19-21 September, Liverpool

The Foreign Policy Centre will be hosting a programme of five fringe events at this year's Liberal Democrat Party Conference in Liverpool, with speakers including: Rt Hon Malcolm Bruce MP, Rt Hon Michael Moore MP (tbc), Jo Swinson MP, Tim Farron MP and Andrew Duff MEP, amongst others. Please see the flyer below for more detailed information about speakers, themes and venues. The events are open to all and there is no need to pre-register.

Download FPC Fringe Programme - Liberal Democrat Party Conference (240 kilobyte PDF; need help viewing PDFs?)

By Marc Herzog.

In the last decade, relations between Turkey and Russia have confidently surpassed their former cold-war hostility and undergone immense economic and geo-political improvement. FPC Research Associate Marc Herzog takes a look at the changing relationship between the old rivals and what it means for them and the wider world.

Download the article (220 kilobyte PDF; need help viewing PDFs?)

By Alfie Stroud.

If it is true that Ratko Mladic has been happily pottering around the same cobbled Belgrade hills among which his erstwhile commander-in-chief, Radovan Karadzic, was found peddling alternative medicines last year, Serbia's hopes of quick accession to the EU have been dashed. That is, they will have been, as long as the enlarging EU retains the courage of its convictions and remains serious about its moral credentials.

Full text 

By Andrew Monaghan.

Andrew Monaghan argues that NATO should exgage constructively with Moscow's proposals for strategic reform

Download At the table or on the menu? (90 kilobyte PDF; need help viewing PDFs?)

Andrei Piontkovsky

January 2006 £9.95, plus £1 p+p.

Download East or West? (190 kilobyte PDF; need help viewing PDFs?)

The break-up of the Soviet Union in 1991 was a geopolitical earthquake that redrew the map of Europe and Central Asia. In his state-of-the-nation address, in April 2005, Russia's President Vladimir Putin went so far as to describe it as the 'biggest geopolitical catastrophe of the twentieth century'. His declaration caused a stir among the world's political scientists, sociologists, economists and even philosophers. Yet the full import of his words was lost on much of his foreign audience. 'For the Russian people', Putin continued, the collapse of the Soviet Union 'became a real drama'.

Further information 

Ed. Jennifer Moll

August 2005 £4.95, plus £1 p+p.

Download Blueprint for Russia (250 kilobyte PDF; need help viewing PDFs?)

This FPC publication explores political change in Russia. It is now available for purchase and will be launched at the FPC's Fringe Event at the Labour Party Conference.

Utilising each author's expertise, this pamphlet compiles a broad range of opinions to outline a Blueprint for Russia. The contributions focus on political change in Russia as it relates to the three key policy areas of law, the economy and political pluralism.

Further information 

Raffaella Murano

July 2005

Download Political Abuse of Judicial Process in Europe's East (110 kilobyte PDF; need help viewing PDFs?)

This policy brief outlines some of the negative trends in rule of law compliance in the CIS, examining Russia, Ukraine and giving special consideration to the Republic of Moldova and the case of former Defence Minister, Valeriu Pasat. These negative trends represent a new pattern, whereby leaders are abusing newly constructed judicial systems to achieve extra-judicial, political goals.

CIS leaders must act now to regain the trust of their citizens by making sweeping changes, both physically and functionally to judicial systems. Other European countries and their multilateral institutions (EU, CoE and OSCE) need to acknowledge the emerging negative trend of judicial abuse and deliver both political incentives and assistance programmes more likely to have strategic effects on the practices of CIS judicial systems.

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; need help viewing PDFs?)

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; need help viewing PDFs?)

Date: Friday 29 February 2008, 12.30pm to 2pm

Venue: Vault 1, Royal Society of Arts, 8 John Adam Street, London WC2N 6EZ.

Hosted by the Chechnya Peace Forum and the Foreign Policy Centre, this event provided an opportunity for policy-makers, commentators and analysts to discuss political, social and economic developments in Russia and the Caucasus ahead of the Russian Presidential election in March.

Speakers leading the discussion included:

• Stephen Twigg, Director, The Foreign Policy Centre (Chair)
• David Clark, Chair, Russia Foundation
• Ed Lucas, Journalist on the Economist and Author of The New Cold War: How the Kremlin Menaces Both Russia and the West
• Akhmed Zakaev, Prime Minister, Resistance Government of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria

To find out more about the work of the Chechnya Peace Forum please visit www.chechnyapeaceforum.com.