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79-524: The Forum sets itself the task of forming an intellectual alternative to the current political regime in Russia. According to the organizers, “anyone who shares the values of democracy and considers Russia an integral part of the civilized international community can become a participant, sponsor, and organizer of the Forum”. According to Ivan Tyutrin  [ ru ] , “the only factor hindering participation

158-669: A criminal case to investigate the possible "subversion" of Ukraine's territorial integrity. On 20 February 2014, during a visit to Moscow , Chairman of the Supreme Council of Crimea Vladimir Konstantinov stated that the 1954 transfer of Crimea from the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic to the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic had been a mistake. The Euromaidan protests came to

237-563: A union republic on its own). By that time, though, the dissolution of the Soviet Union was well underway. The Crimean ASSR was restored for less than a year as part of Ukrainian SSR before the restoration of Ukrainian independence . Newly independent Ukraine maintained Crimea's autonomous status , while the Supreme Council of Crimea affirmed the peninsula's "sovereignty" as a part of Ukraine. The confrontation between

316-633: A Russian citizen, as mayor. Under the law of Ukraine, it was not possible for Sevastopol to elect a mayor, as the Chairman of the Sevastopol City State Administration , appointed by the president of Ukraine , functions as its mayor. A thousand protesters present chanted "A Russian mayor for a Russian city". On 25 February, several hundred pro-Russian protesters blocked the Crimean parliament demanding non-recognition of

395-470: A Russian flag, a pro-Euromaidan rally of between 5,000 and 15,000 was held in support of the new government, and demanding the resignation of the Crimean parliament; attendees waved Ukrainian, Tatar, and European Union flags. Meanwhile, in Sevastopol, thousands protested against the new Ukrainian government, voted to establish a parallel administration, and created civil defence squads with the support of

474-546: A dialogue – we shall achieve much more than with standoffs". New Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) chief Valentyn Nalyvaichenko requested that the United Nations provide around-the-clock monitoring of the security situation in Crimea. Russian troops took control of the main route to Sevastopol on orders from Russian president Vladimir Putin . A military checkpoint, with a Russian flag and Russian military vehicles,

553-580: A head in late February 2014, and Yanukovych and many of his ministers fled the capital on 22 February. After his flight, opposition parties and defectors from the Party of Regions put together a parliamentary quorum in the Verkhovna Rada (the Ukrainian parliament), and voted on 22 February to remove Yanukovych from his post on the grounds that he was unable to fulfill his duties. Arseniy Yatsenyuk

632-555: A podium who took a critical look at" the federal government's corona policy. The Handelsblatt and the Stuttgarter Zeitung called Reitschuster's Blog "right wing-conservative". journalist and lawyer Liane Bednarz described Reitschuster on Spiegel Online as the operator of a "blog with right-wing populist bias". According to NewsGuard , Reitschuster.de is a news blog "that reports on German politics from an undisclosed politically right-wing perspective." According to

711-663: A referendum of separation; the rally was organized by the Crimean Front . On 26 February, near the Verkhovna Rada of Crimea building, 4,000–5,000 Crimean Tatars and supporters of the Euromaidan -Crimea movement faced 600–700 supporters of pro-Russian organizations and the Russian Unity Party. Tatars leaders organised the demonstration in order to block the sitting of the Crimean parliament which

790-505: A true military coup , because the Russian military seized Crimea's parliament and government buildings and instigated the replacement of its government with Russian proxies. The February 2014 revolution of Dignity that ousted Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych sparked a political crisis in Crimea, which initially manifested as demonstrations against the new interim Ukrainian government , but rapidly escalated. In January 2014,

