”Please check with each participant whether it’s okay to take their photo.”
After I take a picture of a slide during one of the presentations, a man approaches me. It’s Mikhail Lobanov, a Russian socialist, who kindly reminds me that this is one of the panels where the speakers aren’t to be made public. I reassure him that I’d never publish anything without consent. Mikhail accepts with a smile and returns to his seat.
I have been invited to “The Fight against Russia’s war and the authoritarian regime,” a conference organized by Radical Democracy Network, a broad coalition of Russian dissidents and antiwar activists. The organizers make it clear that this is no ordinary gathering. Flyers inform attendees that we are not allowed to publicize anything about today’s event for security reasons. A five-day blackout is imposed on all media articles. It’s about preventing Russian intelligence from tracking and mapping the guests’ activity — but also to stay under the radar of the Danish police. The guests are often treated with suspicion by Western security services.
This understandable concern also reminds the other participants of the duress under which the Russian activists live. Two of today’s featured speakers are introduced with a reminder not to film or mention any names, as it might jeopardize their networks in Russia. Many Russians present already appear on their government’s list of “extremists who are a threat to national security.”
“This event is not a public seminar, but an attempt to get the right people in the same room. I think we have accomplished this,” says Bjarke Friborg from the Danish Association of Masters and PhDs. Friborg’s labor union has helped organize the event through the newly established Eastern Europe Network, while their colleagues from the IT labor union (PROSA) have agreed to host the event. The largest labor union in Denmark, 3F, and the Danish Journalists’ Association have cosponsored…
Auteur: Morten Hammeken
