The sixth Vilnius Russia Forum is kicking off on Thursday, bringing together over 100 politicians, civil society activists, human rights defenders, scientists and journalists from Russia, Lithuania and western countries.
This year's forum will focus the worsening civil society situation in Russia, growing restrictions on the media, increasing civic protests in regions, and Moscow's increasingly aggressive stance toward the West, the Lithuanian Finance Ministry has said.
Participants of the Vilnius Russia Forum include Mikhail Khodorkovsky, Vladimir Kara-Murza, Vladimir Ashurkov, Marina Litvinenko and others.
The event is held annually since 2013, and this year it's co-hosted by the Foreign Ministry and the Vilnius-based Center for Eastern Europe Studies.