869-775: A venue in Vilnius, however, due to the Coronavirus Pandemic , it was held online. It was held on November 20–21, 2020. It was attended by Sergei Guriev , Garry Kasparov , Leonid Gozman , Mikhail Krutikhin, Elena Lukyanova, Gennady Gudkov , Olga Romanova , Andrei Soldatov , Alexander Kynev, Andrey Piontkovsky , Leonid Nevzlin , Lev Ponomaryov , Andrey Illarionov , Konstantin Eggert, Ilya Ponomarev , Vladislav Inozemtsev , Boris Reitschuster, Alexander Morozov, Andrei Sannikov , Marat Gelman , Igor Yakovenko, Yevgeniya Chirikova , Irina Borogan and others. The 10th Forum

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948-438: Is "doing everything to execute plans of separation of Crimea from Ukraine". Supreme Council Chairman Vladimir Konstantinov said that the Crimean parliament would not consider separation from Ukraine, and that earlier reports that parliament would hold a debate on the matter were provocations. Tatars created self-defence groups, encouraged collaboration with Russians, Ukrainians, and people of other nationalities, and called for

1027-563: Is a German journalist and author. He became known for his books on contemporary Russia. He was the head of the Moscow bureau of the German weekly FOCUS from 1999 until August 2015. After graduating from high school in Augsburg in 1990, Reitschuster qualified as an interpreter at the scientific center at Moscow State University of Economics, Statistics, and Informatics . From 1992 to 1994 he

1106-653: Is attended by representatives of various political organizations and associations: PARNAS , Open Russia , Russia of the Future , the Solidarnost movement, the Yabloko party, the Civic Initiative , and the headquarters of Alexei Navalny . The forum takes place over two days. Discussion panels discuss such topics as countering Russian propaganda in Russia and abroad, prospects for international pressure on

1185-403: Is the position of the " Crimeanashist ", that is, a supporter of aggression against Ukraine. Therefore, the participation of such figures as Maria Baronova , Vyacheslav Maltsev , and Sergei Udaltsov is impossible in the forum. In total, since March 2016, 11 conferences (forums) have been held. The ninth forum was held on November 20–21, 2020. Due to the coronavirus pandemic and closed borders,

1264-539: The Arabat Spit , which is geographically a part of Crimea. Whilst the " little green men " were occupying the Crimean parliament building, the parliament held an emergency session. It voted to terminate the Crimean government, and replace Prime Minister Anatolii Mohyliov with Sergey Aksyonov . Aksyonov belonged to the Russian Unity party, which received 4% of the vote in the last election. According to

1343-492: The Constitution of Ukraine , the prime minister of Crimea is appointed by the Supreme Council of Crimea in consultation with the president of Ukraine . Both Aksyonov and speaker Vladimir Konstantinov stated that they viewed Viktor Yanukovych as the de jure president of Ukraine , through whom they were able to ask Russia for assistance. Boris Reitschuster Boris Reitschuster (born May 12, 1971, in Augsburg )

1422-1118: The Crimean Peninsula , part of Ukraine , and then annexed it. This took place in the relative power vacuum immediately following the Revolution of Dignity . It marked the beginning of the Russo-Ukrainian War . The events in Kyiv that ousted Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych on 22 February 2014 sparked pro-Russian and anti-separatism demonstrations in Crimea . At the same time, Russian president Vladimir Putin discussed Ukrainian events with security chiefs, remarking that "we must start working on returning Crimea to Russia". On 27 February, Russian special forces without insignia seized strategic sites across Crimea. Although Russia at first denied its military involvement, Putin later admitted that troops were deployed to "stand behind Crimea's self-defence forces". As Russian troops occupied Crimea's parliament , it dismissed

1501-569: The Crimean government , installed the pro-Russian Aksyonov government, and announced a referendum on Crimea's status . The referendum was held under Russian occupation and, according to the Russian-installed authorities, the result was overwhelmingly in favor of joining Russia. The next day, 17 March 2014, Crimea's authorities declared independence and requested to join Russia. Russia formally incorporated Crimea on 18 March 2014 as

1580-675: The Party of Regions , failed to sign the Ukraine–European Union Association Agreement . Yanukovych won the 2010 presidential election with strong support from voters in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and southern and eastern Ukraine . The Crimean autonomous government strongly supported Yanukovych and condemned the protests, saying they were "threatening political stability in the country". The Crimean autonomous parliament said that it supported

