Free Russia Forum
The Free Russia Forum (FRF or FSR; Russian: Форум свободной России; ФСР; Forum svobodnoy Rossii, FSR) is a conference of the Russian opposition, held twice a year in Vilnius (Lithuania). The forum was founded in March 2016 by Garry Kasparov and Ivan Tyutrin, the former executive director of the Russian democratic movement Solidarnost.
Free Russia Forum Форум свободной России | |
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| Abbreviation | FRF (English) ФСР (Russian) |
| Standing Committee | Garry Kasparov Ivan Tyutrin Ilya Ponomarev Marat Gelman Yevgeniya Chirikova Leonid Nevzlin Andrey Illarionov Daniil Konstantinov |
| Founders | Garry Kasparov Ivan Tyutrin |
| Founded | 9 March 2016 |
| Banned | 22 February 2019 (in Russia) |
| Preceded by | Opposition Coordination Council |
| Headquarters | Vilnius, Lithuania |
| Membership | 128 (speakers) |
| Ideology | Liberal democracy Anti-Putinism |
| Political position | Big tent |
| Colours | White Blue Red |
| Website | |
| forumfreerussia.org | |
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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, “the only factor hindering participation 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, 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, libertarians. The forum 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.