Wicker, Shaheen to propose resolution urging U.S. cooperation with Russian pro-democracy movement

A pair of influential bipartisan Senators plan to introduce a resolution Wednesday calling on the State Department to bolster cooperation with Russia’s pro-democracy movement inside and outside the country, according to a draft obtained exclusively by The Hill.

Sens. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) and Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) introduced the non-binding resolution to coincide with a major gathering of Russian dissidents in Washington D.C., called the Washington Dialogue.

It’s the second time the dialogue has convened, sponsored by the National Endowment for Democracy, the Congressionally-funded democracy promotion organization, and the Free Russia Foundation, founded by Russian dissidents, including those who have served time in Putin’s jails and been freed with U.S. intervention.

The resolution condemns Russian President Vladimir Putin’s repression at home and the war against Ukraine, along with Russia’s detention of Americans, including Stephen Hubbard . He was captured by Russian forces after the invasion of Ukraine, accused of fighting as a mercenary for Ukraine. Hubbard denies he is a soldier and he is designated by the U.S. as wrongfully detained.

Wicker, the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said the resolution honored assassinated Russian political activists — specifically Boris Nemtsov, a prominent Putin critic who was killed in 2015 by gunmen with alleged links to the Russian government ; and the prominent Putin opponent, Alexei Navalny. European governments blamed the Russian government for Navalny’s death by poison in 2024.

“My colleague Senator Shaheen and I introduce this resolution for Nemtsov, for Navalny, and for the courageous Russians who carry their torch today,” Wicker said in a statement provided to The Hill.

“Putin casts a repressive shadow over Russia, but these heroes work toward a bright future they cannot yet see. The U.S. Senate honors their efforts and looks forward to the day when Russia is led by and for its people.”

Shaheen, in a statement to The Hill, said the resolution aims to “champion those who fight for democracy within Russia and hold the Russian government accountable for the crimes it has committed against its own people.”

“Putin’s war of aggression against Ukraine was rooted in his fear that the Russian people would see Ukraine’s progress in creating a more democratic, prosperous country and want the same for their own country,” said Shaheen, the ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

“Putin has used cruel tactics on his own people: suppressing dissent through brutal violence, proliferating state-sponsored repression and undermining democracy with election interference and through disinformation campaigns.”

The resolution acknowledges that it is in the national interest of the U.S. to support democratic actors in Russia, commends the work of Russian civil society and independent media to expose and respond to crimes by Putin’s government and pursue accountability.

The resolution comes ahead of Russian parliamentary elections taking place between September 18 and 20, the first to be held since Russia launched its full-scale invasion against Ukraine in Feb. 2022.

Putin’s party, United Russia, is widely expected to sweep the election, although close attention will be paid to whether the party can get the more than 300 seats needed for a super-majority and push through constitutional changes without other parties’ support.

Russia’s Supreme Court has barred the liberal Yabloko party from the party-list ballot, the only registered party to oppose Russia’s war in Ukraine, while other opposition politicians have been banned from running, Reuters reported .

Putin, in power as president or prime minister since 2000, has consolidated his control over the country by cracking down on any political opposition and imposing strict censorship to stifle independent media, connections to international organizations or free access to the internet.

There are an estimated 1,700 political prisoners in Russian jails, according to human rights monitors, and nearly one million Russians have left the country since Feb. 2022.