Boris Nemtsov, a chair of the Solidarity opposition movement, has also been
invited to the meeting, as were other prominent figures have also been invited,
including Pravoe Delo (Right Cause) co-chair Leonid Gozman, Communist Party
leader Gennady Zyuganov, attorney Yelena Lukyanova, and Federation Council chairman
Sergey Mironov.
Obama will travel to Moscow on July 6th for meetings with the Kremlin as well
as business and civil society leaders. A meeting with Russia’s leading
human rights advocates has been scheduled at the Metropol hotel, the location
of a consultation between representatives from NGOs in the US and Russia.
Earlier, Boris Nemtsov argued that it was essential for Obama to meet with
opposition forces in Russia. “If the White House agrees to Putin’s
suggestion to speak only with pro-Putin organizations… this will mean
that Putin has won, but not only that: Putin will become be assured that Obama
is weak,” he said.
Nemtsov, who spoke at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York, said the
American administration should lay their stakes on President Dmitri Medvedev,
and not Prime Minister Putin.
“I believe that if Medvedev finally takes power into his own hands, we
will have a chance to return to a political thaw, to democratization,”
he went on. “We are being given the chance to return to rule of law and
the Russian Constitution. Clearly, much depends on the opposition, on its energy…
Which is why we alone are responsible for our future, and not Obama.”
Other articles
-
Kasparov on Iran: democrats deserve full support
Writing for the Wall Street Journal, Russian opposition leader Garry Kasparov
urged President Barack Obama to take a tougher stance on the Iranian elections,
arguing that pressure from the United States can tip the balance in Iran
towards democracy. Read
the full article here.
-
Senators Advise Obama Before Meeting with Medvedev
Three US senators were urging President Barack Obama to stand up for democratic
values ahead of his upcoming visit to Moscow to meet with Russian President
Dmitri Medvedev. Senators Jim DeMint (R-SC), Jon Kyl (R- AZ) and Roger Wicker
(R- MS) wrote a letter urging Obama to raise three major issues between
the two nations. The complete text, with highlighted key passages, is reprinted
here.
-
Other Russia Activist Dies in Prison
Rim ShaigalimovAn opposition activist from the Siberian city of Kasnoyarsk
has died in prison in what authorities describe as a suicide. Prison officials
say Rim Shaigalimov, an active member of the Other Russia coalition, jumped
from a fourth-story window on June 27th. Relatives, meanwhile, suspect foul
play. Read
the full article here.
- Russian Journalist Dies After Brutal Attack
An independent Russian journalist, Vyacheslav Yaroshenko, has died from his
wounds after he was viciously attacked in late April, Radio Svoboda reports.
Yaroshenko, the editor-in-chief of the “Corruption and Crime”
(Koruptsiya i Kriminal) newspaper, had written articles investigating corruption
in local authorities. Read
the full article here.
