Supporting human rights and civil society in today’s Russia is almost as difficult as it would be in George Orwell’s 1984. Over the past 20 years, the society has moved from a so-called managed democracy to an authoritarian regime and is now approaching a form of totalitarian fascism, where independent speech and action have the character of resistance, rather than ordinary opposition, and can be directly dangerous for the people involved and their loved ones.

However, there are still people within as well as outside Russia, who care for the future of the country as a peaceful and democratic country.

The NGO “Danish Friends of a Democratic Russia” is a group of Denmark-based activists who have joined forces to promote democracy, human rights, and civil society in Russia. The core principles are: democracy, freedom of expression, respect for human rights, respect for the sovereignty of all countries.

This evening we invite to an event on the occasion of the first Danish screening of the MTV documentary Anastasia. Doors open at 16:00 for light refreshments and networking. We are looking forward to seeing you there!

17:30 Welcome by Charlotte Flindt Pedersen, The Danish Foreign Policy Society.

17:35 Presentation of “Danish Friends of a Democratic Russia” by the Board Members.

18:05 Danish premiere of the MTV documentary “Anastasia” about and with Anastasia Shevchenko. (Watch the trailer on YouTube)

18:35 Maria Logan about her charity projects for the Khodorkovsky team.

19:05 Lubov Sobol on political vision of the Russian future by the Navalny team.

Participants

• Anastasia Shevchenko is a Russian public figure and civil activist. She is the first person in Russia to have a criminal case brought against her on charges of participating in an “undesirable” organisation under Russian Federation law. In 2021, Shevchenko was found guilty and received a suspended sentence of 4 years of imprisonment. In August 2022 Shevchenko informed that she had left Russia and moved to Vilnus. After that, she was declared a fugitive for “evading the punishment”.
• Maria Logan is part of the Open Russia Foundation and Trustee to the Future of Russia Foundation and the Khodorkovsky Foundation. She is a native of St. Petersburg, an international lawyer and human rights campaigner. Logan has previously worked as part of the litigation practice group at the international law firm Greenberg Traurig in Washington, DC. In 2008, she joined the worldwide campaign for Mikhail Khodorkovsky’s release. She coordinated international human rights organizations in support of Mr Khodorkovsky and represented his case before governmental institutions worldwide. Since Mr Khodorkovsky’s release from prison, Logan has spearheaded several of his new initiatives designed to support civil society and defend human rights in Russia.
• Lyubov Sobol is a Russian political and public figure. She consistently advocates the democratization of Russia and opposes Putin’s policies. The key member of Alexei Navalny’s team. She produces the YouTube-channel “Navalny Live” of Alexei Navalny (more than 3 million subscribers, more than 250 million views per 6 months). She participated in the election campaign for the Moscow City Duma in 2019 and the State Duma of Russia in 2021 but was illegally admitted because of her political position: opposing the actions of the current government. Sobol was a lawyer for the Anti-Corruption Foundation until its closure in 2021 and a former member of Russian Opposition Coordination Council. She was included in the Leadership category by the BBC on its 2019 list of 100 inspiring and influential women from around the world.
• Daria Wagner is the chair of the Danish NGO ‘Danish Friends of a Democratic Russia’. Daria supports Alexey Navalny and his team, she is an owner of a Facebook-group “Copenhagen for Navalny/Denmark for Navalny”. She holds a Master of Science in Chemichal Engineering and a PhD in Microelectronics. Mother of 5 children.