1659-462: The Republic of Crimea and federal city of Sevastopol . Following the annexation, Russia built up its military presence on the peninsula and warned against any outside intervention. Ukraine and many other countries condemned the annexation and consider it to be a violation of international law and Russian agreements safeguarding the territorial integrity of Ukraine. The annexation led to

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1738-426: The Russian Unity party flags. Mayor Oleh Osadchy attempted to disperse the crowd and police eventually arrived to defend the flag. The mayor said "This is the territory of Ukraine, Crimea. Here's a flag of Crimea," but was accused of treason and a fight ensued over the flagpole. On 24 February, more rallied outside the Sevastopol city state administration. Pro-Russian demonstrators accompanied by neo-Cossacks demanded

1817-559: The Sevastopol city council had already called for formation of "people's militia" units to "ensure firm defence" of the city from "extremism". On February 20 several buses with Crimean license plates were stopped at a pro-Maidan checkpoint in a town in Cherkasy oblast . Their passengers were violently intimidated and some buses were burned. This incident was subsequently used by Russian propaganda which made unsubstantiated claims that

1896-538: The government 's decision to suspend negotiations on the pending association agreement and urged Crimeans to "strengthen friendly ties with Russian regions". On 4 February 2014, the Presidium of the Supreme Council "promised" to consider holding a referendum on the peninsula's status. Speaker Vladimir Klychnikov asked to appeal to the Russian government to "guarantee the preservation of Crimean autonomy". The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) responded by opening

1975-603: The illegal occupation of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea , the fall of Crimea , and the invasion of Crimea . In the Russian Federation, it is also known as the accession of Crimea to the Russian Federation ( Russian : присоединение Крыма к Российской Федерации , romanized :  prisoyedineniye Kryma k Rossiyskoy Federatsii ), the return of Crimea ( Russian : возвращение Крыма , romanized :  vozvrashcheniye Kryma ), and

2054-500: The integration of Russia and Belarus . At the beginning, the forum paid tribute to the memory of the recently deceased opposition leader Vladimir Bukovsky . Then activists and politicians from the regions spoke about their activities and prospects. In honor of the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall , participants discussed the reasons for the collapse of the communist regimes . Several people were included in

2133-736: The reunification of Crimea . Crimea was part of the Crimean Khanate from 1441 until it was annexed by the Russian Empire in 1783 by a decree of Catherine the Great . After the downfall of Russian empire in 1917 during the first stages of the Russian Civil War there were a series of short-lived independent governments ( Crimean People's Republic , Crimean Regional Government , Crimean SSR ). They were followed by White Russian governments ( General Command of

2212-556: The "Putin's list", in particular, the judges who passed the verdict on the defendants in the " Moscow case " and the investigators. Journalist Dmitry Zapolsky presented his book "Putinburg". In it, the author shows how the management system that exists in Russia was created in St. Petersburg . The next, 9th forum was held in May 2020 in Vilnius. The event was planned in a full-time format with

2291-564: The 6th FSR, 93 new persons were included in the List, and in June 2019 at the 7th forum, the List was replenished with 28 persons. At the 7th FSR, Oleg Kashin was included in Putin's List. The grounds are his complicity in the propaganda of the Putin regime, the use of the status of an authoritative and popular publicist to legitimize the aggressive neo-imperial policy of the Russian leadership. During

2370-530: The 8th Forum include change and development of the repressive apparatus and ways to resist repressions, possible strategies of the Russian opposition concerning participation in elections, past elections to the Moscow City Duma , environmental protests in the regions, the socio-economic situation in Russia, prospects for the development of Russian-Ukrainian conflict in Donbas , prospects and threats to

2449-826: The Armed Forces of South Russia and later South Russian Government ). In October 1921, the Bolshevik Russian SFSR gained control of the peninsula and instituted the Crimean Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic as a member of Russian Federation. In the following year Crimea joined the Soviet Union as a part of Russia (the RSFSR ). After the Second World War and the 1944 deportation of all of

