Contributing to the public dialogue is an important part of our work. Speaking directly to policymakers, political analysts, the media, and the general public helps generate ideas and stimulate debate on a number of crucial issues regarding Russia.

As part of this project, IMR organizes conferences, roundtables, public talks, and presentations in the United States and Europe. Since 2011, we have collaborated with numerous NGOs, think tanks, and academic institutions, including Freedom House, the National Endowment for Democracy, the Atlantic Council, the Legatum Institute, the Harriman Institute at Columbia University, and many more.

IMR has also partnered with some of these organizations to hold conferences on Capitol Hill and in European Parliament with a goal of bringing the West’s attention to human rights violations and political repressions in Putin’s Russia. Past speakers have included Sen. Ben Cardin; Rep. Jim McGovern; European Parliament members Guy Verhofstadt, Kristiina Ojuland, and Edward McMillan-Scott; Freedom House president at the time David Kramer; Lithuanian ambassador to the United States Žygimantas Pavilionis; Lantos Foundation president Katrina Lantos; Russian politicians Mikhail Kasyanov, leader of the People’s Republic Party, and Dmitry Gudkov, a State Duma member; and the slain opposition leader Boris Nemtsov.