A letter signed by thirty two Members of Parliament has been delivered to the Honours and Decorations (HD) Committee requesting that British World War Two Veterans be allowed to accept the Ushakov Medal in recognition of the part they played in the vital Arctic Convoy missions throughout the War.

The campaign, organised by the Conservative Friends of Russia (CFoR) and headed up by its Honorary Vice President Andrew Rosindell MP, followed up a Parliamentary Question to the Foreign Minister with the letter, delivered during Remembrance Week, demanding the veterans’ service be honoured.

Among the signatories are former Foreign and Defence Secretary (and CFoR President) Sir Malcolm Rifkind MP; Defence Select Committee Member Julian Brazier MP; and Sir Gerald Howarth MP, who committed the Conservative Party to a change in the rule when he was Shadow Defence Minister.

Currently, the war heroes are unable to receive the medal due to a technicality that requires such rewards to reflect relevant actions within the previous five years only. They need permission from the Foreign Office or the HD Committee to accept medals from foreign countries or to waive such rules.

Whilst officials in USA, Canada, Australia and New Zealand have permitted their brave veterans to receive the medal, the UK Government has refused to waive the rule to allow British Servicemen to enjoy the same honour.

Between 1941 and 1945 British warships escorted 78 convoys carrying thousands of aircraft, anti-aircraft guns, trucks and tanks, fuel, food, tools and other vital supplies through the Barents Sea to the Russian ports of Murmansk and Archangel in a voyage Winston Churchill described as “the worst journey in the World”.

Earlier this year Russian President Dmitry Medvedev signed a decree awarding the medal to foreign veterans for outstanding contributions to the Allied War effort.

Richard Royal, the Chairman of Conservative Friends of Russia commented:

“This week we have been commemorating the bravery of our soldiers and veterans, yet 800 of our bravest veterans have been banned from accepting the medals that they deserve. I hope the Government recognise this request, by over thirty members of our legislature, including some extremely senior and experienced politicians in this area, demanding a change to the rules.”   

Andrew Rosindell MP, Honorary Vice-President of Conservative Friends of Russia added:

“These heroic veterans played a vital role in securing the freedom of Europe and it is a travesty that their efforts should be denied the rewards they deserve due to such a minor technicality.”   

-ENDS-

For further information on CFoR visit www.cfor.org.uk or contact Richard Royal on Richard@cfor.org.uk

The attached photograph shows Arctic Veteran Mr Gordon Copson with Andrew Rosindell MP and the letter. The photograph can be viewed here – Photograph

A copy of the letter can be provided on request.

The views expressed are those of the authors and are not necessarily representative of Conservative Party policy, but a contribution to debate.

The Members of Parliament who have signed the letter are listed below:

Andrew Rosindell MP
Rt Hon Sir Malcolm Rifkind MP
John Whittingdale OBE MP
Sir Gerald Howarth MP
Laurence Robertson MP
Julian Brazier MP
Rt Hon John Redwood MP
Robert Buckland MP
David Davies MP
Andrew Griffiths MP
Andrew Stephenson MP
Oliver Colvile MP
Paul Maynard MP
Caroline Nokes MP
Bob Blackman MP
Matthew Offord MP
Marcus Jones MP
Sheryll Murray MP
Simon Kirby MP
Graham Brady MP
Simon Reevell MP
Jonathan Lord MP
Gordon Henderson MP
Justin Tomlinson MP
Philip Davies MP
Gareth Johnson MP
Rebecca Harris MP
Sir Roger Gale MP
Robert Walter MP
Richard Graham MP
Ian Swales MP
Jenny Willott MP

Conservative Friends of Russia Vice-President tables Parliamentary Question to Foreign Secretary over Ushakov Medal

The Conservative Friends of Russia has stepped up its campaign in the UK Parliament to ensure British Arctic Convoy Veterans are awarded with the Ushakov Medal.

CFoR’s Honorary Vice President Andrew Rosindell MP, who also chairs the All Party Parliamentary Group on Arctic Issues, has tabled a Parliamentary Question asking the Foreign Secretary William Hague to reconsider the recent decision to deny British veterans this honour.