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2528-738: The Black Sea Fleet, Russia should question Ukrainian control over Crimea. In 1998 the Partition Treaty divided the fleet and gave Russia a naval base in Sevastopol, and the Treaty of Friendship recognized the inviolability of existing borders. However, in 2003 Tuzla Island conflict issues over maritime border resurfaced. In September 2008, the Ukrainian Foreign Minister Volodymyr Ohryzko accused Russia of giving Russian passports to

2607-579: The Committee announced the recognition of Juan Guaidó as the legitimate interim President of Venezuela , congratulated the people and the new President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy on successful elections ( Vladimir Putin did not send congratulations). The Standing Committee also condemned the dispersal of several different protest rallies, including May Day demonstrations in several cities of Russia, protesters in Yekaterinburg (against

2686-535: The Crimea and the port of Sevastopol – as seen by public opinion in Russia, statements by politicians, including members of the ruling United Russia party, experts and journalists". In 2011, William Varettoni wrote that "Russia wants to annex Crimea and is merely waiting for the right opportunity, most likely under the pretense of defending Russian brethren abroad". The Euromaidan protest movement began in Kyiv in late November 2013 after President Viktor Yanukovych , of

2765-403: The Crimean city of Sevastopol. Crimean prime minister Anatolii Mohyliov said that his government recognised the new provisional government in Kyiv, and that the Crimean autonomous government would carry out all laws passed by the Ukrainian parliament. In Simferopol , following a pro-Russian demonstration the previous day where protesters had replaced the Ukrainian flag over the parliament with

2844-633: The Crimean parliament (80 of 100), the Party of Regions of Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych , did not discuss Crimean secession, and were supportive of an agreement between President Yanukovych and Euromaidan activists to end the unrest that was struck on the same day in Kyiv . Russia was concerned that the new government avowedly committed to closer relations with the West put its strategic positions in Crimea at risk. On 22–23 February , Russian president Vladimir Putin convened an all-night meeting with security services chiefs to discuss extrication of

2923-695: The FSR regarding the detention of Meduza 's special correspondent Ivan Golunov . The main topics of the 7th Forum: Members of the Tatar government in exile asked the Free Russia Forum to recognize the independence of the Idel-Ural republics. In response, the editorial committee of the Forum published a commentary by Vadim Sidorov, in which he criticized this request due to the lack of the expressed will of

3002-613: The Forum website forumfreerussia.org on the territory of the Russian Federation. The decision to block it was made by the Tagansky Court of Moscow. Article 15.1 of the Law on Information - "Dissemination of prohibited information" is indicated as the basis. On December 2, 2019, the Vilnius Regional Court satisfied the claim of the Ukrainian journalist and blogger Anatoly Shariy against the Forum of Free Russia due to

3081-469: The List are Russian officials, prominent businessmen, journalists of state and media close to the Kremlin, who, according to the authors, are responsible for the usurpation of power, violation of human rights, corruption, military aggression, and hate propaganda. In 2018, members of the Forum's Standing Committee Mark Feygin and Ivan Tyutrin  [ ru ] traveled to Washington, D.C. to present

3160-408: The List to the responsible US agencies. In April 2019, it was announced that the "Putin's List" database was opened on a special website www.spisok-putina.org. Here are detailed dossiers with biographies and a description of the actions of the defendants that led to their inclusion in the database. In April 2020, the site was blocked by Roskomnadzor . The dossiers in the database are divided into

3239-634: The Lithuanian authorities continue their policy of introducing total censorship in the country and eradicating any dissent.” The journalists challenged the deportation decision at the European Court of Human Rights , accusing the Lithuanian authorities of violating freedom of speech. The ECHR adopted a decision by a majority of votes, according to which the complaints of the employees of the Russia-24 TV channel were declared inadmissible, and

