The Legacy and Consequences of Jackson-Vanik: Reassessing Human Rights in 21St Century Russia Conference Proceedings
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The Legacy and Consequences of Jackson-Vanik: Reassessing Human Rights in 21st Century Russia Conference Proceedings Edited by F. Joseph Dresen and William E. Pomeranz Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars O CCASIONAL PAPER # 3 0 5 KENNAN One Woodrow Wilson Plaza 1300 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW INSTITUTE Washington, DC 20004-3027 Tel. (202) 691-4100 Fax (202) 691-4247 www.wilsoncenter.org/kennan The Kennan Institute is a division of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. Through its programs of residential scholarships, meetings, and publications, the Institute encourages scholarship on the successor states to the Soviet Union, embracing a broad range of fields in the social sciences and humanities. The Kennan Institute is supported by contributions from foundations, corporations, individuals, and the United States Government. Kennan Institute Occasional Papers The Kennan Institute makes Occasional Papers available to all those interested. Occasional Papers are submitted by Kennan Institute scholars and visiting speakers. Copies of Occasional Papers and a list of papers currently available can be obtained free of charge by contacting: Occasional Papers Kennan Institute One Woodrow Wilson Plaza 1300 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Washington, D.C. 20004-3027 (202) 691-4100 Occasional Papers published since 1999 are available on the Institute’s web site, www.wilsoncenter.org/kennan This Occasional Paper has been produced with the support of the Henry M. Jackson Foundation. The Kennan Institute is most grateful for this support. The views expressed in Kennan Institute Occasional Papers are those of the authors. © 2011 Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, Washington, D.C. www.wilsoncenter.org ISBN 1-933549-69-6 WOODROW WILSON INTERNATIONAL CENTER FOR SCHOLARS Lee H. Hamilton, President and Director BOARD OF TRUSTEES Joseph B. Gildenhorn, Chair Sander R. Gerber, Vice Chair PUBLIC MEMBERS: Melody Barnes, designated appointee from within the Federal Govern- ment; James H. Billington, Librarian of Congress; Hillary R. Clinton, Secretary, U.S. Depart- ment of State; G. Wayne Clough, Secretary, Smithsonian Institution; Arne Duncan, Secre- tary, U.S. Department of Education; Kathleen Sebelius, Secretary, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; David Ferriero, Archivist of the United States; James Leach, Chairman, National Endowment for the Humanities PRIVATE CITIZEN MEMBERS: Charles Cobb, Jr., Timothy Broas, John T. Casteen III, Carlos M. Gutierrez, Susan Hutchison, Barry S. Jackson, Ignacio E. Sanchez ABOUT THE CENTER The Center is the living memorial of the United States of America to the nation’s twenty- eighth president, Woodrow Wilson. Congress established the Woodrow Wilson Center in 1968 as an international institute for advanced study, “symbolizing and strengthening the fruitful relationship between the world of learning and the world of public affairs.” The Center opened in 1970 under its own board of trustees. In all its activities the Woodrow Wilson Center is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization, supported financially by annual appropriations from Congress, and by the contributions of foundations, corporations, and individuals. Conclusions or opinions expressed in Center pub- lications and programs are those of the authors and speakers and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Center staff, fellows, trustees, advisory groups, or any individuals or organizations that provide financial support to the Center. The Legacy and Consequences of Jackson-Vanik: Reassessing Human Rights in 21st Century Russia Conference Proceedings Edited by F. Joseph Dresen and William E. Pomeranz Washington, D.C. O cc A sion A L PA P E R # 3 0 5 Contents Preface 1 Conference Program 3 Panelist Biographies 4 EDITED TRANSCRIPT Welcoming Remarks 11 Panel 1: The Historical Origins 13 of Jackson-Vanik Panel 2: Rethinking the Human 28 Rights Issue and U.S.-Russian Relations Panel 3: Development of the Human 44 Rights Community in post-Soviet Russia Panel 4: Emerging Social Demand for 57 Human Rights in Russia Preface uring the Cold War, the United time on Congressman Vanik’s staff. Ludmila States and the West used the issue of Alexeeva, the long-serving chair of the Moscow Dhuman rights as a platform to ques- Helsinki Group, provided her own perspective tion the policies and ultimately the legitimacy of the legislation’s impact. of the Soviet Union. One of the lasting legisla- Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, tive landmarks of that period was the Jackson- the United States continued to report on and Vanik amendment, which linked U.S.