Russia-Freedom Forum: "The World After?"

This year, the Russia-Freedom Forum "The World After?" sets out from today's realities to shed light on the developments of tomorrow. Through a Grand Interview and four roundtables, it will address Russia in crisis, amidst war, repression and resistance; Kremlin interference in the run-up to the 2027 French presidential election; justice for crimes committed against Ukraine; and the ecological consequences of the war and the economic model that supports it.

Program

10:00-10:15 Opening remarks and welcome

10:20-11:30 Roundtable 1: Interference and Propaganda - Protecting democratic debate in the run-up to 2027

As the 2027 French presidential election approaches, how are the Kremlin's influence strategies evolving? What lessons can be learned from interference already observed in other democracies, and does France currently have the necessary means to identify and respond to these operations? Objective: to use experiences already documented in other democracies to understand what could happen in France in 2027, identify French vulnerabilities and confront the various possible responses - detection, public exposure, regulation and sanctions.

Speakers:

• Andrei Soldatov, Russian investigative journalist in exile, co-founder of Agentura.ru, Senior Fellow at King's College London. Co-author, with Irina Borogan, of Our Dear Friends in Moscow: The Inside Story of a Broken Generation (PublicAffairs).
• Luca Minisini, journalist for Le Monde, observer of influence and information issues.
• Marie Mendras (Moderator and Expert) Professor at the Sciences Po School of International Affairs, author of The Permanent War: The Kremlin's Ultimate Strategy (Calmann-Lévy).

11:40-12:20 Keynote: Grand Interview with Mikhail Kasyanov, former Prime Minister of Russia

Mikhail Kasyanov, drawing on his experience at the highest level of the Russian state, will share his analysis of the possible scenarios for Russia and Europe in the coming years, the existing room for maneuver as well as the risks and consequences of the various options. What do these scenarios mean for France and Europe? What strategies should be built today and what choices can still influence the situation's development? The Grand Interview will also allow for a discussion on the role and responsibilities of Russian democratic forces, as well as the conditions necessary to achieve a lasting end to the war and a just and solid peace for Ukraine and Europe.

Denis Kataev (Moderator). Journalist at Dojd (TV Rain) and political scientist.

12:20-13:20 Break

13:20-13:30 Tribute to Anna Politkovskaya - 20 years later

Twenty years after her assassination, a tribute to her work as a journalist and a look at Chechnya, a laboratory for Russian repressive practices.

• Abubakar Yangulbaev. Lawyer, human rights defender and Chechen opposition activist.
• Anna Victoria Politkovskaya. Granddaughter of journalist Anna Politkovskaya and activist.

13:30-15:00 Roundtable 2: Russia 2026 - Realities inside the country

This roundtable will bring together testimonies, political experiences and regional expertise to understand the transformations at work in Russia in 2026, after more than four years of war against Ukraine, as the war returns to Russian territory, and in the aftermath of the Duma elections.

The discussion will address the realities of the country not only from Moscow, but also through the experiences and expertise of the regions: evolution of power and repression, consequences of the war, forms of resistance and perspectives of Russian democratic forces, as well as the lessons that these experiences and expertise can bring to France and Europe.

Speakers:

• Boris Nadezhdin, Russian politician, former candidate for the 2024 presidential election.
• Natalia Arno, President of the Free Russia Foundation.
• Representative of NC SOS (North Caucasus SOS), human rights organization specializing in the North Caucasus.

Irina Borogan (Moderator and Expert), investigative journalist, co-founder of Agentura.ru, specialist in Russian security services.

15:10-15:40 Concert by the band AIGEL

15:50-17:10 Roundtable 3: Special Tribunal for crimes against Ukraine - From announcement to justice

The invasion of Ukraine has highlighted the limits of the current international justice system. While the International Criminal Court is investigating crimes committed during the conflict, the creation of a Special Tribunal for the crime of aggression addresses a central question: how to judge those responsible for a war of aggression when existing mechanisms are insufficient?

This roundtable aims to explain why this new legal instrument is considered indispensable today, what challenges remain to combat the impunity of the highest-ranking Russian political and military officials, and what this development means for the future of international law and European security.

Speakers:

• Pierre Raiman, PhD in History (Paris Panthéon-Sorbonne), specialist in totalitarianism; Co-founder and vice-president of the association "For Ukraine, for their freedom and ours!", organizer of the campaign "Together, let's save the Ukrainian hostages", aimed in particular at involving French municipalities in sponsoring Ukrainian civilians detained by Russia.
• Anastasia Shevchenko, Russian political and human rights activist, former political prisoner (Position of Russian democratic forces on responsibility for the aggression against Ukraine: recognition of crimes, Special Tribunal, reparations and concrete commitments to Ukraine.)
• Cyrille Amoursky (Speaker and Moderator), Franco-Russian journalist and war reporter, author of Ukraïna. A people at war, specialist in Ukraine and the Russo-Ukrainian war.

17:20-18:30 Roundtable 4: Climate, resources and authoritarianism - Breaking free from dependency

Based on the Russian case and its resonances in France and Europe, this roundtable will examine how dependence on natural resources fuels authoritarianism, finances the war and hinders the ecological transition. As the effects of climate change are already visible and France prepares for the 2027 elections, the discussion will allow for an examination of European energy choices, the social and political consequences of extractivism, and the conditions for truly breaking free from dependency.

The objective will also be to consider the role of ecology in a future democratic Russia. The transition cannot be postponed until after Putin: it requires defending freedom of association, access to environmental data, the rights of local and indigenous populations, and an economic model freed from extractive rent today.

Speakers:

• Mikhail Krutikhin, analyst of the Russian oil and gas sector (Extractive rent, hydrocarbons, financing of the regime and the war, European dependencies).
• Lana Pylaeva, indigenous and environmental activist (Consequences of extractivism on territories, rights of indigenous peoples and repression of environmental mobilizations).
• Laurent Coumel, historian at Inalco, specialist in the environmental history of Russia and the USSR.

Moderator: Jade Lindgaard, journalist at Mediapart, head of the Ecology department, specialist in energy issues and environmental injustices.

18:35-18:45 Closing remarks