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3318-605: The Moscow case. In December 2019, representatives of the Free Russia Forum Andrey Illarionov , Ilya Ponomarev and Ivan Tyutrin  [ ru ] presented the updated Putin List to the US Congress and several other American departments. As one of the delegation members, Ivan Tyutrin  [ ru ] , said, special attention was paid to the "Moscow case" in the updated report. Forum representatives plan to convey information about

3397-1473: The Putin regime through sanctions, the economic situation, relations between Russia and the West, and the strategy of the Russian opposition under the current regime in the country. To become a member of the forum, you must provide at registration two recommendations from politicians, opposition activists, journalists, or human rights defenders. Over the years, Garry Kasparov , Oleg Sentsov , Sergei Guriev , Arkady Babchenko , Gennady Gudkov , Marat Gelman , Evgeny Chichvarkin , Ilya Ponomarev , Olga Romanova , Alfred Koch , Leonid Nevzlin , Masha Gessen , Alexander Goldfarb , Yevgeny Kiselyov , Leonid Gozman , Roman Dobrokhotov , Andrey Illarionov , Vladislav Inozemtsev , Alexey (Professor) Lebedinsky  [ ru ] , Mark Feygin , Andrei Soldatov , Artemy Troitsky , Maria Alyokhina , Alexander Morozov, Ayder Muzhdabaev , Valentyn Nalyvaichenko , Vygaudas Ušackas , Andrey Piontkovsky , Andrius Kubilius , Igor Chubais , Lev Ponomaryov , Mikhail Krutikhin  [ ru ] , Boris Reitschuster , Yevgeniya Chirikova , Bozhena Rynska, Mikhail Svetov , David Satter , Tomas Venclova , Alexander Kynev, Elena Fanailova , Lilia Shevtsova , Konstantin Eggert (Journalist)  [ ru ] , Andrei Sannikov , Arkady Yankovsky, Igor Eidman  [ de ] , Elena Lukyanova  [ ru ] , Igor Yakovenko  [ ru ] , Sergey Gulyaev  [ ru ] have taken part in

3476-529: The Russian Night Wolves motorcycle club. Protesters waved Russian flags, chanted "Putin is our president!" and said they would refuse to further pay taxes to the Ukrainian state. Russian military convoys were also alleged to be seen in the area. In Kerch , pro-Russian protesters attempted to remove the Ukrainian flag from atop city hall and replace it with the flag of Russia. Over 200 attended, waving Russian, orange-and-black St. George , and

3555-496: The Russian Federation Based in Crimea, elements of Navy Deployed to Crimea, elements of Ground Forces (GRU command) Airborne Navy Special Operations Forces Armed forces Navy Paramilitary Interior troops Border guards Protesters Volunteer units Russian military forces Protesters Ukrainian military forces In February and March 2014, Russia invaded

3634-593: The Standing Committee of the Free Russia Forum turned to German Federal Chancellor Angela Merkel with a request to prevent the implementation of the Nord Stream 2 project. “With Nord Stream 2, Russian gas supplies to the EU will be dangerously dependent on bilateral relations between Moscow and Berlin,” the open letter says. The Standing Committee accepts statements on current policy issues. So, in 2019,

3713-790: The Supreme Soviet declared that the deportation of the Crimean Tatars under Stalin had been illegal and the mostly Muslim ethnic group was allowed to return to Crimea. In 1990, the Soviet of the Crimean Oblast proposed the restoration of the Crimean ASSR. The oblast conducted a referendum in 1991, which asked whether Crimea should be elevated into a signatory of the New Union Treaty (that is, become

3792-411: The TV crew were deported from Lithuania with the wording "a possible threat to national security". The deported journalists were also banned from entering the country. The situation with the expulsion was reacted at the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs . The official representative of the department, Maria Zakharova , commented on the situation as follows: “Once again, we are forced to state that

3871-402: The arguments of the Lithuanian authorities - well-founded. The ECtHR stressed that the guarantees of freedom of expression apply to journalists if they act in good faith to disseminate information that is relevant to the facts, based on the principles of responsible journalism. In this case, the ECtHR did not recognize the applicants' behavior as such. On February 22, 2019, Roskomnadzor blocked

