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For the Freedom of Nations!

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"For the Freedom of Nations" Movement
рус. - Движение "За свободу наций!"
ChairmanMedvedev, Dmitry
Founded16 February 2024 (2024-02-16)
HeadquartersMoscow, Russia

"For the Freedom of Nations!" Movement (full title - "Forum of Supporters of the Struggle against Modern Practices of Neocolonialism - "For the Freedom of Nations!") is an Russia-led inter-party movement uniting various political parties of the states of the Second World and Global South with the stated aim of countering modern manifestations of colonialism.[1]

The movement was officially created in February 2024 on the initiative of the United Russia Party after the founding General Assembly of the "Forum of Supporters of the Fight against Modern Practices of Neocolonialism" was held in Moscow.[2] Since then, political parties from more than 50 countries in Asia, Africa, Latin America, the Middle East, Europe and the CIS have joined the movement.[3]

Ideological background

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Countering modern neocolonial practices is understood by supporters as the main goal of the "For the Freedom of Nations!" Movement. These practices include the imposition of sanctions and restrictive measures, weaponization of currencies, cultural indoctrination, falsification of history, information and psychological campaigns, etc. The Movement positions itself as a Forum for consolidation of the political movements from countries of the Global South.[4]

The term "neocolonialism" itself emerged in the 1960s, with Kwame Nkrumah, President of Ghana at the time, being the first to mention it in his book "Neocolonialism: the Last Stage of Imperialism".[5] In 1965, Cuban revolutionary Ernesto Che Guevara gave a speech in which he criticized the domination of some countries over others, which he also called neocolonialism.[6]

""Africa is, one might say, an almost untouched field for neocolonialist invasion. Here we saw changes that forced the colonial powers to give up their former absolute rights. However, in those cases where these changes occurred slowly and non-violently, colonialism invariably developed into neo-colonialism From the point of view of economic dominance, one is no different from the other". Ernesto Che Guevara

The ideological basis for the "For the Freedom of Nations!" Movement was expressed in Chairman of the United Russia Party Dmitry Medvedev's article entitled "The time of the metropolises is up".[7] In it, he identifies several types of neocolonialism, which the Movement is called upon to fight, namely: sanctions, monetary, debt, cultural-ideological, legal, regulatory, "friendly" and its other types.[7]

Members

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The movement is informal in nature, so it has no official membership criteria. The structure of the movement includes a Standing Committee, which includes political movements from 20 countries of the world.[8]

The founding General Assembly of the "Forum of Supporters of the Struggle against Modern Practices of Neocolonialism - "For the Freedom of Nations!" was attended by 50 political movements, including 6 European, 23 Asian, 14 African and 7 Latin American ones.[9]

Structure

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Standing Committee

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The Standing Committee is the main executive institution of the movement. Dmitry Medvedev, Chairman of the United Russia Party was elected as the Chairman of the Standing Committee at the inaugural General Assembly. It also has two Deputy Chairmen, namely, Andrey Klimov, senator of the Russian Federation, and Evgeniy Ivanov, Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, The Standing Committee comprises 20 political movements:

Members of the Standing Committee of the "For the Freedom of Nations!" Movement
Political party Country
National Liberation Front  Algeria
Yeni Azerbaijan[10]  Azerbaijan
Belaya Rus Party[11]  Belarus
Worker's Party  Brazil
Chinese Communist Party[12]  China
Communist Party of Cuba[13]  Cuba
Golkar  Indonesia
Lao People's Revolutionary Party  Laos
Free Patriotic Movement  Lebanon
FRELIMO  Mozambique
Union Solidarity and Development Party[14]  Myanmar
Sandinista National Liberation Front[15]  Nicaragua
Pakistan Muslim League[16]  Pakistan
United Russia  Russia
Serbian People's Party[17]  Serbia
Ba'ath Party[18]  Syria
African National Congress[19]  South Africa
People's Democratic Party of Tajikistan[20]  Tajikistan
United Socialist Party of Venezuela[21]  Venezuela
Zimbabwe African National Union - Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF)[22]  Zimbabwe

The Standing Committee regularly holds discussions on key issues regarding the development and future activities of the Movement. It makes decisions on the strategic directions of the Movement's activities, determines the places and dates of regular and extraordinary General Assemblies, and also approves draft programmes and final documents. The Standing Committee was formed on the basis of the Organizing Committee, which functioned until the founding General Assembly of the Movement in February 2024.

