The 14th St. Petersburg International Legal Forum is being held in St. Petersburg on June 24–26, 2026. The platform was established in 2011 at the initiative of the Justice Ministry with the backing of Dmitry Medvedev, who was Russia’s president at the time. As Meduza notes, the forum, once seen as a representative legal gathering, this year stood out for sharply ideological speeches.
Among the claims voiced was the idea that unregistered cohabitation and a high divorce rate can be seen as a threat to national security and the country’s demographic health. Speakers also said the Justice Ministry’s mission consists not only of protecting citizens’ rights and ensuring the rule of law, but also of strengthening statehood.
Participants proposed rethinking the Constitution’s second chapter, arguing that the rights and freedoms enshrined there reflect a “deeply liberal ideology,” and questioned the lack of emphasis on citizens’ duties.
The forum also featured historical and political comparisons: the Decembrists were likened to “Banderites,” the Provisional Government was called the most helpless in Russian history, and the Bolsheviks were described as “bloggers in power.” One speaker separately referred to the idea of replacing collectivism with “sobornost,” saying he had discussed it with Vladimir Putin.
Another topic was legal interpretation: a woman’s right to have an abortion on request was described as contradicting the Constitution. In addition, the Islamic legal tradition based on the Quran and Sunnah was presented as offering approaches aligned with the “traditional values of Russia’s peoples.”
Other statements included complaints about the lack of digital sovereignty, assertions that the internet is controlled by “Anglo-Saxons and Americans,” and warnings that artificial intelligence could replace what “foreign agents” used to do. Speakers also called for seeking reparations from Western countries for damage caused by colonial and neo-colonial practices since the Age of Discovery.