Russia bans Lithuania-based opposition forum as ‘undesirable’

Russia has added the Free Russia Forum, a platform that brings together key figures in Russia’s liberal opposition, to its list of “undesirable” organizations, the Prosecutor General’s Office said Wednesday.

public prosecutor’s office Said A review of the activities of the Lithuania-based organization concluded that it “threats the constitutional order and security of the Russian Federation.”

Organizations labeled “undesirable” must be disbanded within Russia, and individuals who cooperate with “undesirable” groups risk serious criminal charges.

The Free Russia Forum has not yet responded to the designation.

The forum was co-founded in 2016 by Russian chess grandmaster-turned-political activist Garry Kasparov and opposition politician Ivan Tyutrin, and the group organized the first meeting of the Russian opposition.

Since then, it has held a total of 11 opposition conferences and three conferences that bring together Russian anti-war activists and opposition officials.

Among the many groups operating under the umbrella of the Free Russia Forum are allies of imprisoned Kremlin critic Alexei Navalny, the liberal PARNAS and Yabloko parties, and the Memorial Human Rights Group.

Over the past decade, Russian authorities have gradually tightened restrictions on civil society groups, opposition activists and independent media outlets in the country, with a major crackdown following the invasion of Ukraine.

Last week, Meduza, one of the most popular independent Russian-language news websites, also Labeled The Prosecutor General’s Office is also an “undesirable” organization, citing an alleged threat to Russia’s “constitutional order and security”.