Prime Minister of Italy
Mr. Romano Prodi

Rome/Moscow, June 19, 2006

Dear Prime Minister,

As Italian and Russian democrats, we are writing to you to express our deep belief that your upcoming meetings with President Putin in Moscow in June and during the G8 summit in St. Petersburg in July represent an important opportunity not only to shape the future of Italian-Russian relations but also to contribute to a better result of the G8 summit for all Russian citizens and to help Russia in its development as a democratic nation.

We believe that a fruitful cooperation, both in the economic and political fields between western democracies and Russia in general and between Italy and Russia in particular should be based on a common understanding of the necessity to ensure at all times the protection of democratic institutions and universal human rights norms by all members of the G8 or those who aspire to be respected members of the community of democratic nations.

In fact, consideration of the status of Russian democracy played a crucial role in the decision taken in 1998 by the G7 heads of state to invite President Yeltsin to participate in the G7 annual summits, as a recognition of the his commitment to democratization and economic liberalization, despite the fact that the Russian economy remained weak and that commitment of the Russian government to democratic principles was volatile.

Unfortunately, under the leadership of President Vladimir Putin, the government of the Russian Federation has stepped back on the road towards democracy, with consistent and successful actions to limit independence of the mass media, political parties, nongovernmental organizations, business associations, and other pluralistic elements of Russian society. This is aimed at muting criticism of the government and consolidating state control of all spheres of political life. Principle of separation of powers and checks and balances in the government has been undermined due to the limitation of the independence of the parliament and the judicial system.

More recently, Russia has experienced growing abuse of the law enforcement system and courts in particular for the persecution of its citizens on political grounds, much like in the Soviet times. There are political prisoners in Russia today, recognized by Amnesty International. Torture in detention, hazing in the army, and racially motivated violence are all on the rise with no effective action by the government to stop them. Victims of atrocities in Chechnya have no access to justice; perpetrators of crimes against civilians there continue to enjoy impunity. Russian pressure has been mounting on Ukraine and Georgia, the two neighbors of Russia who recently enjoyed a democratic breakthrough. At the same time Russian support of the last dictatorship in Europe, Lukashenka’s regime in Belarus, remains steady. Deterioration of the rule of law and democracy in Russia has been noted by many independent organizations and has raised strong concerns in the international community about the imitational nature of Russian democracy with formal facades covering the movement towards authoritarianism. If judged objectively, Russia could not be in the position of the G8 chair and the chair of the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe today.

We do not call for isolation of Russia or its expulsion from international organizations. However, its membership in the club of the most democratically and economically developed nations should be effectively used by other members to help Russia return to the path of democracy. Otherwise Russia’s participation only legitimizes the authoritarian choice of its current leaders. Partners have the right to speak openly and raise legitimate concerns with their counterparts. You have an opportunity to do exactly this and help Russian people.

For these reasons, on the occasion of your upcoming visits to Russia, we call on you to publicly express your concern about setback in democracy and human rights there as detrimental to the development of Russia and the prosperity of Russian people, and call on the Russian government not only to express its public commitment to strengthening democratic institutions and the rule of law but to take concrete steps along this path. Words are not enough, actions must follow such as elimination of state control of the national TV channels, review of cases of political prisoners, stopping impunity in Chechnya, and allowing genuine political competition. Your message should come sound and clear: democracy and human rights are not an internal matter. We believe that this should be a central and non-negotiable part of your objective in the development of Italian-Russian relations.

With the assurances of our highest consideration,


Garry Kasparov, Co-President All-Russian Civic Congress, President of United Civic Front, Russia
Matteo Mecacci, UN Representative, Transnational Radical Party, Italy
Yuri Dzibladze, Presidente del Centro Sviluppo Democrazie e Diritti Umani, Russia
Daniele Capezzone, Presidente Commissione Parlamentare Attivita’ Produttive, Italy
Svetlana Gannushkina, Director, Civic Assistance Commitee, Board Member Human Rights Centre Memorial, Russia
Sergio D’Elia, Member of Parliament, Rosa nel Pugno, Italy
Tanya Lokshina, Chair of the Board ,"Demos" Centre, Russia
Natalya Taubina, Director, "Public Verdict" Foundation, Russia
Georgy Satarov, Co-President All-Russian Civic Congress, Russia
Alexander Verkhovsky, director, “Sova” Center for Information and Analysis, Russia
Lev Ponomarev, director, All-Russia Movement "For Human Rights"
Cesare Salvi, President of the Justice Commission of the Italian Senate, Italy
Furio Colombo, Member of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Senate, Italy
Giacomo Mancini, Member of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Chamber of Deputies, Italy