On September 5, 2024, a conference dedicated to assistance to Russian compatriots persecuted abroad was held in Moscow. The event was attended by key experts and public figures who discussed current problems of protecting the rights of Russians abroad.
Among the participants were Alexander Ivanovich Udaltsov, former Russian Ambassador to Lithuania (2013-2020) and Executive Director of the Foundation for Support and Protection of Russian Compatriots Abroad. ) and executive director of the Foundation for the Support and Protection of the Rights of Compatriots Living Abroad; Maria Valeryevna Butina, State Duma deputy and member of the Committee on International Affairs; Konstantin Vladimirovich Yaroshenko, Russian pilot arrested in Liberia in 2010 and convicted in the United States on smuggling charges; Konstantin Nikulin, a former OMON officer from Riga who is serving a sentence in Lithuania for complicity in a 1991 attack on a customs post, who participated in the conference remotely; and Alexei Aleksandrovich Gromakovsky, Nikulin's nephew.
The following questions were raised at the conference:
- How many Russians are serving their sentences abroad?
- What problems do Russian compatriots abroad face?
- What help is provided to Russians who find themselves in difficult life situations outside the country?
- The arrest and release of Pavel Durov in France, and how does this case reflect current trends of Russophobia in the West?
- The fate of Konstantin Nikulin, who has been in a Lithuanian prison for 17 years, and what measures are being taken to help him?
The conference participants noted the importance of consolidating efforts to protect the rights and freedoms of Russian citizens who find themselves under pressure from foreign States, and also discussed further steps to support compatriots.
Among the participants were Alexander Ivanovich Udaltsov, former Russian Ambassador to Lithuania (2013-2020) and Executive Director of the Foundation for Support and Protection of Russian Compatriots Abroad. ) and executive director of the Foundation for the Support and Protection of the Rights of Compatriots Living Abroad; Maria Valeryevna Butina, State Duma deputy and member of the Committee on International Affairs; Konstantin Vladimirovich Yaroshenko, Russian pilot arrested in Liberia in 2010 and convicted in the United States on smuggling charges; Konstantin Nikulin, a former OMON officer from Riga who is serving a sentence in Lithuania for complicity in a 1991 attack on a customs post, who participated in the conference remotely; and Alexei Aleksandrovich Gromakovsky, Nikulin's nephew.
The following questions were raised at the conference:
- How many Russians are serving their sentences abroad?
- What problems do Russian compatriots abroad face?
- What help is provided to Russians who find themselves in difficult life situations outside the country?
- The arrest and release of Pavel Durov in France, and how does this case reflect current trends of Russophobia in the West?
- The fate of Konstantin Nikulin, who has been in a Lithuanian prison for 17 years, and what measures are being taken to help him?
The conference participants noted the importance of consolidating efforts to protect the rights and freedoms of Russian citizens who find themselves under pressure from foreign States, and also discussed further steps to support compatriots.