Committee for Russian Economic Freedom

This one is bad for the economy and bad for freedom.

Just in time for Tuesday’s mass opposition protests that coincide with the annual Russia Day holiday, Vladimir Putin has approved a new law that increases the maximum fines for protest-related offenses to up to 300,000 rubles ($9,200). (Over the weekend a number of opposition leaders had their houses raided.)

In addition to raising the fines for private citizens almost 100 times what they were, the legislation also allows judges to sentence protesters to up to 200 hours of community service, bars protesters from wearing masks and forbids anyone with a criminal record from organizing a demonstration.

Despite admonitions from the Kremlin’s Presidential Council on Human Rights and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe to veto the law, Putin demurred, saying it does not violate European norms.

No matter, says the opposition. Thousands of protesters are still planning on demonstrating Tuesday.

Reporting from the 13th annual International Academic Conference on Economic and Social Development in Moscow, Russia Profile’s Tai Adelaja adeptly details some of the reasons Russia is falling behind other BRICS and CIS nations in measures of entrepreneurship and economic freedom.

“There is a 50 percent chance that any entrepreneur doing business in Russia will sooner or later end up behind bars,” he writes, citing a conference speaker.

Not helping the situation is the fact that in the last few years the Russian government has enacted only two laws to help improve the country’s business climate (banning pre-trial detention for economic crimes suspects and requiring an audit before tax evasion charges are filed), while the acquittal rate for economic crimes has remained less than one half of one percent.

Other data that the conference speakers pointed to while explaining the disappointing state of the Russian economy:

• Two million Russians have lost their jobs over the past several years as a result of systematic persecution of businessmen by state officials. (Leonid Grigoriyev, Higher School of Economics professor)
• Only about four percent of Russians said they are planning to open new businesses within the next three years, compared to about 25 percent for other emerging nations. (Global Entrepreneurship Monitor)
• While about 60 percent of Russians see entrepreneurship as a desirable career choice, only eight percent consider it worthwhile. (Olga Verkhovskaya, St. Petersburg University professor)
• Without rising global oil prices and changes in legal policy toward businesses, the Russian economy may only grow by 1.2 percent annually. (Yevgeny Yasin, former Russian Minister for the Economy and Higher School of Economics professor)
• Bribery and corruption have forced manufacturers to raise the price of food 15 percent.

“There is a perception in government that business people are dishonest,” Yasin added. “Sadly, this appears to be the prevailing mindset.”

Read more about the conference here and here.

On Russia’s Constitution Day, December 12^th, demonstrations in support of Mikhail Khodorkovsky and against the Russian government will take place in Moscow, St Petersburg, New York, Chicago and London.

The protests are against Russia’s failed judicial system, and the government system that is corrupted to the core. In New York, the demonstration will be held at noon ET by the Permanent Russian Mission to the UN at 136 East 67 Street.

For more information, click here.

The Current Political Situation in Russia and Perspectives for the Future

Wednesday, 17 November 2010, 6:00pm–7:30pm
Columbia University, Rennert Hall, Kraft Center
606 West 115th Street, Manhattan

Boris Nemtsov, Photo credit: The Economist

Columbia University’s Harriman Institute and the Institute of Modern Russia host a talk by Boris Nemtsov on Russia’s current political situation and potential political change.

Boris Nemtsov (b. 1959) is a leader of the Russian democratic opposition and a former Deputy Prime Minister of Russia. He was born in Sochi, graduated from Gorky State University and received his Ph.D. in physics. In 1990 Boris Nemtsov was elected to Parliament as a candidate for the anti-communist “Democratic Russia” movement. Between 1991 and 1997 Nemtsov served as Governor of Nizhny Novgorod region, where he earned the reputation of a successful free market reformer. He was re-elected as Governor in 1995 with 58 per cent of the vote. In 1997 President Boris Yeltsin appointed Nemtsov as First Deputy Prime Minister of Russia – a post he occupied until 1998 (in 1997 simultaneously serving as Oil and Energy Minister). In 1999 Nemtsov became one of the leaders of the “Union of Rightist Forces” party and was once again elected to Parliament. He served as Deputy Speaker of Parliament in 2000 and as leader of the “Union of Rightist Forces” from 2000 to 2004. In 2004 he actively participated in the Ukrainian “Orange Revolution” and after its success became an advisor to President Viktor Yushchenko (2005-2006). Nemtsov was nominated by the “Union of Rightist Forces” as its candidate in the 2008 presidential election, but pulled out, citing the lack of conditions for a free and fair vote. In December 2008 he became one of the leaders of “Solidarity”, a new pro-democracy opposition movement which also includes Garry Kasparov, Vladimir Bukovsky, Lev Ponomarev and other prominent figures. In April 2009 Nemtsov ran for Mayor of Sochi, host city of the 2014 Winter Olympics, coming second out of six candidates and establishing the pro-democracy “Solidarity” as the second force in Russian politics, ahead of the Communist Party and Vladimir Zhirinovsky’s LDPR.

This event is free and open to the public. No tickets or reservations required. Seating is on a first come, first served basis.

The human rights situation in Russia is bad and likely to get much worse as the March 2012 presidential election nears. Those in power will do anything to stay in power. Russia’s future and political development will be determined by Russians, but the West should do no further harm by perpetuating the current system. Enough already with U.S. expressions of “regret” about the deteriorating situation inside Russia — it’s time to call it like it is: Condemn what’s happening there and consider consequences for continued human rights abuses.

Logistics

Who: Supporters of Freedom of Assembly in Russia
What: March of Dissent/Strategy 31 Rally in New York City
Where: In front of the Permanent Mission of the Russian Federation to UN (Former KGB Headquarters)
136 E 67th Street, New York, NY 10065 (between Lexington & 3rd Aves)
When: Sunday, October 31, 2010 from 4p to 7p
Why: To protect and advance the human rights and democratic values of Russian citizens and elsewhere in the world

Moscow “Day of Anger” rally, March 21, 2010 (AFP)

Imagine if this weekend’s Restoring Honor rally wasn’t given permission to rally because the organizer was of an opposing political party then the one in power. Then imagine if DC police broke up the rally with nightsticks and tear gas. There’s no need to imagine this in Russia, because it is going on now.

Tomorrow will be the first March of Dissent protest in New York City. First organized by Russian opposition supporters on the last day of each month with 31 days in defense of their right to freedom of assembly as enshrined in Article 31 of the Russian Constitution, Marches of Dissent have sprung up globally in support of those who value and strive for Democratic values in Russia and elsewhere.

It is a Sisyphean task as Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has effectively ended political debate in Russia through control of the media and refusal to grant official permission to rally for the political opposition. In an interview today in the newspaper Kommersant, Putin went on the record to say that those who choose to rally, “will be beaten upside the head with a truncheon. And that’s it.”

Come and watch history as Russian expatriates and Americans support Democratic values of freedom of assembly in front of the former KGB headquarters in Manhattan.

Logistics

Who: Supporters of Freedom of Assembly in Russia
What: First March of Dissent in New York City
Where: Permanent Mission of the Russian Federation to UN
136 E 67th Street, New York, NY 10065 (between Lexington & 3rd Aves)
When: Tuesday, August 31, 2010 from 6p to 730p
Why: To protect and advance the human rights and democratic values of Russian citizens and elsewhere in the world

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.