26th February 2025, 6:00pm to 7:30pm GMT
The chilling image of the Kremlin, framed in barbed wire, was taken from the Bolshoy Moskvoretsky Bridge where dissident politician Boris Nemtsov was assassinated on 27th February 2015.
Boris Nemtsov was a fearless critic of Vladimir Putin, relentlessly denouncing Russian aggression in Chechnya in the 1990s. With Alexei Navalny, he led the March of Peace in 2014, which drew tens of thousands of Russians in anti-war protests. Nemtsov and Navalny exposed the truth of Russia’s military intervention in Ukraine, putting their lives on the line to inform the Russian people about the Kremlin’s real actions and intentions. The devastating full-scale war in Ukraine marks its third year on 22nd February.
Ten years on from Nemtsov’s murder, three years on from the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and one year after Navalny’s death in an Arctic prison, we invite you to join us in a conversation about how the power of truth can nourish the flame of freedom. Can the sacrifices of Russian dissidents and the courageous struggle of Ukrainians help to reverse the tide of propaganda and tyranny?
‘One word of truth shall outweigh the whole world.’ With this bold claim, Alexander Solzhenitsyn urged the world to confront the lies that feed oppression and violence. Join us on 26th February to reflect on what we have learned about the cost of lies, the cost of truth-telling, and the struggle for a peaceful, fear-free Russia.
Join us for Russia Past and Present: Tyranny and Truth, a special edition of IofC UK Insight, to hear Sophia Kayes in conversation with author and leading investigative journalist, Anastasia Kirilenko, a public speaker and a renowned campaigner for justice, Marina Litvinenko, and author and expert on soviet dissidents, Dr Philip Boobbyer. A special address to the audience recorded by Vladimir Kara-Murza, former political prisoner, will be screened at the event.
Please note this event is available to attend via ZOOM ONLY.
