FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: PACE SHUTS THE DOOR ON FREE PRESS AS IT RATIFIES THE "OLIGARCH LIST" FOR RUSSIAN DIALOGUE PLATFORM
STRASBOURG, Jan 26, 2026 — In an unprecedented move for a human rights organization, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) has effectively banned media coverage of the inaugural session of the "Platform for Dialogue with Russian Democratic Forces." Journalists were allowed only "a few minutes" at the opening, with entry strictly controlled, turning a public political process into a closed-door corporate-style meeting.
The "Chosen Ones": Oligarchic Domination and TokenismThe finalized list of participants, confirmed following a non-transparent selection process, validates the worst fears of civil society. The platform is dominated by a specific club of Moscow-centric figures, including Mikhail Khodorkovsky, Vladimir Kara-Murza, and Natalia Arno, who were recently implicated in the "Le Fouquet’s" scandal involving private financing of political influence.
While the list includes five representatives of indigenous peoples, the selection of these individuals was carried out without a transparent mandate from their respective national liberation movements, suggesting a policy of "controlled tokenism" rather than genuine decolonization dialogue.
The Institute of National Politics (Kyiv) declares:
- The Death of Transparency: By hiding the session from the media, President Theodoros Rousopoulos and the PACE Secretariat have admitted that the platform cannot withstand public scrutiny.
- Violation of Resolution 2621: The selection process ignored the requirement for broad representation, focusing instead on a donor-backed "inner circle" that promotes the evasion of collective responsibility for Russian citizens.
- The "Proton-Gate" Confirmation: The secrecy surrounding the event confirms that coordination occurred via private encrypted channels to bypass official oversight.
"PACE has officially replaced democratic dialogue with an oligarchic monopoly," says Yurii Shulipa, Director of the Institute of National Politics. "By locking the doors to journalists, they are trying to hide the fact that this platform is a weapon for internal Russian political infighting, funded by private interests, not a tool for genuine peace or decolonization."
The Institute calls on the National Delegations of Poland, the Baltic States, and Ukraine to immediately demand a transcript of the closed session and initiate an ethics investigation into the "Strasbourg Sham."
The full report, including the social media "trail" left by participants like Natalia
Arno and Vladimir Kara-Murza, «THE PARIS DINNER AND THE
STRASBOURG SHAM: WHY PACE IS FAILING THE TEST OF RUSSIAN
DECOLONIZATION (By Yurii Shulipa special to The Cyprus Daily News 25.01.2026)» is available here: https://cynews.cc/the-paris-dinner-and-the-
strasbourg-sham-why-pace-is-failing-the-test-of-russian-decolonization/
Media Contact:
Petro Tkachuk
Press Office International Union «Institute of National Politics» Tel: +38(063)8691927 Email: inpiu2020 gmail.com