PORA (Russian youth group)

PORA (Russian: ПОРА!), meaning IT'S TIME! in Ukrainian, is a Russian civic youth organization that mirrors the Ukrainian civic youth organization of the same name.[1]

The organization was created in December 2004 in order to harness the experience of successful democratic revolutions in Serbia (overthrow of Slobodan Milošević), Georgia (Rose Revolution), and Ukraine (Orange Revolution).[1][2] At a March 2005 press conference Kyiv (Ukraine), the leaders announced their intention to back former Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov in the 2008 Russian presidential elections as Russia's version of (Orange Revolution winner) Viktor Yushchenko.[1][3] Kasyanov had, they admitted at this press conference, still to be approached on this question.[1] The organization held its press conference in Kyiv "because opposition forces cannot operate openly in Russia".[1] Group leaders admit in March 2005 to having contacts with Boris Berezovsky because they share "similar views about the state of affairs in our country [Russia]".[1] In April 2005 the organization was headed by Andrei Sidelnikov.[3] By then the group held press conferences in Russia.[3] In December 2007 Sidelnikov (at the time leader of PORA) applied for political asylum in the United Kingdom because he was "very afraid about my life in Russia".[4] Sidelnikov had been arrested in Russia on arrival in Moscow before an The Other Russia rally on 15 April 2007.[5] In July 2008 Sidelnikov was granted political asylum by Britain.[6]

References
  1. BEREZOVSKY HOPES TO SELL ORANGE REVOLUTION TO RUSSIA, The Jamestown Foundation (17 March 2005)
  2. How Ukraine Became a Market Economy and Democracy by Anders Åslund, Peterson Institute for International Economics, 2009, ISBN 978-0-88132-427-3 (page 179 & 197)
  3. Another Russian Revolution?, Washington Post (9 April 2005)
  4. UK police quiz Litvinenko friend, BBC News (20 December 2007)
  5. Russian opposition in fresh rally, BBC News (15 April 2007)
  6. Litvinenko associate granted asylum by Britain, guardian.co.uk (4 July 2008)


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