Natalia Arno

Natalia Arno

President of Free Russia Foundation

Graduated with a Master’s in Linguistics from Buryat State University. From 2000 to 2003, worked at the Modern Humanitarian University. In 2004, joined the International Republican Institute, leading civic education and civil society programs in Russia. Forced into exile in 2012 under political pressure, she founded Free Russia Foundation to support pro-democracy initiatives. Under her leadership, the organization has grown into a global network advocating for human rights and democratic change in Russia.

11 Publications

Publications

11 publications
Politics

If You Capture the Children,
You Capture the Future

How Putin’s Russia is waging war against the next generation

Article Jun 1, 2026
Civil Society

Leadership Without Permission

Women Demonstrate Strength in Unquiet Times

Article Mar 5, 2026
War

February

There are months that pass quietly, and then there is February. For Russians who believe in democracy, it has become a month of reckoning—a month when…

Article Feb 23, 2026
Civil Society

Sixteen Were Freed. More Than 1,600 Remain

And They Will Shape Russia’s Future

Article Jan 30, 2026
Politics

A Vision of the Future Against Fatigue and Resentment

To overcome the hardships of war and emigration, Russians in exile need to adopt a global mindset

Article Jan 12, 2026
Civil Society

Protecting #FreeSpeech in a post-truth world

“What is the cost of lies?” asks Valery Legasov, the Soviet nuclear physicist at the heart of the hit HBO series ‘Chernobyl’. “It’s not that we will mistake…

Article Jun 27, 2019
Civil Society

Why We Must Speak Out about Oleg Sentsov Now

Oleg Sentsov, a Ukrainian filmmaker imprisoned by Russian forces in 2014, is on the verge of death. More than one hundred days ago, he began a hunger strike to demand that Russian President…

Article Sep 11, 2018
Civil Society

Priority Number One: Save Oleg Sentsov

To governments and legislators of democratic countries, to democracy promotion and human rights organizations, to all democracy-minded people, journalists, and public opinion leaders. Is the world listening?  Does…

Article Aug 28, 2018
Politics

Why Sunday’s Massive Protests Will Change Russia

The poem and song, “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised,” became a rallying cry for social injustice in America in the 1970s. It weaved its way through many…

Article Mar 28, 2017
Politics

If the world blinks, Putin will seize the rest of Ukraine

This will be a crucial year for Ukraine’s delicately balanced democracy and sovereignty. A real danger is in the possibility that Russian President Vladimir Putin will scan the…

Article Feb 1, 2017
Civil Society

FREEDOM OF SPEECH VS. PROPAGANDA

Freedom of Speech is undoubtedly a universal value. There is the First Amendment in the U.S. Bill of Rights adopted back in 1789. In Russia, Article 29 of…

Article Apr 26, 2015

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