3950-420: The central government of Ukraine and a referendum on Crimea's status. On the same day, crowds gathered again outside Sevastopol's city hall on Tuesday as rumours spread that security forces could arrest Chaly, but police chief Alexander Goncharov said that his officers would refuse to carry out "criminal orders" issued by Kyiv. Viktor Neganov, a Sevastopol-based adviser to the Internal Affairs Minister, condemned

4029-437: The construction of a church) and Arkhangelsk Oblast (against the construction of a landfill), and a rally in support of independent opposition candidates in the elections to the Moscow City Duma . Additionally, the Standing Committee of the Forum denounced sentences given to participants in the so-called " Moscow case ", calling them unjust and dictated by the desire of the Kremlin regime to destroy any centers of resistance to

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4108-419: The deposed Ukrainian president, Viktor Yanukovych, and at the end of that meeting Putin had remarked that "we must start working on returning Crimea to Russia". After that GRU and FSB began negotiating deals with local sympathizers to ensure that when the operation began there would be well‑armed "local self‑defense groups" on the streets for support. On 23 February pro-Russian demonstrations were held in

4187-641: The detained journalist Ivan Golunov , and in support of the activists of Open Russia , against whom criminal cases were initiated. Forum participants unanimously supported the resolution in support of the Toronto community's initiative to name a street in Earl Bales Park in honor of Boris Nemtsov . On November 9–10, 2019, the 8th Free Russia Forum was held in Vilnius. More than three hundred people gathered for it, out of 68% came from Russia and 32% represented Russian political emigration. The discussions were attended by Garry Kasparov , Oleg Sentsov , Lev Ponomaryov , Marat Gelman , and others. The key topics of

4266-493: The discussion of Kashin's candidacy, the opinions of the forum participants were divided, but the majority of participants supported the inclusion. The members of the FSR Standing Committee Leonid Nevzlin and Mark Feygin spoke in favor of the introduction. Marat Gelman actively opposed the introduction. 57 persons were added to Putin's List at the 8th Forum. Among the new defendants: TV presenter Tigran Keosayan , designer Artemy Lebedev , as well as judges and investigators in

4345-655: The election of a Russian citizen as mayor and hoisted Russian flags around the city administration; they also handed out leaflets to sign up for a self-defence militia, warning that the " Blue - Brown Europlague is knocking". Volodymyr Yatsuba , head of Sevastopol administration, announced his resignation, citing the "decision of the city's inhabitants" made at a pro-Russian rally, and while caretaker city administration initially leaned towards recognition of new Ukrainian government, continued pressure from pro-Russian activists forced local authorities to concede. Consequently, Sevastopol City Council illegally elected Alexei Chaly ,

4424-400: The electoral dictatorship of Vladimir Putin in Russia. In December 2017, the forum participants compiled the "Putin's List". At the moment, the document contains more than three hundred names, divided into 12 categories. It, according to the creators, is intended to become the basis for the introduction of personal sanctions against the defendants by Western countries. Among the defendants on

4503-507: The event was held live on YouTube . FSR projects include "Personnel Reserve" (training leaders for democratic change), "Putin's List" (dossiers on the leaders of the current regime and the continuation of the policy of sanctions against the Putin regime), and Monitoring the persecution of religious minorities. A feature of the Free Russia Forum is a wide ideological spectrum of participants. These are non-systemic liberals , national democrats , social democrats , and libertarians . The forum

4582-457: The events in the city as a coup. "Chaly represents the interests of the Kremlin which likely gave its tacit approval," he said. Sevastopol City State Administration chairman Vladimir Yatsuba was booed and heckled on 23 February, when he told a pro-Russian rally that Crimea was part of Ukraine. He resigned the next day. In Simferopol, the Regional State Administration building was blockaded with hundreds of protesters, including neo-Cossacks, demanding