Meetings of the (Organizing) Standing Committee of the "For the Freedom of Nations!" Movement
№ Date Place
1 30.03.2023[23]  Moscow
2 31.05.2023[24] via videoconference
3 21.11.2023[25] via videoconference
4 16.02.2024[26]  Moscow
5 17.06.2024[27]  Vladivostok

General Assemblies

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General Assemblies of the "For the Freedom of Nations!" Movement are large-scale events, which are held every two years. The first one took place on February 15-17, 2024 in Moscow, Russia.[28] Currently, plans are underway to hold the next General Assemblies in Latin America and Africa.[29]

Expert Council and Coordination Working Group

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The decision to create the Expert Council and the Coordination Working Group of the "For the Freedom of Nations!" Movement was adopted at the meeting of the Standing Committee of the Movement in Vladivostok, Russia, on June 17, 2024.[30]

Criticism

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"For the Freedom of Nations!" Movement is criticized for being overly ideological and having a distorted view of neocolonialism. Political scientist M. Komin, in an article for the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR), writes that the movement did not lead to any serious results, except for a call to consider December 14 as the Day of Remembrance for the Victims of Colonialism.[31]

Political scientist S. Sukhankin writes for the Jamestown Foundation that the emphasis of Russian politicians on the neocolonial agenda is largely based on successful campaigns to "disinformation" the peoples of Africa and Asia and is not very successful in the long term.[32] Criticism of the Movement was also published by Chatham House.[33]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Медведев объявил о формировании движения по борьбе с колониализмом Запада". РБК (in Russian). 2024-02-16. Retrieved 2024-06-24.
  2. ^ "В Москве договорились создать движение по борьбе с неоколониализмом". Российская газета (in Russian). 2024-02-16. Retrieved 2024-06-24.
  3. ^ "А. Турчак: У России в мире много друзей и единомышленников, а эпоха однополярного миропорядка завершена". Совет Федерации Федерального Собрания Российской Федерации (in Russian). 2024-02-16. Retrieved 2024-06-24.
  4. ^ "«Единая Россия» сказал «нет» колониальной системе". Коммерсантъ (in Russian). 2024-02-20. Retrieved 2024-06-24.
  5. ^ "Столкнувшись с нами, голодными животами, империалисты хватаются за автоматы: сорок первое письмо (2020)". Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research (in Russian). Retrieved 2024-06-24.
  6. ^ "Послание народам мира, отправленное на Конференцию трех континентов // Эрнесто Че Гевара". scepsis.net. Retrieved 2024-06-24.
  7. ^ a b "Время метрополий истекло". Российская газета (in Russian). 2024-06-14. Retrieved 2024-06-24.
  8. ^ "Медведев анонсирует учреждение комитета антинеоколониального движения "За свободу наций!"". Интерфакс. 2024-06-14.
  9. ^ "На форум "За свободу наций!" прибудут более 200 иностранных гостей". РИА Новости (in Russian). 2024-02-14. Retrieved 2024-06-24.
  10. ^ "В Москве проходит международный форум «За свободу наций!»". AZERTAC.
  11. ^ "Олег Романов, председатель партии «Белая Русь»: Европейцы пожинают плоды политики, которую проводили на протяжении столетий". Единая Россия (in Russian). Retrieved 2024-06-25.