Under current rules, the Foreign Office can only permit the awarding of foreign medals to UK servicemen if it reflects activity within the previous five years. The Ushakov Medal was created in 1944 to commemorate the daunting Arctic Convoy missions which kept allied trade routes open throughout World War Two, but was only made available to the UK in 2011. Other Commonwealth countries including Canada, Australia and New Zealand as well as USA have granted permission to their veterans to receive the medal, whilst UK has denied it to theirs.

Mr Rosindell’s official question which must be formally answered by the Foreign Office asks the Secretary of State for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office:

“If he will consider waiving the usual ‘five year criterion’ in order for our brave World War Two Veterans to receive the Ushakov Medal commemorating their outstanding contribution to the War effort through the part played in vital Arctic Convoy missions.”

The move is part of a wider campaign by CFoR, a rapidly growing and influential group aiming to improve relations and develop links between UK and Russia. Its Chairman Richard Royal commented:

“There is no legitimate reason to deny our brave veterans this medal, to do so on a technicality diminishes the vital role they played in the fight for freedom in Europe. We have substantial and influential support for our campaign and I would urge our Foreign Secretary to rethink the decision and to ensure these former servicemen get the recognition and thanks that they deserve.”

-ENDS-

For more information visit www.cfor.org.uk or email Richard@cfor.org.uk

Currently, the war heroes are unable to receive the medal due to a stipulation that requires such rewards to reflect relevant actions within the previous five years only. They need permission from the Foreign Office to accept medals from foreign countries.

Whilst officials in USA, Canada, Australia and New Zealand have permitted their brave veterans to receive the medal, the UK Government has refused to waive the rule to allow British Servicemen to enjoy the same honour.

Between 1941 and 1945 British warships escorted 78 convoys carrying thousands of aircraft, anti-aircraft guns, trucks and tanks, fuel, food, tools and other vital supplies through the Barents Sea to the Russian ports of Murmansk and Archangel in a voyage Winston Churchill described as “the worst journey in the World”.

Earlier this year Russian President Dmitry Medvedev signed a decree awarding the medal to foreign veterans for outstanding contributions to the Allied War effort.

CFoR Honorary Vice President Andrew Rosindell MP, who also chairs the All Party Parliamentary Group on the Arctic, has pledged to ask the Foreign Office to review the case.

Richard Royal, Chairman of CFoR commented:

“These veterans played an absolutely vital role in the War, ensuring that supply routes to one of our main allies remained open despite the incredibly difficult conditions, and they deserve to be rewarded for their bravery irrespective of the time that has elapsed.”

-ENDS-

For further information on CFoR visit www.cfor.org.uk or contact Richard Royal on Richard@cfor.org.uk

A statement from the Russian Embassy can be viewed here – http://www.rusemb.org.uk/press/869

Richard Royal: Why we launched Conservative Friends of Russia

A survey conducted by Conservative Friends of Russia (CFoR) following its launch event shows a majority of very pleased members who rated the event highly, support its goals and are excited about its future events.

70% of the attendees ranked the event at 8/10 or above with a quarter of all respondents awarding it a full 10/10. Of the 29% of attendees that were not members, 82% said they would now consider joining the organisation.

Among the reasons people gave for joining many people said that they were Conservative with an interest in Russia or that they wanted to meet other like minded people. Several said that they expected CFoR to be more dynamic and successful than other groups such as the Russo-British Chamber of Commerce, and numerous attendees commented on how useful our events are for networking.

67% rated the quality of guests as 8/10 or above whilst 60% thought that the organisation of the event was 8/10 or above.  63% understood CFoR’s goals.

In future, members were keen to see a mixture of political events such as debates, speeches and roundtables; and social events such as dinners and casual drinks.

CFoR was praised for ‘taking the plunge in difficult circumstances’ and for the information provided about the debate, whilst there was some criticism of the event in terms of lack of bar staff and a poor sound system.

CFoR Chairman Richard Royal commented:

“I think we can be very proud of this feedback, particularly given that this is our first event. There are bound to be minor hitches but on the whole it is very clear that our organisation is well supported, that our membership agree with our direction of travel, and that they are excited about the future.”

