Join Harvard's Davis Center for a talk with Yevgeniya Chirikova, a Russian environmental activist who is well-known for organizing a grassroots movement to stop the construction of a highway through Khimki Forest, on grassroots activism in Russia.

Despite a lull after the Soviet collapse, grassroots activism in Russia is growing. The protests for free elections that swept across Russia this summer may have captured international headlines, but many other grassroots groups have been organizing over the last decade. What types of civic movements exist in today’s Russia? What risks do activists face? How do they interact with the state or state-protected interest groups? Finally, what role could grassroots groups play in democratizing Russia? Yevgeniya Chirikova sheds light on these questions through her experience as an environmental activist and creator of Activatica.org, a website covering Russian grassroots activism.

Speakers:

Yevgeniya Chirikova, activist; creator, Activatica.org

Dr. Elizabeth Plantan, China Public Policy Postdoctoral Fellow, Ash Center