Dear friends,  

 

I write to ask you to join a campaign initiated by Russian trade union and human rights activists to support Valentin Urusov, a miner unjustly imprisoned for six years for trying to organise his workmates in a union. 

 

A meeting will be held, with a view to forming some sort of campaign group or network, on Thursday 15 October at 7.30 pm, at the Lucas Arms, 245a Grays Inn Road, London (5 mins walk from Kings Cross station), in the upstairs room.

 

Boris Kagarlitsky, the Russian activist and socialist writer, will be there to tell us about the campaign in Russia and how we might co-ordinate with it.

 

Our Russian friends are initially asking trade unionists and others to write to president Medvedev, demanding Urusov’s release; we can also discuss other forms of solidarity action.

 

You can read about the case here:

 

http://thecommune.wordpress.com/2009/08/18/free-valentin-urosov/#more-3243

 

And in Russian here:

 

http://www.ikd.ru/node/11009

 

I have sent you this because I think you are interested in Russian or international solidarity campaigns. Please pass it on to others who might be interested, get back to me with ideas, etc. (Or let me know if you do not want further emails about this.)