4661-426: The following categories (some persons are listed in several categories): The database is regularly updated with new dossiers, which is reported in the site's news. As of 30/12/2019, according to the counter in the upper left corner of the site, the database contained information on 375 persons involved. Additions to the Putin List are accepted by open voting by participants in the in-person forums In December 2018, at

4740-412: The forum. The seventh forum was held on June 8–9, 2019 in the city of Trakai , 26 kilometers from Vilnius. It was attended by representatives of 60 regions of Russia . As of the end of May, a record number of participants signed up for the Forum - 442 (the majority are residents of Russia), which indicates the rise of the opposition movement. Before the start of the program, a statement was read out by

4819-436: The government of Ukraine and Crimea deteriorated between 1992 and 1995. In May 1992 the regional parliament declared an independent "Crimean republic." In June 1992, the parties reached a compromise, that Crimea would have considerable autonomy but remain part of Ukraine. Yuri Meshkov , a leader of the Russian movement was elected President of Crimea in 1994 and his party won a majority in the regional parliamentary elections in

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4898-460: The indigenous Crimean Tatars by the Soviet government, the Crimean ASSR was stripped of its autonomy in 1946 and downgraded to the status of an oblast of the Russian SFSR. In 1954, the Crimean Oblast was transferred from the Russian SFSR to the Ukrainian SSR by decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union to commemorate the 300th anniversary of Ukraine's union with Russia . In 1989, under Gorbachev 's perestroika ,

4977-437: The next political process in Russia, naming by name the people responsible for the violent dispersal of peaceful demonstrations and fabrication of criminal cases against civil activists. The first Free Russia Forum, held in March 2016, was accompanied by a scandal. In one of the hotels in Vilnius, a fight broke out with the participation of Bozena Rynska and employees of the state TV channel Russia 24 , after which all members of

5056-441: The other members of the G8 suspending Russia from the group and introducing sanctions . The United Nations General Assembly also rejected the referendum and annexation, adopting a resolution affirming the "territorial integrity of Ukraine within its internationally recognised borders", and referring to the Russian action as a "temporary occupation". The Russian government opposes the "annexation" label, with Putin defending

5135-414: The passengers were killed in gruesome ways. The Verkhovna Rada of Crimea members called for an extraordinary meeting on 21 February. In response to Russian separatist sentiment, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) said that it would "use severe measures to prevent any action taken against diminishing the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Ukraine". The party with the largest number of seats in

5214-443: The people's concern and the high proportion of the Russian population in these territories. Sidorov suggested discussing this issue during the formation of a renewed federation or other commonwealth of new states on the site of the current Russian Federation. By a universal vote of the participants of the 7th Forum, it was decided to expand the number of persons on "Putin's List" by 28 persons. Applications were accepted in support of

5293-437: The political system of Russia in his books and articles, he is a well-known critic of President Vladimir Putin . In 2008 he was honored with the Theodor Heuss medal for his "high personal commitment to freedom of expression and assembly and thus for the protection of citizens' rights" in Russia. Reitschuster stated several times that he received death threats in Russia while working as a journalist. For this reason, he said he

5372-405: The population in Crimea, and described it as a "real problem", given Russia's declared policy of military intervention abroad to protect Russian citizens. On 24 August 2009, anti-Ukrainian demonstrations were held in Crimea by ethnic Russian residents. Sergei Tsekov (of the Russian Bloc and then deputy speaker of the Crimean parliament ) said then that he hoped that Russia would treat Crimea

5451-423: The pro-Russian movement, Kyiv's policy of avoiding escalation and the lack of active support from Russia. During the 1990s, the dispute over control of the Black Sea Fleet and Crimean naval facilities were source of tensions between Russia and Ukraine. In 1992, Vladimir Lukin , then chairman of the Russian Duma 's Committee on Foreign Affairs, suggested that in order to pressure Ukraine to give up its claim to

