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The composition of the Russian opposition delegation to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) has been approved. According to a press release made public earlier today, the list of participants in the Assembly's “Platform for Dialogue with Russian Democratic Forces” includes 10 well-known opposition figures:
- Natalia Arno, head of the Free Russia Foundation;
- Dmitry Gudkov, opposition politician and former State Duma MP;
- Mark Feygin, a human rights lawyer and former State Duma MP;
- Vladimir Kara-Murza, a former political prisoner;
- Garry Kasparov, former world chess champion and co-founder of the Free Russia Forum;
- Mikhail Khodorkovsky, an exiled former oligarch whom Putin jailed from 2003-2013;
- Oleg Orlov, a human rights activist and former political prisoner who co-founded the human rights organization Memorial;
- Lyubov Sobol, a former employee of the Anti-Corruption Foundation (ACF);
- Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, an activist and co-founder of the feminist protest and performance art group Pussy Riot;
- Andrey Volna, a trauma surgeon and activist who left Russia due to his anti-war stance.
Five members will also represent Russia’s Indigenous peoples:
- Ruslan Kutayev, a political scientist and public figure, former vice premier of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria;
- Ekaterina Kuznetsova, an artist and director of the House of Ingria in Narva, Estonia;
- Vasilii (Batlay) Matenov, founder of the “Asians of Russia” online community;
- Lana Pylayeva, head of the Komi Daily outlet and a Komi activist
- Pavel Sulyandziga, a Udege activist and human rights defender.
Tolokonnikova told The Insider that she plans to focus on supporting Ukraine and defending the rights of Russian political refugees and political prisoners.
“As an artist, I traditionally keep my distance from platforms, movements, and committees. That allows me to preserve freedom of judgment and action. Maybe it’s ridiculous to have a performance artist in parliament, but there are moments when a political platform gives you the opportunity to voice things that simply must be said. Others will not say them out of caution or old-fashioned thinking,” she explained.
“I want to see more representatives of the Russian opposition who support Ukraine’s military needs and help bring its victory closer. I want anti-Putin Russians not to be afraid of the word ‘feminism,’ as the Russian authorities are afraid of it. That means feminist voices must be represented, and I am glad to serve and be that voice as long as there is a need. As a former political prisoner, I want political prisoners and political refugees not to be forgotten. We have no future if we abandon people who oppose Putin and his war machine. For me, these positions are not radicalism, but common sense,” Tolokonnikova added.
From the PACE side, the platform will include Frank Schwabe of Germany, Pablo Hispan of Spain, Zsolt Németh of Hungary, Iulian Bulai of Romania, Laura Castel of Spain, and George Loucaides of Cyprus. The platform’s work will also involve the general rapporteur on democracy, George Papandreou, and the general rapporteur on Russian democratic forces, Eerik-Niiles Kross, among others.
In October, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe decided to create a platform for dialogue with “exiled Russian democratic forces,” which “would be able to hold two-way exchanges with the Assembly on issues of common concern.” Participants in the platform are obligated to support 15 principles, including the recognition of the territorial integrity of Ukraine, Georgia, and Moldova, the creation of a special tribunal, and the payment of reparations by Russia. Delegates will be barred from using Russian state symbols but will be allowed to use the white-blue-white flag as a mark of resistance.