This is an ironically humorous toast raised by Soviet dissidents who struggled against the regime for decades, firmly on the basis of universal human rights. Sometimes they sacrificed not only their careers and freedom, but also forfeited their health or life.

Who were they, what prompted them to take on this uneven fight, what were their fates? Did they succeed even though that seemed impossible? And who are Russia's modern human rights defenders? Are they the ideological heirs of dissidents or do they draw inspiration from completely different sources? What do they have in common and how are they different? What do they do on a daily basis, what are their motivations and what threats do they face? Will their hopeless case ever succeed?

We will introduce this important aspect of Russian life in a series of meetings, an occasion for which are the anniversaries of the deaths of three outstanding activists: Ludmila Alekseeva (d. December 8, 2018), Andrei Sakharov (d. December 14, 1989) and Arseny Roginsky (d. December 22, 2017).

DECEMBER 8 / Sunday / screening of documentaries devoted to each of these figures.

DECEMBER 10 / Tuesday / we will immerse ourselves in the life of modern human rights defenders thanks to a spectacle by the famous Teatr.doc, based on real statements by actual activists.

DECEMBER 11 / Wednesday / we will talk about what we saw and heard, about the past and present of the world of dissidents during discussions with historians and human rights defenders from Russia and Poland.

Events co-organized by The Centre for Polish-Russian Dialogue and Understanding and For Free Russia Association.