Today, the Platform is a alliance comprised of 80 anti-war, human rights, humanitarian, educational, cultural, decolonial, LGBTQ+, feminist, and research initiatives and organizations. This network includes independent media, activists, and journalists both within and beyond Russia.
Collectively, we:
- Stand against the Russian war on Ukraine.
- Advocate for democracy in Russia.
- Share the Platform’s mission, goals, values, and principles.
The concept of establishing the Platform originated during the Anti-War Initiatives Congress held in Berlin in December 2022. At the Сongress, participants formed a contact group responsible for writing the founding documents and initiating the launch of the Platform.
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On this page, the Platform’s activities are described in broad strokes. The full text is sent to potential Platform participants before joining._
The mission is to achieve an end to Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, to overcome the consequences of the war and to establish democracy in Russia.
Our values:
- Human rights and freedoms
- Democracy
- Nonviolence
- Equality and diversity
Our principles:
- The principle of voluntariness
- Horizontal
- Inclusiveness and zero tolerance for discrimination and xenophobia
- Empathy, mutual respect and support
- Civil responsibility
Together we:
- We exchange ideas, experiences, contacts, best practices, volunteers and experts
- We carry out joint actions and initiatives, unite for fundraising and information support
- We share information about sources of funding, conduct closed calls to support initiatives, training opportunities and accelerators
- We support each other, help not to “burn out”
- The platform provides participants with the opportunity to jointly lobby and influence political processes
Both collectives and individual activists can join the Platform. By joining the Platform, all participants accept the mission, goals and values of the Platform, and also agree to the rules of cooperation within the framework of the common Platform. Before joining the Platform, all participants undergo verification.
We deliberately omit details; we send the full text of the statutory documents to potential platform participants before joining.
Our mission, values and principles
The idea of creating a Platform for Anti-War Initiatives came from the participants of the Congress of Anti-War Initiatives in December 2022 in Berlin. The participants created a contact group, which developed the statutory documents and launched the Platform.
Now the Platform includes more than 80 anti-war, human rights, humanitarian, educational, cultural, decolonial, LGBTQ+, feminist and research initiatives and organizations, independent media, activists and activists, journalists and journalists inside Russia and abroad, which:
- Oppose Russia’s war with Ukraine;
- Advocate for democracy in Russia;
- Share the mission, goals, values and principles on which the Platform is based.
Our mission is to seek an end to Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, overcome the consequences of the war and establish democracy in Russia.
Develop anti-war initiatives and promote their interaction
- Support and implement joint initiatives aimed at ending Russian aggression against Ukraine and eliminating the consequences of the war.
- Join forces and act together to share experiences and resources, strengthen the voice of Platform participants and increase their influence, engage in public education, protect the interests of the anti-war community and increase its political weight.
- Establish close cooperation between anti-war projects, initiatives, organizations and activists, take care of its sustainability and effectiveness.
- Expand the circle of activists involved in anti-war activities.
Promote the development of democracy and civil society in Russia
- Support and develop projects and initiatives of civil resistance, civic participation and self-government in Russia.
- Introduce joint new safe solutions to develop and maintain cooperation between democratically minded Russians who live in Russia and abroad.
- Build a dialogue with international partners: activists, journalists, politicians and the general public.
- Develop joint approaches and positions regarding current issues and events.
Human rights and freedoms: Platform participants adhere to the principles defined in the European Convention on Human Rights and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. They are guided by the idea of respect for rights and freedoms, as well as respect for the freedom and dignity of every person.
Democracy: Platform participants adhere to the understanding of democracy set out in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. They support open discussion of decisions, consideration of the views of all stakeholders, and the desire to achieve consensus or compromise when making decisions.
Non-violence: Platform participants do not use means and methods of aggressive violence (for example, terror, terrorist attacks, murder, assault and torture) to achieve political and civil goals.
Equality and Diversity: Platform participants recognize the importance of equality and diversity. They support the possibility of access to fundamental rights and take into account the views of individuals and social groups, regardless of their sex, gender, sexuality, ethnicity, language, religion and other identities.
The idea of creating a Platform for Anti-War Initiatives came from the participants of the Congress of Anti-War Initiatives in December 2022 in Berlin. The participants created a contact group, which developed the statutory documents and launched the Platform.
The principle of voluntariness implies that participation in the Platform is based on the free and conscious choice of the participant, without coercion or obligation.
Horizontal is an important feature of the Platform, where all participants have equal rights and take part in decision-making and interaction. Every vote has equal value.
Inclusiveness and zero tolerance for discrimination and xenophobia mean that the Platform welcomes diversity and respects all participants, regardless of their race, gender, nationality, religion or other characteristics.
Empathy, mutual respect and support are the basis of interaction within the Platform, where participants strive to understand and support others, taking into account their opinions, needs and vulnerabilities.
Civic responsibility assumes that Platform participants are aware of their role in achieving a common goal, take responsibility for their actions and take an active part in solving public problems and issues.
The idea behind our collaboration system is to create a collaboration system instead of forming traditional vertical structures.