5530-435: The protection of churches, mosques, synagogues, and other important sites. By nightfall the Crimean Tatars had left; several hundred Russian Unity supporters rallied on. The new Ukrainian government 's acting Internal Affairs Minister Arsen Avakov tasked Crimean law enforcement agencies not to provoke conflicts and to do whatever necessary to prevent clashes with pro-Russian forces; and he added "I think, that way – through

5609-511: The publication of slander against him. He should be paid 3,000 euros and 1,200 euros of court fees. However, this decision was reversed on appeal in 2021. On February 1, 2023, the Russian Prosecutor General’s Office has designated the Free Russia Forum as an “undesirable” organization. “Undesirable organizations” are banned from operating on Russian territory under threat of felony prosecution. [REDACTED] Media related to Free Russia Forum at Wikimedia Commons Annexation of Crimea by

5688-446: The referendum as complying with the principle of the self-determination of peoples. The names of the Crimean annexation vary. In Ukraine, the annexation is known as the temporary occupation of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol by Russia ( Ukrainian : тимчасова окупація Автономної Республіки Крим і Севастополя Росією , romanized :  tymchasova okupatsiia Avtonomnoi Respubliky Krym i Sevastopolia Rosiieiu ),

5767-486: The same way as it had treated South Ossetia and Abkhazia . Crimea is populated by an ethnic Russian majority and a minority of both ethnic Ukrainians and Crimean Tatars, and thus demographically possessed one of Ukraine's largest ethnically Russian populations. As early as in 2010, some analysts already speculated that the Russian government had irredentist plans. Taras Kuzio said that "Russia has an even more impossible time recognizing Ukraine's sovereignty over

5846-501: The same year. The pro-Russian movement was then weakened by internal disagreements and in March 1995 the Ukrainian government gained the upper hand. The office of the elected President of Crimea was abolished and a loyal head of region was installed instead of Meshkov; the 1992 constitution and a number of local laws were repealed. According to Gwendolyn Sasse the conflict was defused due to Crimea's multi-ethnic population, fractures within

5925-490: Was Moscow correspondent for the newspapers Deutsches Allgemeines Sonntagsblatt , Darmstädter Echo and Thüringische Allgemeine . After a traineeship at the newspaper Augsburger Allgemeine from 1995 to 1997, he initially worked for the news agencies DPA and AFP in Augsburg and Munich . From November 1999 to August 2015 he was the head of the Moscow office of the news magazine Focus . Reitschuster critically deals with

6004-462: Was appointed by the Rada to serve as the head of a caretaker government until new presidential and parliament elections could be held. This new government was recognised internationally. Russian government and propaganda have described these events as a " coup d'état " and have said that the caretaker government was illegitimate, while researchers consider the subsequent annexation of Crimea to be

6083-415: Was forced to return to Germany in 2011. Since 2015, Reitschuster has been working as a journalist for various media, including Focus, The European , Tichys Einblick and Junge Freiheit as well as a presenter and lecturer. The Bayerische Staatszeitung described Reitschuster's website as "a controversial, right-wing online Platform". "Depending on one's point of view, it gave " COVID belittlers

6162-440: Was held online on May 28–29, 2021. The 11th Forum was held on December 2–3, 2021 in Vilnius, Lithuania. In 2018, the Standing Committee of the Free Russia Forum was created. It included Vladimir Ashurkov , Marat Gelman , Andrey Illarionov , Garry Kasparov , Daniil Konstantinov , Leonid Nevzlin , Ilya Ponomarev , Andrei Sidelnikov, Ivan Tyutrin  [ ru ] , Mark Feygin and Yevgeniya Chirikova . In March 2019,

6241-723: Was set up on the main highway between the city and Simferopol . On 27 February, unmarked Russian forces in cooperation with local nationalist paramilitaries took over the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol , with Russian special forces seizing the building of the Supreme Council of Crimea and the building of the Council of Ministers in Simferopol . Russian flags were raised over these buildings and barricades were erected outside them. Pro-Russian forces also occupied several localities in Kherson Oblast on

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