“An International Dialogue on Organizing in Russia"

Summary Notes on Dialogue #14 of the Organizers’ Forum

Dialogue #14: International Dialogue in Russia - We held our Fall 2007 International Dialogue in Russia—Moscow and St. Petersburg—from Sunday, September 23 to Saturday, September 29, 2007.

Note: These notes are for informational purposes only and represent an effort to summarize presenters’ comments and some participant discussion. Any mistakes are due to human effort with no malice intended.

We met with 15-20 organizations and activists, hearing of their challenges especially in the face of a Putin administration and a new law governing NGO's. The new law calls for time-consuming bureaucratic reporting of both activity and funding. It was projected to us that over 70% of NGO's are already out of compliance, and the next several years this will likely result in the closing of the doors of thousands of NGO's. Not surprising, it was indicated to us that the strictest monitoring and sanctions were reserved for organizations that deal with human rights and freedom of the press.

We had many moments of inspiration, hearing from those like Valentina Melnikova of the Soldiers' Mothers, who fight on a daily basis for their sons who struggle in the Russian military, defending against hunger, beatings, lack of healthcare, and killings. We also heard from Mikhail Chesalin who works with the Dockers Union of Russia, lost his job 10 years ago, was violently attacked just last year, but won election against his former employer in the regional parliament! In addition we heard from Alex Emanov, the fiery organizer of a new independent union that is organizing, staging strikes, and winning against the Ford motor company. You could feel the energy from this young, effective, impatient organizer and activist! Another activist came from the middle class and the suburbs of Moscow--Yevyenia Chirikova who with her neighbors is fighting to preserve a local virgin forest outside of Moscow from development. Yevyenia and her neighbors found themselves taking action, like putting up posters which was to them the most logical way to contact other members of their community, but also illegal. She felt like a revolutionary, she found this organizing work exciting, and she seemed to surprise herself that she was in the vanguard of this campaign! There were others as well, like Anna Sharogradskaya, who recounted, at time with tears, the work and eventual murder last year of the journalist Anna Poitkovskaya. These were committed activists and leaders, and it was a privilege to have met with them and the all the others in both Moscow and St. Petersburg!

For more information on this dialogue, read Wade Rathke's Blog or read the special feature on this dialogue in the Winter 2008 issue of Social Policy Magazine.