March 24, 2014
5:15-7:45 pm
Legatum Institute, 11 Charles Street
Mayfair, London, W1J 5DW
On March 24, 2014, the Legatum Institute and the Institute of Modern Russia will host the London screening of They Chose Freedom, a documentary film on the history of the Soviet dissident movement. With Russia’s current authorities increasingly resorting to Soviet-style behavior—both internally and externally—the lessons of peaceful anti-totalitarian resistance in the USSR remain of particular relevance.
Following the screening, Anne Applebaum will lead a discussion with the film’s author Vladimir Kara-Murza and Vladimir Bukovsky, one of the leading Soviet-era dissidents, who spent twelve years in the Gulag and was forcibly exiled to the West in 1976.
Speakers
Anne Applebaum
Director, Transitions Forum, Legatum Institute
Vladimir Kara-Murza
Senior Advisor, Institute of Modern Russia
Author and Producer of They Chose Freedom
Vladimir Bukovsky
Writer, former Soviet dissident and political prisoner
About the Film:
They Chose Freedom, a documentary film written and produced by Russian historian and television journalist Vladimir V. Kara-Murza, tells the story of the dissident movement in the USSR, from its emergence in the 1950s until the collapse of the Soviet dictatorship in 1991. The film is narrated primarily through interviews with prominent Russian dissidents: Elena Bonner, Vladimir Bukovsky, Vladimir Dremlyuga, Viktor Fainberg, Natalia Gorbanevskaya, Naum Korzhavin, Sergei Kovalev, Eduard Kuznetsov, Pavel Litvinov, Yuri Orlov, Alexander Podrabinek, Anatoly (Natan) Sharansky, and Alexander Yesenin-Volpin. The Institute of Modern Russia sponsored the translation and English-language production of They Chose Freedom as part of its commitment to preserving the legacy of those who have dedicated their lives to the struggle for freedom, human rights, and the rule of law in Russia.
Seating is limited. Admission with RSVP only.
Please RSVP to Chloe Sanham at chloe.sanham@li.com
