The Anti-War Committee of Russia’s Conference held on November 10, 2024, in Berlin clearly demonstrated that the Russian anti-war movement has established itself as a political phenomenon. Connections between anti-war groups of Russians in various countries are strengthening. Grassroots civic initiatives are growing in number, with many projects presented at the conference. Active human rights work and efforts to protect the rights of Russians opposing Putin’s war continue. Progress has been made in working with European institutions, and this work will be further developed and strengthened.
At the same time, we must acknowledge the increasing conflicts within different factions of the Russian political émigré community. Mutual accusations, scandals, investigations, and the exposure of questionable funding sources undermine the unity of Russian resistance and damage its reputation. This situation cannot be ignored.
For the further development of the Russian anti-war movement, we consider the following tasks to be key:
- Expanding the audience of Russian anti-war resistance and engaging democratically oriented Russian organizations and diasporas in the joint projects of the Anti-War Committee.
- Fostering the development of civil society and democracy in Russia: advocating for the release of political prisoners, supporting regional resistance, rallies, demonstrations, and other public actions organized by Russians.
- Collaborating with the political institutions of democratic countries, including participation in the Russian anti-war delegation to PACE, the Brussels Dialogue with the European Parliament, and the European Commission.
- Counter-propaganda: lobbying for financial support of independent media and educational institutions, working with Big Giants, supporting anti-war art, and exposing the causes and consequences of the war in the media.
- Providing assistance to war victims in Ukraine, including supporting prisoners of war and detained civilians, as well as humanitarian campaigns like “Energy for Life.”
To implement this resolution, we adopt the following statements and appeals:
1. Statement on Financial Transparency
The majority of anti-war and democratic initiatives critically depend on external funding sources: donations, grants, and so on. The lack of transparency in allocating, receiving, and spending such funding causes significant reputational damage to opposition and activist communities. While secrecy surrounding financial matters was previously justified by risks associated with being inside Russia, these risks are now reduced or absent.
Russian anti-war and democratic organizations participating in the Anti-War Committee Conference call on colleagues and allies within the democratic and opposition movement to significantly increase the transparency of funding acquisition and utilization by organizations claiming public trust or collecting donations.
We acknowledge the necessity of maintaining certain exceptions required for ensuring the safety of organizational staff and donors. However, situations where the public remains unaware of sponsors capable of influencing critical decisions or potential conflicts of interest that erode trust in all democratic forces are unacceptable.
Misuse of donor funds, particularly those from smaller contributors who lack the means to verify their use, is equally unacceptable. Such cases lead to mistrust and a general decline in the willingness to support democratic and anti-war organizations.
We believe it is appropriate and fair for organizations and initiatives collecting donations and managing annual budgets exceeding $250,000 to adhere to specific information disclosure standards. These include, even when not required by the regulatory bodies of their host countries:
- Conducting audits by reputable auditing firms and publishing summaries reflecting:
- The total amount of donations and other receipts.
- The 10 largest individual or related donors by annual contribution amount (names may remain anonymous if desired, but the sum must be disclosed).
- The presence of donors with questionable capital, potentially leading to legal disputes over its legitimacy.
- The presence of state organizations, state-linked funds, or individuals with significant vested interests in organizational actions.
- Donation amounts from each such donor (with pseudonyms allowed for anonymity).
- Expenses deemed inconsistent with organizational goals by the auditor and corrective actions taken.
- The total amount of funds received from unverified sources.
The conference urges sponsors (particularly major ones) to exercise oversight over the expenses of supported organizations and encourages greater openness and transparency in fund allocation, especially when it involves public or governmental funds rather than private ones.
Russian democratic and anti-war initiatives have been operating in exile for several years under rules vastly different from Russia’s underground opposition environment. To maintain our reputation and capacity for engagement with the public and political institutions, we must adhere to the principles and standards of Western financial and political transparency.
2. Statement on Supporting Russian Political Prisoners and Ukrainian POWs
We will continue campaigns to support victims of repression, including spreading the report “1,000 Names,” sharing stories and news about political prisoners on social media. According to our partners from the human rights project Автозак LIVE, by the end of 2024, there are already more than 3,600 political prisoners in Russia, including teachers, poets, doctors, the elderly, and teenagers, as well as individuals with chronic illnesses. They all need our support.
Fifty-four minors are among the political prisoners, detained for opposing the war in Ukraine. Children must not spend their childhood in prison or study behind bars. We will work toward the release of minor political prisoners.
Political prisoners and their families require financial assistance, and fundraising for these needs is a crucial initiative. These collections must be transparent and accountable.
We also remember politicians killed by Putin’s regime. February 2025 will mark one year since Alexei Navalny’s murder and 10 years since Boris Nemtsov’s assassination. We will support memorial events organized by Russian activists on these dates.
Hundreds of Ukrainian military and civilians are held under torturous conditions in Russian captivity and require humanitarian aid. Prisoners must be treated in accordance with the Geneva Convention, and access to them must be granted to humanitarian organizations. We also emphasize the importance of supporting projects aiding prisoners, organizing offline events and exhibitions to inform about torture in Russian prisons, reaching out to regional media to publicize these stories, and demanding an “all-for-all” prisoner exchange.
3. Statement on Combating Propaganda
Counter-propaganda must not employ propagandistic methods. Independent media must never lie, even for noble purposes. We are ready to cooperate with those who objectively report on the situation in Russia and the world.
It is essential to share stories about repression in Russia, activism both inside and outside the country. If needed, we will assist media in establishing connections with anti-war diaspora initiatives in various countries. Associate members of the committee already actively run media projects in multiple languages, combating Russian propaganda.
A key focus of our work is informing deserters about their options to refuse participation in the war and offering support to such individuals.
We will continue to support anti-war art in Russia and in exile and are ready to assist in organizing exhibitions. Weekly, we highlight protest street art on the Anti-War Committee’s social media.
We maintain constant contact with our volunteers in Russia and will continue to discuss life in the country, the prospects and problems Russians face, and fight against stigmatization and the “enemy of the people” label. We will produce more youth-focused content, discussing the country’s future and the war’s consequences for the Russian population.
4. Statement on Documentation for Russians Abroad
During discussions on the state of documentation for Russians abroad, we decided to compile information on asylum and humanitarian visas for various countries and to gradually create a unified database with regular updates.
The project “Consuls of Anti-War Russians” will compile legal summaries for each country, taking into account current legislation and specific conditions, and will employ IT solutions utilizing AI to regularly update this information (leveraging the experience of a Cypriot IT solution for creating an AI-based chatbot for processing guide data).
The committee will expand the list of countries with consuls, prioritizing presence in Germany. It also instructs the consuls’ project to extend the list of candidates for Sweden, Poland, and Portugal.
The committee will appeal to European political institutions to provide letters of support for the committee and consuls (akin to letters of credence).
Additionally, the conference received information on successful cases of aiding deserters to France, prompting a decision to address relevant migration authorities with a request to study the deserters’ situation and replicate successful practices in handling their cases.