Centre for Monitoring Democratic Processes «Quorum»

On the 10th of December, 2009, at 16.00 has taken place the conference «ARE WE VOTING FOR DEMOCRACY?» in Berlin . The conference was organized by Russian non-governmental organisations, members of association «Civil control» - «The European Club of Professionals» and CMDP "Quorum", with assistance of party «Die Linke» (Germany). From the German party in conference work have taken part: Hans Modrow (ex-prime minister of GDR, the chairman «Council of Seniors» of party «Die Linke»), Wolfgang Gerke (the deputy of the Bundestag, the secretary of party «Die Linke» on the international affairs, the vice-president of committee on Bundestag foreign policy), Alexander Neu (the adviser of parliamentary fraction «Die Linke» on safety issues and foreign policy), political scientists, experts, journalists. The Russian delegation has been presented by variety of politicians and experts. So, the Russian deputy case has been presented in the name of the vice-president of committee of power Ivan Grachev. The electoral system of the Russian regions was represented by two chairmen of the commissions of subjects of the Russian Federation Sergey Lunev (Kaliningrad region) and Alexey Puchnin (Tambov region). On behalf of judicial system of the Russian Federation the head of department has taken part in a context of the analysis of media space in discussion on work from mass-media of Judicial Department at the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation Vadim Zijatdinov. The opinion and a position of the non-governmental organisations of Russia were presented by Marina Kochetkova – the director of the European Center of the Geopolitical Analysis and Vasily Smirnov - the vice-president of "European Сlub of Professionals». Also from a Russian side representatives of the Russian centre of training to selective technologies have taken part at the Central Electoral Committee of Russia Elena Klassina and Vladimir Krivtsov. For the first time within the limits of the international forum «Russian green movement» which has been presented by Vladimir Semenov – the politician having a wide experience in selective fights has been presented founded the day before.

During performances participants were beyond a theme of conference and have addressed to painful themes of substitution of historic facts about the Second World War. In particular, Mr. Modrow has underlined that magnificent celebratings of the 20 anniversary of falling of the Berlin wall were accompanied by anti-Soviet propagation and history distortion. In particular, has given an example how the President of Germany has addressed to the senior generation of the Germans living in territory of GDR not to tell the memoirs on those as they lived to the grandsons that the rising generation did not have wrong reference points. And Mrs. Merkel German mass-media have ennobled that she has agreed to be present on September, 1st at mourning ceremonies at Poland to extreme limits.
 
Representatives of both countries have expressed desire about development of closer and friendly relations between representatives of a civil society of Germany and Russia about what have signed the total conclusion.

Denis Dvornikov, the chairman of the council of "the European club of professionals», the responsible secretary of association «Civil control»:
We initiated carrying out of conference for the purpose of development of subject international dialogue in the field of elections. It is time to pass from the general words about inapplicable in practice «the all-European standards» to discussion of concrete and painful questions. Both for Russia, and for Germany, and for all Europe, a problem of media space and its influence on electoral processes – a key question of preservation of a genuine democracy. It is obvious that to carry on dialogue with parties in power of this or that country on this question, it all the same what to try to adjust negotiations between a lamb and a hungry wolf, result one – return to the general words. The party «Die Linke» in the present state of affairs for us has appeared the most interesting and constructive partner for carrying out of similar dialogue.
On the one hand it is party which does not have emotional negative background, it is simple because this year Dee the Link has doubled the representation in the Bundestag, thus having typed considerable percent in the west of Germany. For comparison, it all the same that the Ukrainian Party of Regions will win in Lvov and other cities of the western Ukraine. Thus, «Die Linke», it is faster constructive opposition than political manestream and consequently representatives of the party have a separate opinion, free from the general propaganda tendencies which are in any country. We have tried to organise the Russian delegation with taste. Have included in it the deputy from «Fair Russia» (the closest on a political platform to German partners of conference) Ivan Grachev, regional heads of election committees, the representative of judicial system who thus carries out activity connected with media space. In the near future we will let out materials of the given conference which will be not simply accounting brochure, and a source of expert opinions of representatives from different areas of a political science of two countries.