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