On Thursday, 19 December 2024, a roundtable discussion was held at the GDIP Media Center entitled ‘Good russians’ — Who Are They? (The Phenomenon of ‘Good russians’ in the Hybrid War of muscovy Against Ukraine and the West).
Volodymyr Ohryzko, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Ukraine (2007–9), Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, Head of the Centre for russian Studies, moderated the event. In his opening remarks, Mr Ohryzko outlined the roundtable’s agenda. He noted that it is necessary to clearly define the concept of ‘good russians’ according to specific criteria: ‘Every nation that has experienced “russian liberalism” and “russian friendship” will ask itself much more questions concerning the definition. Nevertheless, it is crucial to understand what kind of russia liberals are going to create in the future: the same one that exists today, only under their rule, or a russia that, after several generations of atonement for its sins before many nations of the world, will gradually be able to approach what is called ‘the foundations of democracy’ and ‘true liberalism’.
Among the event’s speakers were: Member of the Ukrainian Parliament Oleh Dunda; Director of the Pylyp Orlyk Institute for Democracy Svitlana Yeremenko; journalist, analyst, and Deputy Director-General of ATR TV Channel Aider Muzhdabaev; publicist Vitalii Portnykov; analyst at the Pylyp Orlyk Institute for Democracy and co-author of Deconstructors of Truth Nataliia Steblyna; journalist Roman Tsymbaliuk.
A number of important issues were discussed during the roundtable, including: does a liberal-democratic opposition exist in muscovy; ‘russian liberals’ — portraits of the ‘heroes’; ‘russian liberalism’ as an extension of muscovite imperialism: Whose Crimea, and why is ‘not everything so clear-cut’; information outlets of ‘russian liberalism’; the collective West and ‘russian liberalism’ — how long can blindness and deafness persist; ‘what is to be done?’ (not according to Chernyshevsky).
Scholars, professors and students as well as retired diplomats participated in the discussion.
