Committee for Russian Economic Freedom

Leading human rights and legal experts discuss the implications of the Khodorkovsky trial on political and economic freedom in Russia at a panel discussion held in conjunction with the US debut of Sketches of [in]Justice: The Khodorkovsky Trial from Putin to Medvedev.

"Territory of Liberty" by Julia Aryeh

Panel Discussion: The Khodorkovsky Trial – Human Rights and Economic Freedom in Russia

Venue: Dorot Center, 171 West 85th Street, New York, NY

Date: Tuesday, May 18th at 3pm

Sponsors: Committee for Russian Economic Freedom, Andrei Sakharov Memorial Museum, Institute of Modern Russia and Drawing the Court

The ongoing trial in Moscow of Mikhail Borisovich Khodorkovsky symbolizes the challenges all Russians face as they seek to build a society free of fear and corruption. In conjunction with the US premier of Sketches of (in)justice: The Khodorkovsky Trial from Putin to Medvedev, the Institute of Modern Russia is sponsoring a panel discussion in which leading human rights and legal experts will discuss the case’s social, political and economic implications.

Panelists will include Karinna Moskalenko, director of the International Protection Center and notable expert on international human rights who will provide an update on international human rights advances in the US Congress and other legislatures. Additionally, Ms. Moskalenko will provide context to YUKOS v Russia a pivotal international case currently being deliberated in the European Court of Human Rights. She testified before the US Congress on May 6 about Russia’s human rights transgressions.

Sergei Lukashevsky Director of the Andrei Sakharov Center (Moscow) will discuss the human rights situation in Russia specifically and the latest efforts by the Sakharov Center to preserve historical memory of the victims of political repression at the hands of the Soviet regime and promote an open democratic society and state in Russia. Mary Holland, NYU Law’s Director of the LL.M. Lawyering Program, will provide a legal context for recent legal developments in post-Communist Eurasian countries and its impact on efforts in the region to improve human rights. Pavel Khodorkovsky, president of the Institute of Modern Russia will discuss how his organization will continue the efforts of his father who strived to modernize Russia through education and opportunities for young people.

Moderating the panel is Pavel Ivlev, chairman of the Committee for Russian Economic Freedom (CREF) and a long-time legal counsel to YUKOS and its former CEO, Mikhail Khodorkovsky, who fled to New York from Russia under fear of unjust prosecution. Through his efforts and the CREF organization, Mr. Ivlev has raised the awareness of the risks of doing business in Russia and how the release of Mikhail Khodorkovsky would be a signal to the international investment community at Russia is back in business.

Admission: Free and open to the public.
General Information: Dorot Center, 171 West 85^th Street, New York, New York, 212-769-2850.

Contemporary Russian Drawings and Paintings Including Works by Akhmetzyanova, Belyavskaya, Ermolaev, Garrido, Lomasko and Ozerova.

Following its well-received eight-month tour of Moscow, Brussels, London and Paris, Sketches of (in)justice: The Khodorkovsky Trial from Putin to Medvedev makes its US debut presenting more than forty works by twelve artists whose works reflect  the Russian peoples’ mounting frustration with corruption and hope for a freer society governed by the rule of law. The exhibition, created through “Drawing the Court,” a contest organized in Moscow by Sergey Kuznetsov Content Group (www.skcg.ru) and the Andrei Sakharov Memorial Museum and Community Center for Peace, Progress and Human Rights (www.sakharov-museum.ru), is on view from May 18 through May 22. The exhibition will then move to the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C.

The Khodorkovsky trial and the imagery it has inspired now serves as a reference point, being one of the significant phenomena of the Russian contemporary history, and another step in the eternal interaction of man and law. In assembling the exhibition, the organizers reviewed more than 400 works submitted in the categories “Painting,” “Courtroom Sketch,” ‘Illustration/Comic Strip,” and “Caricature.” Approaching their imagery from different political, aesthetic and ethical vantage points, all of the artists’ imagery shines through the prism of this bellwether case.

The genre of courtroom sketches first emerged in France, in mid 19th century, and quickly spread to other countries, including Russia. The history of Russian law would not be complete without drawings by Pavel Pyasetsky and Vladimir Makovsky made at the “March 1” Group trial, sketches from the Beilis Trial, and the Kukryniksy group’s graphic series “Accusation” created after the Nuremberg Trials. There are moments when a single drawing made in a courtroom can tell us more about prosecutors, lawyers, judges and other parties of a process better than scores of photographs.

The trial of Mikhail Borisovich Khodorkovsky has already become a factor of the Russian contemporary history and is attracting increased international attention. The trial has gone beyond a mere social phenomenon, and has become a fact of Russian contemporary culture, being covered not only by journalists, but also artists, poets, and novelists. Incarcerated Mr. Khodorkovsky himself still supports various cultural initiatives, and acts as a journalist

Admission: Free and open to the public.

Gallery Hours: May 18 – 22 from 2 p.m. – 7 p.m. For general information call 212-874-7188 or visit www.gelabertstudiogallery.com

Education and Public Programs
In conjunction with the exhibition, the Committee for Russian Economic Freedom will host a panel discussion featuring leading legal experts and human rights advocates discussing the artistic, social and political implications of the Khodorkovsky case. The panel will take place on Tuesday, May 18 at 3 p.m. at the Dorot Center, 171 West 85^th Street, New York. Participants will include Karinna Moskalenko, Sergey Lukashevsky, Mary Holland and Pavel Khodorkovsky.