The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) has approved a list of exiled Russian opposition figures and representatives of indigenous peoples and national minorities to take part in a new “Platform for Dialogue with Russian Democratic Forces”, established after Russia’s departure from the Council of Europe in 2022.
PACE’s Bureau, meeting in Strasbourg on the morning of 26 January ahead of the opening of the Assembly’s winter session, endorsed a 15-person list and said its decision would require ratification by the Assembly later the same day.
The approved participants from what PACE calls “Russian Democratic Forces” are Natalia Arno, Dmitri Gudkov, Mark Feygin, Vladimir Kara-Murza, Garry Kasparov, Mikhail Khodorkovsky, Oleg Orlov, Liubov Sobol, Nadya Tolokonnikova and Andrey Volna. The five selected as representatives of indigenous peoples and national minorities are Ruslan Kutayev, Ekaterina Kuznetsova, Vasilii (Batlay) Matenov, Lana Pylayeva and Pavel Sulyandziga.
PACE said the Platform is intended to provide structured exchanges between exiled Russian democratic forces and senior members of the Assembly “on issues of common concern”. It is designed to enable participation in certain Assembly activities and committee work, without voting rights.
The mechanism follows a resolution adopted on 1 October 2025, when PACE unanimously backed the creation of the Platform as part of its response to Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The resolution sets out eligibility criteria for participants, including exile status, “highest moral standing”, and commitments linked to Council of Europe values and the recognition of Ukraine’s territorial integrity. It also states that one third of seats should be reserved for representatives of indigenous peoples and national minorities of the Russian Federation.
A PACE notice issued on 16 December 2025 invited eligible organisations to submit a joint list of candidates by 5 January 2026, after consultations involving the then PACE President, the Assembly’s general rapporteur on Russian democratic forces, and political group representatives. Under the process described by PACE, the President of the Assembly proposes a list to the Bureau, which approves it for the session.
The announcement was made on the first day of PACE’s winter plenary session (26–30 January 2026), which includes scheduled addresses by Moldova’s President Maia Sandu and Armenia’s Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan, among other agenda items.
The timing also coincided with a change in PACE leadership. On 26 January, Austrian lawmaker Petra Bayr was elected President of the Parliamentary Assembly, succeeding Theodoros Rousopoulos, who had held the post since January 2024.
The establishment of the Platform has been discussed among Russian exile organisations since at least 2023, when PACE leadership held meetings with representatives of Russian democratic forces to explore more formal co-operation.
Russian authorities have publicly reacted to the initiative. In October 2025, Reuters reported that Russia’s FSB opened a criminal investigation against a group of dissidents in exile, citing the PACE resolution as part of its justification and naming Mikhail Khodorkovsky as a central figure in its allegations. The report also noted longstanding divisions among exile groups, including disputes involving Khodorkovsky and the Anti-Corruption Foundation associated with the late opposition politician Alexei Navalny.
The Platform’s design has also prompted debate among analysts and activists about representation and the scope of engagement. An analysis published by the Estonian International Centre for Defence and Security argued the initiative could generate further controversy and highlighted disputes over which actors should be treated as “democratic forces” for the purposes of the Platform.
For now, PACE’s Bureau decision establishes a defined list of participants for the Platform at the start of the winter session. Whether it evolves into a sustained channel of engagement will depend on its practical operation inside PACE, the level of participation it attracts from Russian exile networks and minority representatives, and the security pressures surrounding cross-border political activity linked to the war.