-ENDS-

Full results can be viewed here.

For more information contact Richard Royal on Richard@cfor.org.uk

Information on CFoR can be found at www.cfor.org.uk

A group of Tory peers and MPs have come under fire after launching a political group, Conservative Friends of Russia, in the Russian ambassador’s garden this week. About 250 guests including Tory MPs, peers and Russian diplomats attended the event on Tuesday evening at the London residence of Russian envoy Alexander Yakovenko.

The Conservative Friends of Russia group was founded three months ago by PR consultant Richard Royal. During a speech at this week’s event he told guests: “I believe that Russia is one of the most important, most fascinating, but also most misunderstood countries on this planet.”

Ilya Goryachev, the editor-in-chief of Modus Agendi website has taken an interview with Richard Royal, chairman of Conservative Friends of Russia.

Ilya Goryachev: Mr. Royal, a few months ago you founded a new group called Conservative Friends of Russia. Could you tell us about its mission and main objectives?

Richard Royal: It is a group for those with an interest in Russian politics, history, business and culture. Our aim is to improve relations between the two countries, provide a forum for open debate and help to inform decision making in business and politics. The ‘Friends of…’ model is familiar within British Political Parties, there are many of them including those dedicated to America, Israel, India, Poland, Azerbaijan … but never one for Russia, which seems strange given the size of its economy and its importance on the international stage. Its about time we recognized that.

I.G: Which personalities and conservative organizations in Russia do you consider as partners?

R.R: We have no partners or personalities with which we would link to or consider partners in Russia, we are entirely neutral on that point. We are a forum for debate and discussion, and those within the organization are welcome to hold a variety of views, but the organization as a whole will not represent one view over another, nor side with any politician or political faction within Russia.

I.G: Unfortunately, from time to time the Russian-British diplomatic relations undergo negative experience. What is the Conservative party’s attitude towards CFoR?  Is there difference in attitudes at official and informal levels?

R.R: There will certainly be difficult periods, and we’re undergoing a challenging time at the moment. But this underlines the need for channels of communication and discussion to be open. There are a variety of views on CFoR, as there are about any other group, and variety of opinion is to be encouraged. CFoR has an extremely large following throughout the Party from student members right up to MPs and Lords. We also have a big following outside the Party which gives it a great balance and helps to ensure that members with different backgrounds exchange ideas and learn from each other.

I.G: In your opinion, what does the notion “conservatism” imply? For example, in Germany some days ago Christian Democrats party, which targets conservatism-oriented electorate, endorsed tax privileges for gay marriages what should finally equalize such couples with normal families.

R.R: Its not the role of CFoR to comment on decisions taken by the Conservative Party, that’s what we elect representatives for and why David Cameron selects a talented Government. Personally, I joined the Conservative Party because I believe in a true meritocracy and in rewarding rather than punishing those who work hard, show initiative and play by the rules.

I.G: What British conservatives think about the role of religion and its institutions in modern society?

R.R: Every political party in Britain is a broad institution with a variety of views, so not every MP and member would hold the same opinion on this, and again its not for CFoR to comment on it. Personally I’m not religious but I believe it can provide an important social function and I think that for most Conservatives, upholding tradition and such institutions is central to their political views.

I.G: What is your attitude towards European Union?

R.R: CFoR doesn’t hold a view on this and Conservative MPs and members have a variety of views, but generally speaking the Conservative Party is the more skeptical of the major political parties in Britain. The Party’s former leader, and now Foreign Secretary, William Hague famously said that we want to be in Europe, but not run by Europe, which sums things up. We believe in playing an active role but don’t believe in giving away our sovereignty.

I.G: In its recent publication The Guardian quoted you as saying that Russia is one of the most misunderstood countries on this planet. What did you mean by that? We know that you are an expert on Russia. How do you assess the processes that are going on in Russian domestic policy? What is its role in the international politics?

R.R: I think that many people judge Russia on the basis of misconceptions and outdated beliefs. This translates into poor decision making at a business and political level. But we don’t live in a James Bond film, we have to live in the real world! Whether people like it or not, Russia is an extremely important country and we can’t bury our heads in the sand, we need to engage with it. There will certainly be areas of improvement that need to be made, but nowhere is perfect, and its better to work together than to criticize from the sidelines.

