The group proposed at a conference in Lithuania said that European governments could certify those who denounce the Russian government.
Veteran Russian anti-government figures have declared their intention to serve as representatives of the Russian people, those who oppose President Vladimir Putin's policies in Ukraine and consider his government illegitimate. These good Russians can sign up to the cause and possibly be certified by European governments, the group that includes Mikhail Khodorkovsky, a former oil tycoon said on Friday. The idea was voiced during a conference in Lithuania that was broadcast on YouTube.
The proposal was presented by the chessmaster and longtime critic of Russian President Garry Kasparov. He said he and his comrades tried to welcome good European Russians to their ranks, a term that he repeatedly used during the presentation, and suggested a simple way to tell them apart from the rest of the folk.
He said that the simple test to enter this category will be a declaration that we will be offering for signing.
The declaration includes three key statements: Putin s government is illegitimate, the ongoing military attack against Ukraine is criminal, and Ukraine s control of pre-2014 borders must be restored, Kasparov said.
Kasparov said he and fellow opposition politicians would be given a mandate to represent the signatories politically and he hoped for recognition in the West.
He said that there is a real chance that European governments friendly to us would consider certifying people who join our system and issue the relevant paperwork. The politician implied that the proposed certificate could be used to alleviate concerns that some people in the West have about Russians living in their countries.
The opposition wants to create a virtual South Korea like the North Korea in Russia, which Putin wants to create, Kasparov said.
The gathering in Lithuanian capital, Vilnius, was organized by the so-called Anti-War Committee of Russia, a group that includes some of the most familiar faces of the Russian opposition.
The former oligarch Mikhail Khodorkovsky spoke via a videolink, while Lyubov Sobol, an ally of the jailed Russian opposition politician Alexey Navalny, delivered pre-recorded remarks. Kasparov attended the event in person, as did businessman Evgeny Chichvarkin.
Russia attacked the neighboring state in late February after Ukraine failed to implement the terms of the Minsk agreements, first signed in 2014, and Moscow s eventual recognition of the Donbass republics of Donetsk and Lugansk. The German and French-brokered Minsk Protocol was designed to give the breakaway regions special status within the Ukrainian state.
The Kremlin has demanded that Ukraine officially declare itself a neutral country that will never join the US-led NATO military bloc. Kiev insists that the Russian offensive was unprovoked and has denied that it was planning to retake the two republics by force.