Main features of this model:
- Inclusiveness: all participants have equal rights and are included in decision-making processes.
- Horizontal: absence of hierarchy and vertical structures, all interactions occur on equal terms.
- Rules instead of structures: the model operates on the basis of rules that all participants accept and follow.
- Distributed decision-making system: decision-making processes, distribution of responsibilities and execution of functions are carried out in a decentralized manner for the development of the Platform.
For such a model to function successfully, it is important to support:
- Diversity of thoughts and positions: value is placed on diversity and openness to different ideas and perspectives.
- Respect and trust: participants respect each other's knowledge and experience, and trust each other.
- Openness to mistakes: mistakes are seen as opportunities for growth and development. Participants help each other rather than harm each other.
- Personal responsibility: all participants are able to critically evaluate their competencies, workload and willingness to take responsibility.
For such a model to be viable, it is necessary to pay attention to the following aspects:
- Acceptance and compliance with rules: it is important to comply with established rules and be flexible in updating them, especially in situations that arise for the first time.
- Equal access to information: ensuring equal access to information for all participants and the ability to join and disconnect from the Platform.
Platform participants:
- They are seeking the withdrawal of Russian troops from the territory of the sovereign state of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders, as well as from the territories of other states where Russian armed forces are present, violating international treaties.
- Help those affected by the war with Ukraine and direct efforts to overcome the consequences of the war.
- They seek the release of political prisoners in Russia and help those who resist the Putin regime and defend human rights in Russia and beyond.
- Strive for the establishment of democracy in the Russian Federation, as well as:
- respect for all human rights;
- restoration and protection of freedom of speech;
- free and fair elections at the federal, regional and local levels;
- freedom of association, assembly, attraction of civil initiatives to discuss and solve common problems and ways to solve them at all levels;
- establishment of real federalism and expansion of the rights of local self-government;
- recognition of the rights of indigenous peoples, including the right to self-determination, in accordance with the fundamental documents of the UN and the Council of Europe;
- approval of a peaceful vector of international politics based on the principles of international law.
- They are fighting racism, LGBT-phobia, gender inequality and other types of discrimination.
- They are preparing and launching processes of transitional justice, overcoming the totalitarian past and forming a demand in society for democratic transformation.
- Engage in other areas of activity that do not contradict the values, goals and objectives of the Platform.
- Participants of the Platform can exchange experience, knowledge and resources in order to more effectively implement their anti-war initiatives. This may include sharing information, creating partnerships to co-host events, and sharing access to funding.
- The platform provides space for initiatives to unite and coordinate their efforts, which helps them strengthen their voice and influence on anti-war issues. Joint actions and statements can bring greater attention to issues and lead to changes in policy and public opinion.
- The platform can help its members conduct information campaigns and events aimed at public education regarding military conflicts and their consequences. Platform participants can work together to raise awareness and strengthen public opinion against war and violence.
- The platform can provide participants with the opportunity to jointly lobby and influence political processes. They can work with governments, international organizations and other stakeholders to change policies and legislation in favor of peace and ending military conflicts.
- The Platform space is open to any co-creation that its participants want to implement through the creation of working groups, thematic and territorial clusters or projects on the Platform.
Before joining, participants themselves choose in which format they are ready to perform.
- Open participants. Such participants can be those who are not located on the territory of the Russian Federation. Open participation of initiatives or individual participants means that the names and names of open participants can be posted on the Platform’s web page, included in the list of Platform participants and can be included in the Platform’s social media content plan. Important! This format does not exclude anonymous participation within the Platform.
- Anonymous participants:tsy. Participants who are located on the territory of the Russian Federation or who regularly visit there are recommended to apply this participation status. With anonymous participation, we do not mention your name and/or team anywhere and ask all participants of the Platform to hide your participation (+ verification will take place without a questionnaire, only by call). Further participation and communication within the platform can also take place while maintaining anonymity.
Communication system participants:ts
One secure workspace has been selected for all communications within the Platform. In this space, participants work together, can ask questions for discussion, request help or advice, share their request or initiative, and organize a thematic cluster, working group or project.
Communication also includes:
- General online information meeting of all participants of the Platform (once every six months).
- Annual offline meeting at the Congress of Civil Anti-War Initiatives (with delegation of participants).
- Regular newsletters with information about current events within the Platform, event digests and other information are possible.
- Regular formats of interaction in various working groups, projects and clusters.
Governing and working bodies
- Collegium: makes strategic decisions in the Platform. This is an advisory body to which all initiatives and representation of individual participants send their representatives.
- Organizational group: participants who technically support processes and quickly respond to difficulties, but do not make strategic decisions.
- The Organizing Group and the Collegium monitor only the general processes of the functioning of the Platform. Decisions on specific projects and tasks are made by the participants themselves.
This can be done by both collectives (organizations, project teams, associations, communities) and individual activists.
By joining the Platform, all participants must share the mission, goals and values of the Platform, and also agree to the rules of cooperation within the framework of the common Platform. Before joining the Platform, all participants undergo verification.
Contact email: info@antiwar.in