  12. ^ "Liu Jianchao Attends the Standing Committee Meeting of the Forum of Supporters of the Struggle Against Modern Practices of Neocolonialism-"For the Freedom of Nations"". www.idcpc.gov.cn. Retrieved 2024-06-25.
  13. ^ Cubana, Radio (2024-06-20). "Foro «Por la Libertad de las Naciones» exige la salida de Cuba de la lista de Estados patrocinadores del terrorismo". PORTAL DE LA RADIO CUBANA (in Spanish). Retrieved 2024-06-25.
  14. ^ "Russian Roundtable on Global Justice Includes Insights From Myanmar Junta Political Party Chair". The Irrawaddy.
  15. ^ "Ortega vocifera contra el «neocolonialismo» de EEUU y Europa, pero tiene «mentalidad de colonizado por Rusia»". Artículo 66 (in Spanish). 2023-11-23. Retrieved 2024-06-25.
  16. ^ APP (2024-02-19). "Pakistan can join BRICS with Russian cooperation, says Mushahid Hussain". DAWN.COM. Retrieved 2024-06-25.
  17. ^ "THE SECOND DAY OF THE FORUM "FOR THE FREEDOM OF NATIONS" – Srpska narodna partija". 2024-02-16. Retrieved 2024-06-25.
  18. ^ Baraa (2024-02-16). "Forum of Supporters for the Fight against Modern Neo-Colonialist Practices kicks off with Syria's participation". Syrian Arab News Agency. Retrieved 2024-06-25.
  19. ^ King, Sara-Jayne Makwala. "Fikile Mbalula in Russia for forum against neocolonialism". EWN. Retrieved 2024-06-25.
  20. ^ "Медведев предложил название для форума борьбы с неоколониализмом - "За свободу наций"". TACC (in Russian). Retrieved 2024-06-25.
  21. ^ "OPINIÓN | La lucha contra el neocolonialismo | PSUV". www.psuv.org.ve. Retrieved 2024-06-25.
  22. ^ "ZANU PF a dependable friend and ally: Cde Muchinguri-Kashiri | ZANU PF Official". ZANU PF Official site. Retrieved 2024-06-25.
  23. ^ "Дмитрий Медведев: Форум сторонников борьбы с неоколониализмом призван защитить интересы тех, кто на протяжении многих веков выступал в качестве эксплуатируемой стороны". Единая Россия (in Russian). Retrieved 2024-06-24.
  24. ^ "Дмитрий Медведев: Форум сторонников борьбы с современными практиками неоколониализма пройдёт 18-20 октября в Москве". Единая Россия (in Russian). Retrieved 2024-06-24.
  25. ^ "Дмитрий Медведев предложил название Форума сторонников борьбы с современными практиками неоколониализма – «За свободу наций»". Единая Россия (in Russian). Retrieved 2024-06-24.
  26. ^ "Комитет движения "За свободу наций!" может начать работу 19 февраля". РИА Новости (in Russian). 2024-02-14. Retrieved 2024-06-24.
  27. ^ "Дмитрий Медведев: Широкое представительство на форуме «Единой России» во Владивостоке – яркое подтверждение процесса формирования многополярного мира". Единая Россия (in Russian). Retrieved 2024-06-24.
  28. ^ "Эпоха однополярного миропорядка завершена: «Единая Россия» провела первый международный форум «За свободу наций!»". Единая Россия (in Russian). Retrieved 2024-06-24.
  29. ^ "РФ с партнерами на международных площадках представит меры борьбы с неоколониализмом". TACC (in Russian). Retrieved 2024-06-25.
  30. ^ "Постоянный комитет движения «За свободу наций!» сформировал экспертный совет и координационную рабочую группу". Единая Россия (in Russian). Retrieved 2024-06-24.
  31. ^ Komin, Mikhail (2024-06-18). "Late-stage Putinism: The war in Ukraine and Russia's shifting ideology". ECFR. Retrieved 2024-06-24.
  32. ^ "Russia Struggles for 'Hearts and Minds' in Global South (Part One)". jamestown.org. Retrieved 2024-06-24.
  33. ^ "Russia is Using Soviet Playbook in Global South to Challenge the West - and It Is Working" (Chatham House ed.). 2024. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
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