-Soviet base policy on its judgment of Russia’s human trade to the right of emigration. The Soviet rights record. Sam Kliger and Blake Marshall Union dissolved some two decades ago, but the discussed the Jackson-Vanik amendment dur- Jackson-Vanik amendment has remained on the ing the second panel within the broader context books even though many believe that Russia of U.S. policy towards Russia, from current is in compliance with its two main conditions. conditions in Russia to the bilateral economic Specifically, Russia is now broadly recognized relationship. Sarah Mendelson identified vari- as an (imperfect) market economy, and it no ous tools now available to U.S. policy makers longer restricts emigration. The staying power to promote human rights in Russia. of the Jackson-Vanik amendment impinges on A frequent criticism of Russian NGOs, es- current U.S.-Russian trade relations. At the pecially in the field of human rights, is that same time, human rights remains an area of they are highly dependent on Western fund- contention in Russia, thus raising the question ing, thereby reducing their overall standing in regarding how can the United States contrib- Russian society. Speakers on the conference’s ute to improving the human rights atmosphere third panel (Alexander Verkhovsky, Arseny in Russia without reverting to the dynamics of Roginsky, and Maria Chertok) explored the the Cold War. evolution of the human rights movement from The Kennan Institute and the Henry M. Soviet-era dissidents to the present day. Some Jackson Foundation cosponsored a one-day groups continue to seek and receive foreign conference and a briefing on Capitol Hill to funding; some collaborate with the Russian explore the legacy of the Jackson-Vanik amend- state’s Public Chamber; some are small, genu- ment and to address a new agenda for human ine grassroots organizations. What is their role rights in Russia today. This publication repre- in Russian society? How are they perceived by sents an edited transcript of the conference held the public and by the government? What role at the Woodrow Wilson Center. can Western organizations play in supporting The first panel introduces us to the histori- human rights in Russia today? cal circumstances that led to the creation of the Finally, the fourth panel looks at how the Jackson-Vanik amendment linking the Soviet human rights issue is viewed in Russia today. Union’s policy on allowing Jewish emigra- As Russian society develops, is there an emerg- tion to U.S.-Soviet trade. It features two of the ing social demand for human rights in the amendment’s original drafters: Richard Perle, Russian public consciousness? How is this de- who served at the time on the staff of Senator mand expressed and ultimately met? What is- Jackson, and Mark Talisman, who served at the sues draw the concern of Russians, and what is- REAssEssinG HUMAN RiGhts in 21st CEntURY RUssiA / 1 sues are less important to them? Three Russians presented their views based on their different experiences: Karinna Moskalenko is an advo- cate for many Russian clients in the European Court for Human Rights, Ivan Pavlov is a law- yer who participated in the effort to pass the Russian version of the United States’ Freedom of Information Act, and Ivan Ninenko is a leader in the next generation of human rights advocates in Russia. Video from both the conference and briefing on Capitol Hill are available on the Woodrow Wilson Center’s website: Wilson Center on the Hill briefing: http://www.wilsoncenter.org/index. cfm?topic_id=470582&fuseaction=topics. event_summary&event_id=590749 Wilson Center conference: http://www.wilsoncenter.org/index. cfm?topic_id=1424&fuseaction=topics. event_summary&event_id=563912 2 / THE LEGACY And ConsEQUEncES OF JAckson-VAnik : The Legacy and Consequences of Jackson-Vanik: Reassessing Human Rights in 21st Century Russia Cosponsored by the Henry M. Jackson Foundation and the Kennan Institute, Woodrow Wilson Center February 4, 2010 PANEL 3: DEVELOPMENT OF THE Woodrow Wilson International HuMAN RIGHTS COMMUNITY IN POST- Center for Scholars SOVIET RuSSIA 1300 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Chair: Lara Iglitzin, Henry M. Jackson Washington, DC Foundation Alexander Verkhovsky, SOVA Center, WELCOMING REMARKS Moscow Blair A. Ruble, Kennan Institute Arseny Roginsky, Memorial John W. Hempelmann, Henry M. Jackson Maria Chertok, Charities Aid Foundation Foundation-Russia PANEL 1: THE HISTORICAL ORIGINS OF PANEL 4: EMERGING SOCIAL DEMAND JACKSON-VANIK FOR HuMAN RIGHTS IN RuSSIA Chair: Lara Iglitzin, Henry M. Jackson Chair: William Pomeranz, Kennan Foundation Institute Richard Perle, American Enterprise Institute Karinna Moskalenko, International Mark Talisman, Project Judaica Foundation Protection Center Ludmila Alexeeva, Moscow Helsinki Group Ivan Pavlov, Institute for Information Freedom Development, St. Petersburg PANEL 2: RETHINKING THE HuMAN Ivan Ninenko, Transparency International, RIGHTS