Russians forced their way into the Khodorkovsky forum in Kyiv with Israeli passports (PHOTO, VIDEO)
Kyiv, April 25 (Navigator, Vladimir Raichenko) – The “Ukraine – Russia: Dialogue” congress opened in Kyiv, organized with the assistance of the Ukrainian civil initiative “Third Republic” of Yuri Lutsenko and the Russian public organization “Open Russia”, associated with Mikhail Khodorkovsky.
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However, all this was more reminiscent not of a search for ways out of the crisis in relations between the two countries, but of a kind of attempt to open a “second front” by the victorious Maidan, given the fact that the vast majority of guests who came to the congress were from Russia (journalists, political scientists, culture, writers) have no sympathy for the current Russian government, to put it mildly.
In principle, most of the famous characters voiced what was expected of them. Former Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine Yuriy Lutsenko remembered both Kyiv Maidans and said that he loves Pushkin because he wrote “to Ukraine, and not like Putin, “to Ukraine.” Mikhail Khodorkovsky in his speech also remembered Putin, “who stood in the way of Ukrainian democracy.”
The Russian opposition figure Boris Nemtsov did not say anything new either; he made comments left and right on the topic of “Putin-Goebbels propaganda.”
Surprisingly, the landing of such a large liberal force was not prevented by the restriction on entry into Ukraine for Russian citizens between 16 and 60 years of age. Navigator tried to find out how the Moscow guests were able to overcome the customs and border barrier.
Thus, political scientist Stanislav Belkovsky said that they were allowed through a special list of congress participants, and State Duma deputy Ilya Ponomarev spoke about an interview with border guards, on the basis of which the decision was made to enter the territory of Ukraine.
But for one of the most popular Runet bloggers, Anton Nosik, crossing the Russian-Ukrainian border left not very pleasant memories. The border guards did not let the five people flying with him from Moscow through, and he was saved only by an Israeli passport, which was the only way to allow entry. “In the complex word Zhidobanderite, the first half, it turns out, matters,” Nosik commented on the situation to Navigator, not without sarcasm. “They stained my Israeli passport.” I won’t forget this and I won’t forgive them.”
However, there was no unanimity, despite the predominantly anti-Putin attitude of the majority of congress participants. One of the stumbling blocks was the issue of banning Russian channels in Ukraine and the ban on the entry of journalists from the Russian Federation. “What can we do?” ex-editor-in-chief of Kommersant-Ukraine Valery Kalnysh immediately launched a counterattack.
On the second day of the congress, it is planned to discuss topics no less resonant, judging by the title, including such as “What threatens the independence of Ukraine from the state status of the Russian language”, “Overcoming the Soviet paradigm”, “Is peaceful coexistence of democratic Ukraine and authoritarian Russia possible” .
Russians forced their way into Khodorkovsky's forum in Kyiv with Israeli passports (PHOTOS, VIDEO)