The first International Catherine Forum 2023 will take place in Moscow on 12-13 December. The forum is organised by the All-Russian Public-State Organisation “Assembly of the Peoples of Russia” and the Federal National-Cultural Autonomy of Russian Germans, with the support of the Presidential Council for Interethnic Relations, the Federal Agency for Ethnic Affairs, and the State Duma Committee on International Affairs.

The main theme of the First International Catherine Forum, which will be held in Moscow on 12-13 December, will be the manifesto on the incorporation of Crimea, Taman, and Kuban into Russia. Issued 240 years ago, this manifesto was a logical outcome of the centuries-long struggle for the return of the primordial Russian lands and defined the new borders of the Russian state.

The event also directly references Catherine II’s “Invitation Manifesto”, whose attractive conditions facilitated the influx of foreign specialists from various economic sectors into Russia. The document played an important role in Russian history, and 260 years after its issuance, it once again proves the relevance of its core idea: in the current geopolitical situation, citizens of Western countries have begun to view Russia as a place for a new life—stable and based on traditional spiritual and moral values.

The Catherine Forum aims not only to celebrate the anniversaries with grateful descendants of settlers from Europe and residents of Crimea and Novorossiya but also to promote Russia’s potential as a state for comfortable living and working. The main emphasis is on the established historical precedent and the relevance of its repetition in the current geopolitical conditions.

“One of the most important lessons taught to us by Catherine II is to shape the present while thinking about the future. But the future is impossible without the past, without knowledge of the historical path already travelled, the initial event from which this path begins. That is why we return again and again to the ‘Invitation Manifesto,’ studying and analysing it. And we see its relevance to this day: Russia is a place for a new life”, said Konstantin Matis, a member of the Presidential Council for Interethnic Relations, President of the Federal National-Cultural Autonomy of Russian Germans, and co-organiser of the Catherine Forum.

The forum will be attended by representatives of the Presidential Administration of the Russian Federation, the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Federal Agency for Ethnic Affairs, Rossotrudnichestvo, Rosmolodezh, senators and deputies of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation, heads of Russian federal subjects, leading experts in the field of Russian history and interethnic relations, leaders of all-Russian interethnic and national-cultural associations and international organisations, management and journalists from federal news agencies, representatives of large corporations, foreign migrants and compatriots with successful experience of self-realisation in Russia.

In total, 600 people will participate in the forum, including 70 foreigners from near and far abroad and over 500 people from Russian regions, among them foreigners living and working in our country.

The main events of the forum will take place on 13 December.

The forum opens with a Public Dialogue on the role of Catherine II’s manifestos “On the Invitation of Foreigners to Russia (260 years ago)” and “On the Acceptance of the Crimean Peninsula, the Island of Taman, and the Entire Kuban Side under the Russian State (240 years ago)”. The Public Dialogue will be held with the support of the Russian Historical Society.

Participants in the Public Dialogue will include: Deputy Head of the Presidential Administration, Chairman of the Presidium of the Presidential Council for Interethnic Relations Magomedsalam Magomedov; Director of the Information and Press Department of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Maria Zakharova; a descendant of Catherine II’s lineage, German journalist, President of “Deutsche Lebensbrücke e.V.” in Munich, and board member of the “Almanach de Gotha” in London, Prince Eduard von Anhalt. The participation of the Chairman of the All-Russian Public-State Organisation “Assembly of the Peoples of Russia”, head of the “United Russia” faction in the State Duma, Vladimir Vasilyev, is also expected.

Further programme includes the work of open areas, information and advisory stands, discussion platforms, and main thematic sessions.

For instance, at the “Media Image of Russia” session, prominent journalists, bloggers, and other media representatives will discuss the formula for successfully promoting Russia’s image in the world. Within the dialogue “Everyone’s responsibility for the common future”, examples of people’s diplomacy will be presented, and prospects for the development of this direction will be outlined.

At the platform “Foreign specialists in Russia: justification and demand”, the main topic of discussion will be the shift in focus towards creating conditions that allow for the attraction of high-level specialists into sectors promising for the country’s economy. The discussion “How do the regions do it”? will also analyse successful local practices for receiving migrants. Session participants will examine problems arising during the integration and adaptation of relocating individuals, using personal stories as examples, and share ways to solve them.

The foundation of the “Russian rules of community life” direction is the centuries-old experience of unity among the multinational people of Russia and the protection of traditional spiritual and moral values. The session “Integration of new subjects into the unified space of Russia” will address issues of integrating new territories into the all-Russian cultural, economic, and business space, and will also present the unique experience of integrating new citizens in Russia and the origins of its formation.

The “Russia – a country of opportunities” session will serve as a platform for realised projects by participants of the “Leaders of Russia”, “My country – my Russia”, and other projects demonstrating real social lifts and state resource support for youth ideas.

The event concludes with a plenary session on the topic: “Russia in the role of a “new ark” for Europe and the entire world”, where the results will be summarised and the forum’s resolution will be announced.

Also, at the conclusion of the forum, the results of the II International Competition “People’s Diplomacy Leader” will be summarised, and the winners will be awarded.

Forum partners include the “House of the Peoples of Russia”, the “Assembly of the Peoples of Eurasia”, the “Vyberi Radio” Group of Companies, the Gorchakov Foundation for Public Diplomacy Support, and the Novosibirsk Regional Russian-German House. Information partners of the forum are the TASS News Agency, “Rossiyskaya Gazeta” and the media holding “GMP Radio”.

Registration for the International Catherine Forum is open on the official website of the event: https://e2-forum.ru

The forum will take place on 13 December 2023 at the Digital Business Space, Moscow, 47 Pokrovka Street. Participant and accredited media registration starts at 9:00 AM.

Media contacts: Nelly Putilina, head of the Catherine Forum press centre, +7 (913) 232-90-00, nellyputilina@mail.ru. Media accreditation is open on the forum website https://e2-forum.ru until 10 December 2023.