Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) has designated the Free Russia Forum, a biannual conference for Russian opposition politicians and analysts held in Vilnius, as a “terrorist” organization.
According to the FSB’s website, the basis for this decision was a March 2025 court ruling sentencing Soviet dissident Alexander Skobov to 16 years in prison on terrorism charges due to his anti-war views and alleged participation in the Free Russia Forum.
The court ruling came into force in June. As Mediazona notes, under Russian law, an organization can be blacklisted for “terrorism” once a guilty verdict related to its founding, management, or activities enters into force.
The Free Russia Forum was first organized in 2016 by chess champion and opposition figure Garry Kasparov and Solidarity former executive director Ivan Tyutrin. In 2023, the Russian Prosecutor General’s Office outlawed the Free Russia Forum as an “undesirable” organization.
