The Russian opposition movement Open Russia was disbanded following the decision of the conference held on March, 30 in Riga.
“Today the Russian social snd network movement Open Russia has made a decision on dissolution. This step in no way means that we recognize the claims of the Prosecutor’s Office and the Justice Ministry,” Andrey Pivovarov, Chairman of the movement, said.
According to him, such a step was aimed at protecting the activists from political persecution.
The founding conference took place in Helsinki in 2016; the movement was registered in the United Kingdom. Exiled Russian businessman and critic of the Putin regime Mikhail Khodorkovsky became its first chairman.
Движение Открытая Россия, учрежденное в ноябре 2016 года в Хельсинки, ликвидировано по решению конференции, которая…
Opublikowany przez Команда Открытой России Sobota, 30 marca 2019
In April 2017, the Prosecutor General of the Russian Federation designated the activities of Open Russia ‘undesirable’. This year, criminal cases were launched against its two members, Anastasiya Shevchenko and Maksim Vernikov. The police also conducted a number of searches. Over the past two years, a few dozen administrative cases were launched against activists over their participation in an ‘unwelcome’ organization.
To change the situation, a new Russian organization under the title ‘Open Russia’ was founded in Moscow on 24 February, 2015. Established in Russia, it obeys to the local law and can hardly be considered ‘undesirable’.