I.G: Could you, please, indicate five most crucial issues of Great Britain.

R.R: I’ll give you one major one! We have a serious economic problem that is very deep-rooted and will require a lot of work to resolve. Russia is a massive economy with a huge amount of natural resources and the potential to invest further afield. Surely it makes sense to work together and make it easier for businesses to work between the countries rather than putting up barriers to trade and employment.

I.G: Nowadays and throughout its history Great Britain has faced separatist tendencies, including the terrorism-related past of Northern Ireland. Separatism and terrorism have long been the problems of Russia as well, mostly concerning the Caucasus. In this context, what is the main difference in nature of conflicts and in the way they were being resolved?

R.R: No two conflicts are the same and there is no ‘one-size-fits-all’ solution. I certainly don’t think that any country – let alone any organization such as ours – should lecture other countries on how to deal with issues specific to them.

However, there are certainly some parallels in the sense that both countries have had a history of being one of the major empires on the international scene and are coping with the aftermath of that. When I was growing up the Irish issue was very serious, I remember bombings in Manchester and London, and of course there was the Brighton Bomb at the Conservative Party Conference in 1984. The unusual thing to recognize is that now, we have members of the political party allegedly linked to that in the Northern Irish Government. They have been democratically elected, and the UK have had to accept that and work with it. And we’ve had a long period of peace. But its taken a long time and lots of pride-swallowing.

I.G: Thank you very much!

Source in Russian

The Conservative Friends of Russia are delighted to present the latest paper by Andrew Monaghan, titled ‘The end of the Putin era?’.

Andrew is due to speak at a future CFoR event in the near future.

To read the paper, please click here.

 

Much recent commentary on Russia consists of binary attempts to predict the country’s future: Putin or Medvedev? Will Putin maintain his grip on power or will his system collapse? The result is a short-sighted and one-dimensional discussion. The reality is much more complicated.

Putin does indeed appear to have lost his “Teflon” image and support for the ruling United Russia Party is waning. The opposition parties in parliament—the systemic opposition—were strengthened by the December 2011 parliamentary elections and succeeded in gaining some positions of power in the body. Soon after the vote, however, tens of thousands of Russians took to the streets to protest the falsification of election results. As a result, many observers have seen the demonstrations as an unprecedented “re-politicization” of Russian society and the emergence of an increasingly politically active urban middle class led by a new wave of nonsystemic opposition figures.

Yet, all forms of opposition are fractured and far from presenting a real challenge to the Putin system. The demonstrations remain limited in scale and are not the face of a swelling, unified opposition democratic movement. Moreover, the careers of the current systemic opposition leaders may be ending. Its senior figures were defeated handily in the presidential election and are now likely to wrestle with internal power struggles.

Setting the movement back further is Putin’s unwillingness to guarantee that he will engage in the kind of reforms that many opponents and some supporters claim are required. An attempt to implement slow, evolutionary change appears to be the most likely way forward for the Russian leadership. This was already seen in one of the Kremlin’s early responses to the demonstrations—the dismissal of a number of officials and the promise that after the election there would be a serious “rotation” of personnel. A rotation, however, does not mean a deep reshuffle with the firing of senior officials.

In the immediate term at least, Putin is not losing power. Of course, with the left-leaning parties in parliament offering some opposition and numerous practical difficulties wracking the country, from insufficient or decrepit infrastructure to corruption, Putin’s leadership team still confronts many challenges. But it is far from clear that the end of the Putin era is nigh.

The Conservative Friends of Russia (CFoR) is today celebrating the success of its official launch event held at the Russian Embassy last night (21 August).

The event was so in demand that the Embassy garden was bursting with 250 attendees, leaving over 100 people on the waiting list. Nearby Archangel Bar in High Street Kensington hosted the after party which spilled out into the street.

Attendees ranged from students to Princes, as business people engaged with charity and cultural representatives over Russian wine and barbequed shashlik. Conservative Party members were in high attendance with Conservative Future, Party Board members, Lords and MPs enjoying the festivities as a Russian musician played traditional tunes and a magician wowed the audience.

