FINROSFORUM

FINROSFORUM

FINROSFORUM  //  The Finnish-Russian Civic Forum strives to promote cooperation between the peoples of Finland and Russia by supporting civic initiatives for democracy, human rights, and freedom of speech.

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Jul 22 / 9:27pm

Modernization in the Age of Political Post-Modernism

by Kerkko Paananen


"Modernization sounds more old-fashioned and Soviet than other slogans in post-Soviet Russia," writes Russian film director Andrei Nekrasov. "Like octogenarian Soviet leaders Medvedev pays no attention to the style that emphasizes Russia's backwardness. Medvedev's call falls into the category of those grand authoritarian invocations à la sovietique. The irony of it seems to be lost not only on the youthful Russian leader himself, but on many ultra-modern westerners, who quote Medvedev with wishful seriousness."

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Filed under // Modernization Nekrasov Russia

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Jul 20 / 5:12pm

FINROSFORUM 2010 | Address to Finnish and Russian Presidents

by Kerkko Paananen

Address to the Presidents of Finland and the Russian Federation by participants of the 4th annual Finnish-Russian Civic Forum, FINROSFORUM 2010

Helsinki, 20 July 2010

Dear President Halonen,
Dear President Medvedev,

While you are meeting today in Finland, we, representatives of Russian and Finnish civil societies, are also gathering here to discuss how non-governmental actors can contribute to cooperation between our two nations and to building a common European space based on the principles of democracy, rule of law and human rights. We would like to draw your attention to the following concerns, which are in the centre of our discussions today.

Like you, dear Presidents, we also want to see Russia a modern and prosperous country. However, we believe that without ensuring fundamental freedoms, building strong democratic institutions and an independent judiciary any technological modernisation efforts will fail. It goes without saying that free and fair elections and independence of the media are essential to this process.

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Filed under // EU Finland FINROSFORUM Foreign Policy Halonen Human Rights Medvedev Russia

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Jul 17 / 4:45am

FSB Halfway to Absolute Power

by Kerkko Paananen

The lower house of the Russian parliament, the State Duma, today passed on third reading a measure that dramatically expands the powers of the FSB, a measure that Russian rights activists are urging President Dmitry Medvedev not to sign. Under the terms of the measure, the FSB in cases where there is no evidence of a crime can declare any Russian of being engaged in "impermissible actions which create the conditions for the committing of a crime," a declaration that opens the way to arbitrary actions against people.

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Filed under // Authoritarianism Democracy FSB Police Russia

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Jul 16 / 3:41pm

Russian Untouchables

by Kerkko Paananen

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Filed under // Corruption Hermitage Magnitsky Russia

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Jul 14 / 10:12pm

FINROSFORUM 2010 | «Модернизация – от слов к делу»

by Kerkko Paananen


Четвертая ежегодная конференция Финско-Российского Гражданского Форумa, «FINROSFORUM 2010», объединит группу экспертов по правам человека, политике и экономике из России и других стран. Конференция проведется 21-22 июля 2010 в культурном центре «София», который расположен в великолепном природном окружении на берегу Балтийского моря в восточной части Хельсинки.

В первый день конференции главная тема дискуссии – модернизация российского общества. В дискуссии будут участвовать бывший вице-премьер РФ Борис Немцов, депутат Госдумы Илья Пономарев, известный политолог Андрей Пионтковский, гендиректор инвестиционного фонда Hermitage Capital Management Билл Браудер и многие другие. Полный список докладчиков можно найти на нашем сайте.

Второй день конференции будет посвящен обсуждению проекта [pdf] для создания новых форм сотрудничества между неправительственными организациями ЕС и России. Ведущие деятели российского гражданского общества приглашены в дискуссию. Будут представлять проект Фрейзер Кэмерон, директор Центра ЕС-Россия, и Хейди Хаутала, председатель Финско-Российского Гражданского Форума.

Конференция открыта для публики, участие в ней бесплатно. Просьба ко всем заинтересованным лицам зарегистрироваться на конференцию заранее здесь.

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Filed under // Модернизация Россия Финляндия Finland FINROSFORUM Russia

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Jul 12 / 1:34am

Art Trial Reveals Clash of Russian Cultures

by Mikael Storsjö

Two prominent intellectuals, facing a verdict of up to three years’ imprisonment over a museum exhibition in 2007, issued dire warnings on Thursday that Russia was starting to resemble Nazi Germany, contemporary Iran and the Soviet Union in the harshness of its growing nationalism, dominance of the Russian Orthodox church and fear of modern art.

