Tag: Russia

MEPs and prominent human rights defenders are calling on Lithuania not to make the mistake of handing Daniyar Khassenov over to Kazakhstan. Khassenov lives in Lithuania and is facing forced expulsion by a court decision. The deportation of Daniyar Khassenov from Lithuania was initiated by the Lithuanian Migration Department. Khassenov is known as a human […]

This Policy note presents a brief analysis of the expected ban imposed by the West on the import of Russian diamonds. The Policy note was prepared by the Open Dialogue Foundation to support international efforts aimed at limiting Russia’s capacity to wage war against Ukraine. The Foundation would like to thank Mukhtar Ablyazov, a Kazakhstani […]

Read the full article on: theglobeandmail.com See our report: Russia’s Accomplices in the War Against Ukraine: Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, the Russian Army’s Reliable Rear (May 9, 2023) and also: Jan Rymszewicz: The Globe & Mail: “Russia circumventing Canadian sanctions to buy mine detonators: report” (January 12, 2024)

Lyudmyla Kozlovska, President of the Open Dialogue Foundation (ODF), participated in the Bitcoin Amsterdam Conference, which took place from 12 to 14 October 2023. During the panel discussion at the conference Bitcoin is borderless, she shared her story of how Bitcoin allowed her to fight for human rights, help Ukraine during the war, and deal […]

Executive Summary This report is the sixth in a series of reports on how Russia circumvents sanctions with the help of Central Asian countries, particularly by way of Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. The subject of this report is an analysis of global trends and facts that point to Russia’s ability to accumulate sufficient resources for at […]

The Open Dialogue Foundation would like to thank the experts in the preparation of the submission. The Foundation would also like to express its gratitude to Mukhtar Ablyazov, an opposition politician and former Minister of Energy, Industry and Trade of Kazakhstan, for his advice. This submission contains the following information: Overview of Russia’s economic ability […]

The Open Dialogue Foundation (ODF) was invited to the May 2023 Digital Currency Conference (DCC) in Mexico City, a high-profile gathering for central bankers, bankers, and the financial services industry, to discuss the role of digital currency in times of crisis and humanitarian aid. ODF’s Chief Advocacy Officer, Katarzyna Szczypska, argued in her closing keynote […]

Executive summary To analyse Kyrgyzstan’s capacity to help Russia circumvent sanctions, it is important to consider the internal political situation in Kyrgyzstan under President Sadyr Japarov. Kyrgyzstan has long been considered an “island of freedom” in Central Asia, with a number of independent media outlets, independent MPs and an active civil society. However, the authoritarian […]

Executive summary In 2022 and 2023, the Kazakhstani authorities have repeatedly convinced the international community of their alleged commitment to “preventing the use of the Kazakhstani territory to bypass sanctions”. “Appropriate measures” have been adopted (such as the creation of a “list of sanctioned goods”, the signing of a law “on the control of specific […]

On 17 and 18 April 2023, a delegation led by the Open Dialogue Foundation (ODF) conducted an advocacy mission to Rome to raise awareness on the abuse of Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Counter Financing of Terrorism (CFT) rules perpetrated by authoritarian regimes as a tool for transnational repression, and to expose how Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan […]

Executive summary It has been a year since Russia began its large-scale invasion of Ukraine. All this time, Kazakhstan’s Nazarbayev-Tokayev regime has been assisting Russia with impunity in circumventing sanctions and financing the war against Ukraine. On 28 February 2023, on the day of the first official visit to Kazakhstan by the U.S. Secretary of […]

1. Introduction Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022, the Kazakhstani authorities has repeatedly declared its “respect for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity” [1], [2], [3]. Kazakhstani officials try to assure Ukraine and the international community that Kazakhstan is “complying with the sanctions” against Russia, although it is not “joining them“. In practice, the […]

1. Introduction After Russia launched a full-scale military invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the Kazakhstani authorities stated that Kazakhstan “respects the territorial integrity of Ukraine” and “has not and will not recognise both the situation with Crimea and the situation with Donbass” [1], [2]. In June 2022, President Tokayev declared non-recognition of the so-called “LPR” […]

People from Mariupol are heading to Poland via Russia, Belarus or Estonia, and then further to the West. The further the better. Away from the stench of corpses in the city. To escape from months spent in the cellar and the horror of bombing. And away from the house where an 8-year-old child was burnt […]

“We neither organised nor inspired yesterday’s action. This act was not carried out by Poles, this is Ukrainian blood and emotions, which are completely legitimate,” said Bartosz Kramek, Chair of the Supervisory Board of the Open Dialogue Foundation, during a press briefing convened in front of the RF Embassy the day after the incident in […]