-going. The last July weekend was a traditional time for the International Civil Forum "Pilorama", to which the EU-Russia Civil Society Forum - along with local and international partners - contributed with discussions and an accompanying event - the European Forum for Young Professionals "Pilorama Lab". The second year in a row, "Pilorama" didn't take place - officially due to the lack of co-financing and ineffective practices by the former management.
Earlier in 2014, the institution was split into two organisations - a state-owned one, which possesses buildings and infrastructure of the former GULAG camp, and an autonomous nonprofit one, which has museum's collections and items on its balance as well as is responsible for concept and organising of events. On May 23, 2014, the new Director of the state-owned facility - a Deputy Minister of Culture, Youth Policy, and Mass Communications of the Perm Region - replaced Tatyana Kursina, a long-term Executive Director and - along with her husband Viktor Shmyrov (Director of the NGO) - one of the founders of the Memorial Centre. Tatyana Kursina was forced to change to the NGO, which has no right to hold any event on the territory of "Perm 36" without a written consent from the state-owned organisation. Before that, no agreed funding for 2014 came to the Memorial Centre from the Ministry, while water and electricity on site were cut off, what didn't let hold any guided tours there anymore. All these facts were used for blaming the former management for incompetence and the followed-up dismission of Tatyana Kursina.
The new management shows no respect towards the founders of the Memorial Centre. No excursions are allowed, whereas foreign tourists willing to visit the site have been checked for the compliance with the passport regime. At the same time, the museum was opened for a crew of the NTV channel which came to shoot a controversial documentary on the history of the camp and was accompanied by its former prison wardens and representatives of the notorious “Essence of Time” Movement. Finally, a part of the Museum's original items has been destroyed.
The EU-Russia Civil Society Forum will keep you updated on progress of the situation and inform you on support measures for the Memorial Centre of History of Political Repressions "Perm 36" soon.
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STEERING COMMITTEE
Statement "New Moves of the Russian Ministry of Justice to Include Leading NGOs into the List of "Foreign Agents" Endanger Developement of the EU-Russia Relations"
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New moves of the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation to include a group of leading Russian non-governmental organisations into the list of “foreign agents” – along with another series of restrictions in the Russian media field – diminish the possibilities for civil society to counter the decrease in co-operation between the partners and endanger constructive development of the EU-Russia relations at large.
On July 21, 2014, a new group of leading Russian NGOs has been added to the list of “foreign agents”. Two active members of the EU-Russia Civil Society Forum were affected by this move. “Public Verdict” Foundation’s right to defend itself in court has already been repeatedly violated in the course of a protracted trial. Human Rights Centre “Memorial” has had to undergo derogatory judicial procedures in the course of the last year as well. Further NGOs included are “Lawyers for Constitutional Rights and Freedoms”, the Kaliningrad Regional Public Organisation “Ecodefence-Women’s Council”, and the Interregional Association of Human Rights Public Unions “AGORA”. On the same day, the Vasileostrovsky Court in St. Petersburg labeled LGBT organisation “Vykhod” (Coming-Out) as a “foreign agent”, too. As of today, the list contains 11 entries in total; 4 of them are EU-Russia Civil Society Forum members. Apart from the mentioned ones, these are Moscow Member Centre of the National Association for the Protection of Voters’ Rights “Golos” and the Kostroma Centre for Civic Initiatives. Both organisations had already closed down or are in the process of self-closure to avoid criminal prosecution of their leaders for refusal to register as “foreign agents”. Several organisations labeled as “foreign agents” have been playing a crucial role in defending rights of citizens in the course of recent major trials like that on the events on Bolotnaya Square on May 6, 2012.
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STEERING COMMITTEE
Suggestions for the EU and EU Member States' Roadmaps for Engagement for Civil Society for Russia
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In the beginning of July 2014, the EU-Russia Civil Soiety Forum was invited to contribute to the "EU and EU Member States' Roadmaps for Engagement with Civil Society". The invitation was communicated to the CSF Secretariat on behalf of Mr Vygaudas Ušackas, Head of the EU Delegation to the Russian Federation.
The development of the roadmaps is in compliance with the guidelines of the Communication "The Roots of Democracy and Sustainable Development: Europe's Engagement with Civil Society in External Relations" adopted by the European Council in September 2012.
The roadmap for Russia is aimed at assisting the EU and the EU member states develop a common framework to engage civil society at country level. The suggestions by the Steering Committee included inter alia building of a strong cross-border civil society, provision of new interactive and transparent ways of citizen participation in both the EU and Russia, timely and structured involvement of representatives and expertise of civil society in the EU-Russia governmental dialogue issues, easier and extended people-to-people contacts, closer co-operation between civil society actors in Russia and the Eastern Partnership countries.
Further suggestions for the roadmap were also prepared by one of the Forum's members - the Centre of Civic Analysis and Independent Research "GRANI" (Perm, Russia).
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FLASHBACK
Lecture and Workshop "Political Culture and Civil Society in Russia: Opportunities and Limits" at the European Academy in Otzenhausen
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On July 27, 2014, the work of the EU-Russia Civil Society Forum was presented within the Seminar "Quo Vadis, EU? Quo Vadis, Russia? Challenges Facing the European Union and Russia in the 21st Century" for German and Russian students of social sciences at the European Academy Otzenhausen (Germany).
Within his lecture and workshop "Political Culture and Civil Society in Russia: Opportunities and Limits", Sergei Tereshenkov, Forum's PR Co-Ordinator, used the CSF work as a starting point for group discussions on problems faced by Russia in the fields of interest, which have been handled by Working Groups of the Forum - "Human Rights and the Rule of Law", "Environment", "Social Issues and Civic Participation", "Democratic Structures and Processes", "Citizenship Education", and "Historical Memory and Education".
Every group received an example from the Forum's work - a statement, a policy paper, an article, etc., added its own perceptions and knowledge on the topic to the input and presented the results in a big circle. After the current problems had been discovered, the participants finalised the workshop with their suggestions - in the form of a road - for improvement of the actual situation in the mentioned realms, which would be suitable for the related circumstances in the Russian Federation.
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