Ukraine

Although the world has stepped up to provide humanitarian assistance to Ukrainian citizens who have fled west, those Russian-speaking Ukrainian citizens in Donbas and those who have undergone “filtration” have not been the beneficiaries of any significant level of services from UNHCR or other NGOs. Informal cell to cell “rope lines” like Volunteers Tbilisi are assisting some escape out of Russia to Ukraine and elsewhere.

Dissidenty.org is one of a very few organizations who has stepped up to help Russian citizens going into exile, the rate of which is increasing as the Putin regime cracks down on anti-war protesters, conscientious objectors and other dissidents.

Most of the refugees and the conscientious objectors from Russia are under 40, many of whom worked in IT in the Moscow offices of world-renowned tech firms like Google and Microsoft, bringing along a spouse and school-age children. Others are artists, media specialists, medical professionals, university undergraduate and graduate students, as well as many modern economy entrepreneurs who have seen 30 years of hard work destroyed in the growing economic collapse.

To solve the emerging problems, Dissidenty.org is developing specific projects, which need your help in funding:

ADVOCACY

 

Disparaged by Putin and increasingly isolated in many parts of the world for simply being Russian, with calls to ban travel by Russian passport holders, whether holding valid visas or seeking asylum, Dissidenty.org has identified the need as an NGO to become an advocate for the growing community of Russian exiles.

 

REGISTRY

 

Although Russian authorities have fairly accurate numbers of Russian-speaking Ukrainian citizens in their custody in Donbas or who have undergone “filtration” for resettlement within the Russian Federation, no one has authoritative numbers on Russian citizens in exile or seeking asylum. Dissidenty.org is in the process of establishing such a registry, through this website, and in cooperation with agencies like UNHCR and other NGOs.

Security and confidentiality is our utmost concern, and we well understand the sensitivities of those who have grown up in the Russian Federation with its notorious state security apparatus. But only through growing numbers of registered dissidents in exile and opposed to the current Putin regime, will Dissidenty.org be able to begin to make a difference.

EQUIPMENT

There is an ongoing need for computer equipment and software to assist those seeking to establish themselves in exile as “digital nomads” without the financial capacity to buy it.  Dissidenty.org has identified the additional need for items like low-cost smartphones to allow communications with family members, prospective employers and clients as well as service providers.

With these physical tools available, a return to normalcy becomes possible for most.

We know that coping with the uncertainties of residency status, being unemployed, fearing for the well-being of loved ones takes a toll, and as time wears on, greater numbers will need the help of psychologists and social workers.  Dissidenty.org needs your help in being able to provide funds to the Russian-speaking professionals to provide these and other “soft” tools in a number of countries where the local social net has been overwhelmed.

SCHOOLS

For those Ukrainian citizen refugees in the west, the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine has worked closely with counterparts in Poland and other EU countries, as well as the private schools that have sprung up with NGO funding, clearly the Russian Federation will not fund a single ruble to assist with educating the children of those Russian citizens who have fled the growing domestic tyranny. Dissidenty.org is earmarking funds and working with Russian-language teachers in exile to establish schools and develop a curriculum, which often requires local approvals, with the 2022-23 school year fast approaching. Funding schooling will require substantial levels of ongoing funding into the future.

RESETTLEMENT ASSISTANCE

 

Although the goal of many of the Ukrainian citizen refugees is to return to a peaceful Ukraine as soon as possible and try to reclaim a “normal” life within the Ukraine, the plight of the Russian citizens who have gone into exile as anti-war protestors, economic refugees with the collapse of Hi-Tech and other sectors, and opponents of the current Putin regime – all dissidents to Dissidenty.org – is quite different. Few are likely to be able to return until the current leadership in Russia is replaced, and a pathway to democracy and economic prosperity — hijacked since 2000 — is restored. Dissidenty.org is developing the means to assist with permanent resettlement.

We are increasing our capacity to provide assistance with:

Obtaining visas and resolving other legal status issues

– Advice on providing documents for permanent or temporary residence

– Opening bank accounts and other financial transactions

– Consulting, financial and technical support to startups in the IT sector

– Advisory, financial and technical assistance in the field of culture, especially related to the use of digital technologies