Toggle navigation menu.
Helsinki Default Banner

Decolonization of Russia to Be Discussed at Upcoming Helsinki Commission Briefing

WASHINGTON—The Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe, also known as the Helsinki Commission, today announced the following online briefing:

DECOLONIZING RUSSIA
A Moral and Strategic Imperative

Thursday, June 23, 2022
10:00 a.m.

Register: https://ushr.webex.com/ushr/j.php?RGID=r6c43d40f2b988be5e94f7614ea4a6768

Russia’s barbaric war on Ukraine—and before that on Syria, Libya, Georgia, and Chechnya—has exposed the Russian Federation’s viciously imperial character to the entire world. Its aggression also is catalyzing a long-overdue conversation about Russia’s interior empire, given Moscow’s dominion over many indigenous non-Russian nations, and the brutal extent to which the Kremlin has taken to suppress their national self-expression and self-determination.

Serious and controversial discussions are now underway about reckoning with Russia’s fundamental imperialism and the need to “decolonize” Russia for it to become a viable stakeholder in European security and stability. As the successor to the Soviet Union, which cloaked its colonial agenda in anti-imperial and anti-capitalist nomenclature, Russia has yet to attract appropriate scrutiny for its consistent and oftentimes brutal imperial tendencies.

The following panelists are scheduled to participate:

  • Fatima Tlis, Circassian journalist
  • Botakoz Kassymbekova, Lecturer, University of Basel
  • Erica Marat, Associate Professor, College of International Security Affairs, National Defense University
  • Hanna Hopko, Chair, Democracy in Action Conference; former Member of the Ukrainian Parliament
  • Casey Michel, Author, American Kleptocracy

Media contact

Category
Country
Issue
Date
Filter Topics Open Close
Press Releases

HEARING – Russia’s Shadow War on NATO

Sep 24, 2024

Cannon House Office Building, Room 210 Stream live here Since the outset of Russia’s genocidal invasion of Ukraine, the United States and NATO have sought to avoid direct confrontation with Russia by conditioning Ukraine’s use of military aid, including severely restricting their use of long-range weapons inside of Russia. However, Russia is already engaged in […]

screen-reader-text
Press Releases

HEARING – Russia’s Imperial Identity

Sep 18, 2024

2358-C Rayburn House Office Building Stream live here Russia’s war of territorial conquest and genocide in Ukraine is rooted in years of unrestrained authoritarianism and imperialism. The scale of Russia’s physical brutality and the rhetoric perpetuating it brings the imperial nature of both contemporary and historical Russia into stark relief. Unlike European colonial empires which […]

screen-reader-text
Hearings

Russia’s Imperial Identity

Sep 18, 2024

Russia’s war of territorial conquest and genocide in Ukraine is rooted in years of unrestrained authoritarianism and imperialism. The scale of Russia’s physical brutality and the rhetoric perpetuating it brings the imperial nature of both contemporary and historical Russia into stark relief. Unlike European colonial empires which were forced to relinquish territory and atone for […]

screen-reader-text
Press Releases

HEARING – Supporting Armenia’s Democracy and Western...

Sep 10, 2024

Dirksen Senate Office Building, Room 419 Stream live here In July, bipartisan members of the Helsinki Commission leadership from the House and Senate and other senior members of Congress visited Armenia to observe for themselves the fruits of Armenia’s democratic and increasingly pro-West orientation. Members observed Armenia’s precarious strategic situation, but also its profound resilience, democratic […]

screen-reader-text
Hearings

Supporting Armenia’s Democracy and Western Future

Sep 10, 2024

  In July, bipartisan members of the Helsinki Commission leadership from the House and Senate and other senior members of Congress visited Armenia to observe for themselves the fruits of Armenia’s democratic and increasingly pro-West orientation. Members observed Armenia’s precarious strategic situation, but also its profound resilience, democratic example in the region, and sociopolitical consensus in […]

screen-reader-text
Press Releases

Helsinki Commission Ranking Member Cohen Calls on Lu...

Sep 04, 2024

WASHINGTON—Today, U.S. Helsinki Commission Ranking Member Representative Steve Cohen (TN-09), OSCE PA Special Representative on Political Prisoners, called on Alyaksandr Lukashenka to provide proof of life for Mikalai Statkevich and release him immediately. Mr. Statkevich is a Belarusian politician and former presidential candidate who has been wrongfully detained as a political prisoner since 2020 and held […]

screen-reader-text
Statements

Helsinki Commission House Leadership Statement on Uk...

Aug 15, 2024

Today, U.S. Helsinki Commission Chairman Rep. Joe Wilson (SC-02) and Ranking Member Rep. Steve Cohen (TN-09) issued the following statement about Ukraine’s advance into Russia’s Kursk region: “Ukraine’s offensive has been an exceptional demonstration of courage and ingenuity in service of stopping Russia’s genocidal campaign against Ukrainians. For two and a half years, Ukrainians have defended […]

screen-reader-text
Press Releases

U.S. Helsinki Commissioners Welcome Release of Unjus...

Aug 01, 2024

WASHINGTON—Today, U.S. Helsinki Commission Chairman Rep. Joe Wilson (SC-02), Co-Chairman Sen. Ben Cardin (MD), Ranking Member Rep. Steve Cohen (TN-09), and Ranking Member Sen. Roger Wicker (MS) celebrated the release of several individuals who were unjustly detained in Russia, including former U.S. Marine Paul Whelan, American journalists Evan Gershkovich and Alsu Kurmasheva, and Russian opposition […]

screen-reader-text
Press Releases

Helsinki Commission Ranking Member Cohen Celebrates ...

Aug 01, 2024

WASHINGTON—Congressman Steve Cohen (TN-9), the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe’s 56-nation Parliamentary Assembly’s Special Representative on Political Prisoners, today welcomed news that three journalists and Paul Whelan, wrongly detained and imprisoned by Russian authorities on trumped-up charges, have been released in a prisoner exchange. Congressman Cohen made the following statement: “I have been […]

screen-reader-text
In the News

Bipartisan Leaders of Helsinki Commission Call for S...

Jul 31, 2024

screen-reader-text
In the News

Helsinki Commission calls on Anthony Blinken to impo...

Jul 31, 2024

screen-reader-text
In the News

Russia’s Government Persecutes Christians In O...

Jul 30, 2024

screen-reader-text