CIVIC HUB.MADRID

our cause

As of 2025, over 1,400 political prisoners remain in Russian jails.

People are arrested not only for protesting the war in Ukraine, but even for sharing facts — or simply using the word “war,” which also leads to politically morivated criminal charges for ‘discrediting the Russian army’.
Any dissenting opinion is criminalized.

In recent years, hundreds of thousands of Russian and Belarusian citizens — many persecuted, beaten, or tortured — have sought safety across the EU alongside Ukrainian refugees fleeing horrors of war.

Such countries as Germany, Poland, France, Lithuania, the Czech Republic, Latvia, and Estonia have become key havens.

Spain, long a haven for opposition activists fleeing Latin American dictatorships, has also become a refuge for thousands of exiled professionals from across Eurasia — including activists, journalists, bloggers, and IT specialists — forced to flee persecution.

This includes feminists and LGBTQ+ individuals, whose activism is criminalized in Russia, where LGBTQ+ people are now officially labeled ‘extremists’.

In response to the urgent needs of exiled communities in Spain,
a team of Russian exiles who relocated to Madrid
in August 2024 continued its mission

Building on our experience of creating the largest and most secure
exiled community in Georgia — and supporting others across Europe —
we have continued assisting hundreds of exiles in Madrid
and across Spain

This includes legal, psychological, and infrastructural
support, as well as help with adaptation and integration
into a new society. Above all, we are helping people rebuild
their lives with dignity and safety

Public Actions
and Events

Feminist March — a column of Russian feminists joined the large feminist march through central Madrid, carrying slogans against Putin’s repressive dictatorship and in support of women’s rights.

March 8, 2025

Building Bridges
and Integration

Activists from the Russian exiled community in Spain spoke at a public discussion at Complutense University’s Faculty of Law.

Together with Spanish students and professors, they discussed the ongoing political repression in Russia, including over 1,500 political prisoners, the use of torture, and the Kremlin’s responsibility for Alexei Navalny’s death.

They also shared personal stories of Russians opposing the war in Ukraine — and the cost of that resistance.

March 21, 2025

Lectures
and Workshops

The Ecosystem of Russian Propaganda: Narratives, Messaging, Tools. As part of the lecture series, expert Anton Mikhaltchuk presented an in-depth overview of the Kremlin’s current disinformation campaigns, the structure of the Russian propaganda ecosystem, and the tools and methods
used to influence various audiences.

December 19, 2024

Advocacy
International Dialog

Following a public discussion with diplomats from nearly all Western embassies in Spain, representatives of the Russian political exile community — founder of the EK Strategic Communications Center Egor Kuroptev and Anastasia Burakova, founder of the international support initiative ‘Ark’ — met with
H.E. Jeffrey Marder, Ambassador of Canada to Spain.

The meeting focused on strengthening support for the exiled Russian community and informing the Canadian side about ongoing grassroots efforts to counter Kremlin disinformation and oppose the war in Ukraine.

February 02.2025

skilled team

The Madrid Civic Hub is built on the proven track record of our team of Russian professionals who have supported tens of thousands of fellow exiles —

from emergency evacuations and adaptation in new countries to visa assistance, project development, security, and building bridges with Western governments.

Drawing on this experience, the initiative offers vital support to the growing Eurasian exile population in Spain, now the second-largest EU destination for Russian citizens since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

This project marks the beginning of a broader effort to establish Spain’s first dedicated resource and support center for political exiles and refugees from Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, and other Eurasian countries.

Similar community hubs already operate in nearly every major EU country

Why Our Work Matters

We protect lives — helping those fleeing persecution and war

We help rebuild — offering legal, psychological, and infrastructural support

We create safe spaces — building hubs where none existed before

We defend democracy — supporting those punished for telling the truth

We connect people — linking exiles with Western institutions

We help integrate and adapt — teaching Spanish and English, and supporting the launch of projects and grassroots initiatives

We offer training — through workshops, mentoring, and educational programs

If you’d like to support vulnerable communities
in Spain
and help us build a Civic Hub for political exiles,
we’d love to hear from you

partners@civichubmadrid.org