Yuri Samodurov, former director of Moscow’s Sakharov Museum, and Andrei Yerofeyev, a former curator of the Tretyakov Gallery, have been on trial for nearly two years on charges of fomenting ethnic and religious hatred. The verdict in the case is due Monday. It has sharply divided the Moscow intelligentsia and become a lightning rod for feelings about the church, whose power has grown steadily since Communist rule crumbled two decades ago.

Mr. Yerofeyev opened a news conference on Thursday by showing a video against contemporary art produced by Narodny Sobor, or People’s Council, a nationalist organization that he said was the driving force in the charges against him and Mr. Samodurov. “We have the classic situation of a fascist party that is attacking contemporary culture,” he said. “Through destruction it is trying to get attention, your attention.

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Filed under // art Freedom of Speech Russia trial

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Jul 9 / 2:35pm

FINROSFORUM 2010 | Modernisation: From Words to Deeds

by Kerkko Paananen


The fourth annual conference of the Finnish-Russian Civic Forum, FINROSFORUM 2010, brings together a host of experts on human rights, politics, and the economy from Russia and elsewhere. The conference will be held in the Conference and Cultural Centre Sofia in Helsinki on 21-22 July 2010. The conference venue is located on the picturesque cape of Kallahdenniemi in Helsinki's eastern district of Vuosaari.

The first day of the conference will focus on Russia's need to modernise its political and economic system. Taking part in the discussion will be Boris Nemtsov, Russia's former Deputy Prime Minister, Ilya Ponomaryov, member of Russia's State Duma, Andrey Piontkovsky, Russian scientist and political analyst, Bill Browder, founder and CEO of Hermitage Capital Management, and many others. The full list of speakers is available on our website.

The second day of the conference will be devoted to a discussion about the need to create new forms of civil society cooperation between the EU and Russia. A project to establish an EU-Russia Civil Society Forum [pdf] will be presented at the forum. Leading actors in Russia's human rights movement and civic society have been invited to take part in the discussion. Fraser Cameron, Director of the EU-Russia Centre, and Heidi Hautala, Chair of the Finnish-Russian Civic Forum, will present the project.

The conference is open to the public and participation in the event is free of charge. Registration for the conference is open at http://finrosforum.fi/pages/registration.

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Filed under // Civil Society Economy Finland FINROSFORUM Human Rights Modernisation Russia

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Jul 9 / 2:10pm

FINROSFORUM 2010 | Speaker Profiles

by Kerkko Paananen

The fourth annual conference of the Finnish-Russian Civic Forum, FINROSFORUM 2010, will feature a host of speakers from Russia and elsewhere. Read on for brief profiles on all the featured speakers. We invite all participants to take an active part in the discussions. Please remember to register for the conference!

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Filed under // Finland FINROSFORUM Russia

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Jul 8 / 11:56pm

Russia opening online public services

by Mikael Storsjö

Medvedev: Russians ready for introduction of online public services

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev said on Thursday many Russians were ready to receive online electronic public services. The Russian government aims to create an electronic public service system, intended to help fight corruption and red tape among regional officials.

"Perhaps [Russia is] less [prepared] than other European states, but we know that tens of millions of our citizens regularly use the Internet. They make a significant part of the population... If they use the Internet, then they are ready to receive such [online] services," he said.

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Filed under // Internet Media Medvedev Russia

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Jul 7 / 2:18am

Elena Maglevannaya will not give up

by Kerkko Paananen


The Russian freelance journalist and human rights activist, Elena Maglevannaya, who has applied for asylum in Finland, continues her work at the refugee reception centre in Joutseno, on the Finnish-Russian border.

Maglevannaya has been waiting for a decision on her asylum application for over a year now. If the Finnish immigration authorities grant her asylum, Maglevannaya vows to continue writing about human rights violations in Chechnya.

"It is impossible for me to return to Russia; that would be a death sentence," says Maglevannaya. She has finally received an invitation to a hearing at the Finnish Immigration Service, where she will have an opportunity to recount her reasons to apply for asylum.

"I am excited, but I have great trust in the European system. Here in Finland, there is rule of law. I have often been in a situation where law has no meaning or it does not exist at all," Maglevannaya says.

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Filed under // Asylum Chechnya Finland Human rights Journalism Prisons Russia Torture

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