“If we stay silent, we participate in the evil that is happening in our world. I must say what I think – and the results do not concern me.”
The Pushkin Club invites you to a screening of My Duty to Not Stay Silent, a documentary by imprisoned Russian politician and historian Vladimir Kara-Murza, with an introduction by Evgenia Kara-Murza. It tells the story of Father Georgy Edelstein, a remarkable man in a remarkably difficult era.
It is a film about true tolerance and true faith, the relationship between Jewishness and Christianity, the collaboration between Church leaders and a totalitarian state, and the importance of speaking the truth – no matter what the consequences might be. Father Georgy Edelstein has always defied stereotypes: a distinct anti-communist in a communist society; a defender of freedom who rejects the title of dissident; a village priest in Russia who was restored to his parish by President Reagan and whose son would become an Israeli statesman. He is a man who considers it his duty to not stay silent.
My Duty to Not Stay Silent
Vladimir Kara-Murza
Russia. 2020. 50 minutes
In Russian with English subtitles
The screening will be followed by a Q&A with Evgenia Kara-Murza.
This is a joint event with The Pushkin Club and Rights in Russia.
The Pushkin Club has held regular events devoted to Russian culture and society since its foundation in 1954.
Rights in Russia is an independent, charitable, non-profit, non-governmental organization established on 19 January 2010 to mark the tragic murder of human rights lawyer Stanislav Markelov and journalist Anastasia Baburova who that day in 2009 were shot dead in Moscow.
ABOUT THE DIRECTOR
Vladimir Kara-Murza is a Russian politician, author, and historian. A long-time colleague of opposition leader Boris Nemtsov, he served as deputy leader of the People’s Freedom Party and was a candidate for the Russian Parliament. Kara-Murza played a key role in the passage of the Magnitsky Laws in countries around the world – including the UK, the U.S., and Canada – that imposed personal sanctions on Russian officials involved in human rights abuses. Twice, in 2015 and 2017, he was targeted for assassination by poisoning by operatives of the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB), who were later identified in a media investigation by Bellingcat, The Insider, and Der Spiegel. In April 2022 Kara-Murza was arrested and has since been imprisoned in Moscow for his public opposition to Vladimir Putin’s war on Ukraine. He has been designated as a prisoner of conscience by Amnesty International.
Kara-Murza is the author or contributor of several books and documentaries on Russian politics and history. He has worked as a journalist for Russian and Western media organisations, including Kommersant, Echo of Moscow, and the BBC; and writes a regular column for The Washington Post. He is a recipient of number of international prizes, including the Geneva Summit Courage Award and the Magnitsky Human Rights Award. He holds an M.A. (Cantab.) in History from The University of Cambridge.
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Evgenia Kara-Murza, a graduate of the Moscow State Linguistic University, worked as a translator and interpreter in Russian, English and French with several organisations including the International Center on Nonviolent Conflict, the Institute of Modern Russia, and Pen America, before joining her husband in advocating for human rights accountability and promoting civil society and democratic change in Russia. She currently serves as advocacy coordinator for the Free Russia Foundation, a Washington-based non-profit, nonpartisan, nongovernmental organization that seeks to give a voice to those repressed by the current Russian government and to inform international policymakers, media, and opinion leaders about the situation in Russia. Evgenia is married to Vladimir Kara-Murza; they have three children.