Dear Colleagues!

Today, when Europe and the whole world are experiencing a critical moment in their history,

When inside Russia the last sprouts of legal political activity have been destroyed, the country's leadership has lost all signs of legitimacy and usurped power,

When all prominent members of the opposition are either in prison or forced into exile,

When the Russian Federation under the leadership of Vladimir Putin has become a center of armed aggression against neighboring nations and a source of danger to the entire world,

We, legitimately elected Russian deputies who received our mandates in the pre-war years from Russian citizens in internationally recognized elections, have united to work within the Congress of People's Deputies.

 

We inform you

that we assume the authority of the legitimate transitional parliament of Russia, exercising its functions until the election of new legitimate authorities.

We propose that you establish official relations between us and renounce contacts with the State Duma of the Russian Federation, the Government of the Russian Federation and the President of the Russian Federation as legitimate representatives of Russia and its people.

We are ready to coordinate joint work on behalf of Russia to identify and punish those responsible for war crimes in Ukraine, as well as to implement an effective sanctions policy against Russian citizens responsible for unleashing and conducting military actions.

We also ask you to inform us about seized Russian assets and under-sanctioned Russian citizens in order to unblock them as soon as possible for use in rebuilding the economy of Ukraine, which has suffered from the aggression of Putin's regime.

We have elected an Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Representative for communication between us - Ilya Ponomarev.

We also add to this letter our official appeal to the citizens of Ukraine and additional information about the Congress.

On the engagement of the I Congress of People's Deputies (59 delegates from 32 regions of Russia),

Members of the Executive Council of the Congress:

Gennady Gudkov, presiding at the meeting of the I Congress

Ilya Ponomarev, presiding at the meeting of the Congress VR