If You Don’t Have What You Like, You Like What You Have
At the end of May 2021, an unexpected breakthrough took place after ten months of hanging around in the matter of choosing the Ombudsperson in Poland. For the first time, a candidate has been put forward who has a chance to be selected for this position and meets the standard that the Ombudsperson should meet. At first, I felt great relief and joy. But the more time passes after this good news, the more my face falls.
Peace, progress and human rights: what would Sakharov say now?
On the eve of the centennial of academic Sakharov, I was asked to write a column about what Sakharov means today — yet I am finding it difficult to express my thoughts. As a scientist, a human rights activist and a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, academic Sakharov highlighted a full range of contemporary topics — ecology, the extensive growth of resource exploitation, social inequality, racism, and even corruption. You would think, what could be easier?
HIV Infection Is Not Politics
At the end of 2020, the register of NGOs performing the functions of “foreign agents”, which is maintained by the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation, was significantly expanded, in particular by member organisations of the EU-Russia Civil Society Forum.
A Year Like No Other
A New Year Address by the Co-Chairs of the Board of the EU-Russia Civil Society Forum ’Historically, pandemics have forced humans to break with the past and imagine their world anew. This one is no different. It is a portal, a gateway between one world and the next. We […]
Women’s Face of the Opposition
Women’s face of the opposition — this issue has not been on the agenda until the election campaign in Belarus. And then we suddenly saw them — strong, stylish, beautiful, and, most importantly, exuding love not hate.
Two Voices: 30th Anniversary of the Reunification of Germany and a Hope for the Future
Ahead of the 30th anniversary of the reunification of Germany being marked on 3 October 2020, the EU-Russia Civil Society Forum asked two Board members of Memorial Deutschland, our member organisation, to reflect on how they experienced this unique day and what they think about current challenges in Eastern Europe. […]
The challenge of commemoration. Cases from Poland and Germany
The EU-Russia Civil Society Forum publishes an article by Forum Deputy Director Kristina Smolijaninovaitė for the “New Eastern Europe” Journal. In this article, she reflects on the narratives of remembering WWII in European countries on the example of Poland and Germany. Both cases illustrate how challenging it can be to […]
Belarus on Its Way from Dictatorship to Democracy
In August 2020, during the presidential campaign, a peaceful electoral revolution unfolded in Belarus. At the final stage, it was headed by female leaders with the slogan: ‘We love! We can! We will win!’ («Любім! Можам! Пераможам!»). A Belarusian civil nation began to rapidly form. The Belarusian people refused to […]
The New Russian Constitution as a Pandora’s Box
Amendments to the Constitution of the Russian Federation were proposed by the Russian President in his message to the Federal Assembly on 15 January, 2020. A total of 206 amendments were proposed to the Constitution, and all of them were submitted to the so-called all-Russian vote as a package.
500 Words on the European Democracy and Support to the Civil Society
While the whole world has been trying to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic and looking for ways how to fine-tune the response to the virus and its consequences, one element is missing in the picture and it is the support to democracy and restoration of civil rights and fundamental freedoms. It […]
