Date: Wednesday April 20th 6pm-7.30pm (with drinks afterwards)

Venue: Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) Room (off Westminster Hall), Houses of Parliament, Westminster, London SW1A 0AA

Chair: Con Coughlin, Executive Foreign Editor, Daily Telegraph

Respondent: Dr Rachel Polonsky, University of Cambridge and author of Molotov's Magic Lantern: A Journey in Russian History

PLEASE NOTE THAT THIS EVENT IS NOW FULLY BOOKED

The Foreign Policy Centre is hosting an 'in conversation with'-style event with the acclaimed Russian author Lyudmila Ulitskaya (her many awards include the Russian Booker and she was an International Booker nominee in 2009). Her work covers a range of issues but has a major focus on identity, particularly gender and religion and the role of Russia's intelligentsia and elites. Her books include Kukotsky Case, Daniel Stein, Translator and Medea's Children. In 2009 she attracted both controversy and acclaim with the publication of her exchange of letters with Mikhail Khodorkovsky, Dialogues with Lyudmila Ulitskaya.

During this event, she will give her views on the current state of Russian society and politics, exploring the some of the undercurrents in Russian culture and how they shape the political environment and vice versa. She will also discuss the issues of political and personal freedom, with reference to the political situation in the lead up to the 2012 elections.

Download In conversation with Lyudmila Ulitskaya (140 kilobyte PDF)

Tuesday 9th February 2010, 4.00pm–5.30pm, Committee Room 18, House of Commons, London, SW1 0AA, SW1A 2JH. NB. Change of Venue

The All Party Parliamentary Russia Group, The EU-Russia Centre & The Foreign Policy Centre cordially invite you to a seminar on:

The Russian Judiciary - Priorities for Change in a New Decade

Guest Speakers:

• Ms Olga Borisovna Kudeshkina, Former Judge of the Moscow City Court
• Professor Alena Ledeneva, Professor of Politics and Society at the School of Slavonic and East European Studies (SSEES) at University College London.
• Chair: Bob Wareing MP, Treasurer, Russia APPG

RSVP : gd@eu-russiacentre.org

Info: Olga Kudeshkina was a Russian judge for over 20 years until 2004 when, as a Moscow City Court Judge, she was dismissed over her statements to public media where she claimed to have come under pressure from the Moscow City Court chairman and the Prosecutor General's Office in a high-profile criminal case. Subsequently, the European Court on Human Rights upheld Ms Kudeshkina's complaint and ruled that her dismissal from office was a violation of the freedom of expression guaranteed by Article 10 of the Russian Constitution. In 2003 Ms Kudeshkina stood as a candidate in the general election for seats in the Duma, the parliament of the Russian Federation and included a programme for reform of the judiciary on her platform.

Download Invitation to The Russian Judiciary- Priorities for Change (70 kilobyte PDF)

Date: Wednesday 14th May 2008, 9.30-3.30pm

Speakers included:

• Boris Nemtsov, Former Deputy Prime Minister of Russia
• Ed Lucas, The Economist and Author of 'The New Cold War: How the Kremlin Menaces Both Russia and the West'
• David Clark, Chair, The Russia Foundation
• Akhmed Zakaev, Prime Minister, Resistance Government of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria
• Tony Wood, Writer & Author
• Andrei Piontkovsky, Executive Director, Centre for Strategic Studies, Moscow

Taking place only days after Dimitry Medvedev formally took over as President of the Russian Federation, this Chechnya Peace Forum and Foreign Policy Centre event focused on what is happening in Russia today, with sessions on democracy and politics, civil liberties and the rule of law, Russian policy in Chechnya and the Caucasus and Russian influence on the world stage.

Download the full programme at: http://www.chechnyapeaceforum.com/upload/home_text_13.pdf

Download the Invitation (50 kilobyte PDF)

Liberal Democrat Conference

18th September 2006

Venue: Hilton Brighton Metropole

The Foreign Policy Centre and the EU Russia Centre cordially invite you to a fringe meeting:

Russian Democracy: The Way Forward

A Seminar On Democracy, Civil Liberties and Human Rights in Russia

Speakers:

Michael Moore MP, Shadow Foreign Secretary

Stephen Twigg, Director, The Foreign Policy Centre

Bill Bowring, Barrister, Professor of Law, Birkbeck, University of London and Advisory Board Member, EU-Russia Centre

Monday 18th September

18.15 – 19.30

Lancaster Suite

Hilton Brighton Metropole