Maxim Shevchenko's open letter to Chairman and members of Presidential Council for Civil Society Development and Human Rights

Dear Mr Chairman! Dear Members of the Council!

I bring to your notice that after the today's announcement that my "certain opinion" (however, which were cowardly not explained) represent an impediment to my work as the leader of the working group within the Council, I have come to the conclusion that my participation in any working group is not required at all. I do not see the slightest sense in it.

In the situation, when the opinion appears to be an impediment to the activities within the Council, established to monitor freedom of expression in the country, I remain to act in my opinion, without any coordination of it with the so-called activity structure of the Council.

I will be engaged in the issues of the Caucasus and the development of civil institutions, the most reliable way to combat terrorism and violence. I will be engaged in consideration of complaints of torture, kidnapping, and murders. I will be engaged in defence of the rights of the Orthodox, Muslims, Catholics, Protestants, Jews all believers, oppressed by the liberal society. I do not care about the opinion of people, who are trying to establish a like-mindedness and discrimination of opinions within the Council. Being a member of the Council, invited by the President of the Russian Federation, I do not think myself obliged to report on my work to anyone, except the President.

I know Mikhail Alexandrovich Fedotov as a democrat and a man of good morals, and therefore, I will inform him about my activities as a member of the Council and ask him to bring my opinions or suggestions to the President of the Russian Federation.

Besides, I invite to cooperation all members of the Council, who do not feel that the opinions, which they do not share, interfere with working on the common goal of the development of the civil society and human rights; I invite them to create their own specialized subjects and directions of the work without orientation on the so-called "working groups".

Opinions should be different, and we need namely different opinions. I am afraid that is impossible within the established system. And the matter is not even in the fact that Mr Mukomolov voted for himself, since it is a matter of his personal integrity. And the matter is not in the fact that the majority have chosen not me, arguing the choice with offensive preachy statements, expressed in a rude manner.

The matter is that all members of the Council have equal rights, we have no bosses, and the Chairman acts as a moderator and mediator in communication with President of the Russian Federation and his administration. On this basis, I will continue to act in future and encourage acting the others.

Member of the Council on Civil Society Development and Human Rights under President of the Russian Federation

M. L. Shevchenko

November 22, 2012