Russian oppositionists gather in Vilnius

VILNIUS - More than 100 politicians, civil society activists, academicians and journalists from various countries are expected to attend the fourth Vilnius Russia Forum, a two-day event starting in the Lithuanian capital on Thursday

The forum has been held annually since 2013 to discuss Russia's domestic and foreign policy issues, the human rights situation and the country's relations with the West, as well as Russia's development trends, its economic situation, the fight against Russian propaganda and other relevant issues, the Lithuanian Foreign Ministry said.

This year's event will focus on popular moods in Russia and potential changes in these moods ahead of the country's 2018 presidential election, as well as other processes concerning the election, it said.

Participants of the Vilnius Russia Forum include the Kremlin's critics Mikhail Khodorkovsky and Vladimir Kara-Murza, as well as Mikhail Kasyanov and Ilya Yashin, the leaders of the People's Freedom Party, or PARNAS, and Zhanna Nemtsova, the daughter of Russian opposition figure Boris Nemtsov, who was murdered two years ago.