It was the first event of the new group, created to promote better relations and encourage greater dialogue between UK and Russia, and to inform decision making in politics and business. The group acts as a forum for debate and discussion on relevant topics including energy policy, foreign affairs and trade.

Richard Royal, Founding Chairman of CFoR spoke at the event:

“I believe that Russia is one of the most important, most fascinating, but also most misunderstood countries on this planet.

“I also believe that rather than burying our heads in the sand, we should seek to better understand it; to encourage politicians and businesses to engage with it; and to enable individuals to experience and enjoy what it has to offer.”

Honorary Vice President of CFoR John Whittingdale MP openly stated that he disagreed with the Russian Government’s recent decision on Pussy Riot but added:

“Our two countries have a great history of working together and must continue to do so in future. There will always be disagreements but it is vital that we work to improve relations and encourage greater links in business and other areas.”

The Russian Ambassador Alexander Yakovenko also praised the initiative:

“This is the beginning of an important forum for key decision makers, businesses and organisations to engage openly, strengthen links and inform policy. I wish it all the best and look forward to its future events.”

-ENDS-

For further information on CFoR visit www.cfor.org.uk or contact Richard Royal on Richard@cfor.org.uk

by Ignaty Dyakov, ‘Echo of Moscow Radio’

Yesterday (Aug 21, 2012) a very interesting event happened at the Russian Embassy in London. In the presence of the Ambassador of Russia and British MPs (Conservatives) a new group “Conservative Friends of Russia” was officially introduced to the public.

It is not a new format, there are a few “Friends of…” groups, almost every party has Friends of US, India or Azerbaijan. But none of them used to have a ‘Friends of Russia’ group. And thus even more hopes for the positive changes have now appeared, as this initiative (result of the activities by the former MP assistant and now a PR manager at a private company young Richard Royal) was brought to life at the time when the relations between the UK and Russia once again became slightly more tense. In our private conversations both the Embassy employees and the group executives admitted, it had not been an easy decision to make, there was quite some skepticism and doubts if this is going to work at all. Yet they opened. And the first event proved to be a success. I’ve heard so many wishes that this initiative should grow and develop.

As the honorary vice-president John Whittingdale MP  said, there will always be disagreements (like one of the Pussy Riot trial, he mentioned), there will be criticism of what the Russian government does and what the British government does, however, we should work to make our relations closer and knowledge of our cultures deeper.

Approximately 200 people attended the party – British and Russian politicians, businesspeople, students, Russian employees of the British companies, diplomats etc. In three hours I had a chance to meet so many people from various walks of life, but everyone agreed that the organisers managed to bring together people who would not come across each other at any other event. In the last 1,5yr I have attended one or two events of this sort per week. However I have never been able to talk to a student from Bristol and then move on to the conversation with a former deputy mayor of London (a man of an incredible charisma!), briefly discuss potential cooperation with a business competitor from Wales, be introduced to the Ambassador and chat with an Embassy employee with whom I had only talked on Twitter before, meet an old friend of mine a pianist and greet the Director of Pushkin House – and all this in one evening at one place.

Once again, I enjoyed seeing how our Embassy worked. Perfect event organisation, friendly attitude towards guests, but not currying favour, transparency and minimum of bureaucracy. In the ideal world, I would imagine the Russian government working like this, I only hope this change will come.

The official part was opened by Richard Royal who then passed the microphone to the Russian Ambassador Alexander Yakovenko  and then to the honorary vice-president of the group John Whittingdale MP. In the end there was a raffle with many various gifts ranging from the dinner at Mari Vanna Russian restaurant to vodka, Champagne, English books about Putin and Russian fiction, stationery items from the Embassy et al. And in between there was a buffet with meat and salads. Unfortunately, both vegetarians, my wife and myself, weren’t lucky as all the fried potato was given out rather quickly. Either they didn’t supply enough of potato, or the vast majority of the Friends of Russia are vegetarians (not a bad news on its own).

We are looking forward to new events, discussions, activities, and positive emotions. And now back to work.

Ignaty Dyakov, Russia Local Ltd, CFoR member

You can listen to the interview here.