"Russia A Year On: Testing Medvedev's Democratic Credentials"

A Panel Discussion with:

Gisela Stuart MP
Member of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee
Akhmed Zakaev
Prime Minister of the resistance Government of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria
Vladimir Bukovsky
Soviet and Russian dissident and human rights activist
Robin Shepherd
Director of International Affairs, Henry Jackson Society

6-7pm, Tuesday 2nd June 2009

Committee Room 11, House of Commons

To attend, please RSVP to
jonathan.rider@henryjacksonsociety.org




The fall of the Soviet Empire precipitated new debate over the future of Russia and its engagement with the international community. This debate is ongoing. Politically and militarily it raises the issue of strategic alliances like NATO and the UN, both of which are defined to varying degrees by Cold War thinking. In a post-Cold War era how should countries behave towards Russia, particularly when many of its actions seem confrontational or provocative? Under Boris Yeltsin, Russia embraced increasingly democratic values, but the rollback years under Vladimir Putin have left an uncertain legacy for the current President Dmitry Medvedev. Now, a year into his presidency, Medvedev's record can be assessed properly for the first time.

In the early stages of his presidency, Medvedev said that every people should have the right to self-determination. In Georgia, ostensibly, Russia was prepared to uphold this principle with force, yet in Chechnya Russian military intervention has been for very different purposes. Last month, Russia announced the end of its counterterrorist operations in Chechnya where the pro-Moscow government in Grozny will continue to ensure close ties to the Kremlin. In a wider regional context, socio-political instability in the Northern Caucasus has significant consequences for the rule of law and fledging democracies.

Russia remains at the forefront of global politics but human rights abuses, heavy handed military intervention and the use energy supplies as a political tool fuel suspicion and widen the divide between East and West. The question now is, how can the international community engage in a new dialogue with Russia enshrined in the fundamental principles of democracy and human rights?

By kind invitation of Gisela Stuart MP, the Henry Jackson Society and Chechnya Peace Forum are pleased to be able to invite you to a discussion of Russia A Year on: Testing Medvedev's Democratic Credentials, also featuring Akhmed Zakaev, Vladimir Bukovsky and Robin Shepherd.

TIME: 6-7pm

VENUE: Committee Room 11, House of Commons

To attend, please RSVP to jonathan.rider@henryjacksonsociety.org

Gisela Stuart is the Labour MP for Birmingham Edgbaston. Having studied Business Studies at Manchester, she went on to graduate from the London School of Economics with an LLB in 1993. In 1997 Ms Stuart won the elections in Birmingham and Edgbaston. Ms Stuart is a signatory of the Henry Jackson Society principles and a member of the All Party Parliamentary Group on International and Transatlantic Security, through which she has pursued her interest in international relations.

Akhmed Zakaev is the Prime Minister of the resistance Government of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria. He is a former actor at Grozny theatre and became a Minister of Culture in the government of Dzokhar Dudayev. In 1996 he represented Chechnya at the peace talks which brought a peaceful end to the first armed conflict between Moscow and Grozny. Soon after he became the Chechen Deputy Prime Minister and a special envoy of President Aslan Maskhadov. In 2000 he left for abroad and turned into the most prominent representative of President Maskhadov in Western Europe. He was granted political asylum in the UK in 2003.He became Prime Minister of the resistance Government of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria in November 2007.

Vladimir Bukovsky is a Soviet and Russian dissident, and human rights activist. He has written a number of books and numerous articles about Russia and human rights. In 1967 he was arrested for organising a demonstration in defence of Alexander Ginzburg and Yuri Galanskov and spent three years in prison. Later in 1971 he was arrested again and imprisoned after he was accused of slandering the Soviet psychiatry. Since 1976 Mr Bukovsky has lived in the UK where he has written numerous books and political essays. In 2007 he was nominated to run for the Russian Presidency but the Electoral Commission turned down his application, a decision Mr Bukovsky has twice appealed at the Supreme Court.

Robin Shepherd is the Director of International Affairs at the Henry Jackson Society and a former senior fellow at Chatham House. In the past, his research has focussed on the post-communist transition in Eastern Europe and Russia and transatlantic relations. He has written a number of books, including "Czechoslovakia: The Velvet Revolution and Beyond" and has published several articles in the Financial Times, The Times and The International Herald Tribune.




CHECHNYA PEACE FORUM