Communication without obstacles

Open Russia Club begins in London

Open Russia, Open Russia Club, London

The club has the same name as the Open Russia public organization that created it. At the presentation of the club on November 10, the debate will be held in London between political scientists Gleb Pavlovsky and Stanislav Belkovsky on the topic “Philosophy of the Russian future: will we have another country there?”

In Russia, oxygen is blocked by any educational or educational project, if there are no power or pro-government structures behind it, ”his director Kulle Pispanen, who is also the press secretary of the ex-UKOS Mikhail Khodorkovsky, creator of“ Open Russia ”, explained in a conversation with NT in London. According to her, there are small educational projects that still manage to survive, but they cannot reach a large audience.

The club will be located in the center of the British capital, and, as its organizers expect, he will immediately heal a stormy life. For example, it has already been announced that on November 12, the poet Andrei Orlov (Orlush) will perform here.

The club plans lectures not only of Russian leaders of public opinion, writers, publicists, artists, directors, political figures - but also counts on the participation of English -speaking speakers. “We will, of course, invite them,” Kulle Pispanen said, adding that “this is a club not only for Russians. I hope the locals will come to us. ”

At the same time, Open Russia will continue all its projects in Moscow, St. Petersburg and in the Russian regions. However, according to Pispanen, “the most important, referent, as they say, conversations, discussions, expert advice, we decided to transfer to London, where certainly we will not have such fierce resistance.”

In London, Kulle Pispanen reminded, there is no shortage of the Russian-speaking public-someone is temporarily here, but many are on a permanent basis: they live, study, work ... not to mention the fact that "London is one of the centers of world attraction."

Continuing a conversation about the problems that the “Open Russia” faces at home, Kulle Pispanen cited the example of last year's educational project - open lectures by Ekaterina Gordeeva: “Before the start of lectures, electricity was chopped off in cities, announced the allegedly laid out into the rented building of the bomb, local personnel threatened to pour out lecturers and visitors with acid or abandon tomatoes ... "

And in general, whatever it is about, whether it is a lecture “On the Beauty” by Andrei Makarevich or the Lecture “On Conscience” by Lyudmila Ulitskaya-the organizers constantly came across the same set of obstacles: “Beauty or conscience, honor, freedom or equality-it doesn’t matter, the main thing is that more than one lecture under the auspices of“ open Russia ”would not pass normally.”

It looked before Hanover Square in London, where Open Russia Club is now located, the organization’s screensaver on the site

The regions in which the organization’s events took place relatively smoothly, “without opposing the environment” can be counted on the fingers.

What and by whom could such an opposition cause? “Often, it seems to me that it was an internal self -censorship, a kind of town reinsurance - just in case, and suddenly what?” - the interlocutor NT suggested, adding that the “open Russia” is not ready at the whim of her persecutors “to drive into the marginalized basement”.

Over time, the London Open Russia Club plans to carry out the Internet broadcasts of its events on the Open Russia website, while they will be recorded on the video, after which the “best episodes” will be posted on the website of the public organization.

According to Kulle Pispanen, a similar club is already working in Prague and, perhaps, the next will open in Israel.

“Our club is not a commercial, but an educational, educational project,” the interlocutor of the magazine emphasized. The organizers do not intend to inflate in any way the hype around the club’s events, according to them, according to Pispanen, the main thing is a high -quality component, “so that people know: there is such a platform where you can communicate with interesting people without any obstacles and barriers.”

Photo: Openrussia.org