Russian mediators welcomed 'Mediator.RF' glossy magazine

The solemn presentation of the first issue of the Mediator.RF magazine took place at the President Art Hall in Moscow On October 13. The event was attended by leading mediators of the Russian Federation, representatives of the All-Russian Trade Union of Mediators, entrepreneurs, lawyers and members of the legal community, ready to support the project.

Bridges became the symbol of mediation that evening - they connect opposite banks like mediators uniting the distant sides of the conflict. The bridges adorned the walls of the hall to remind the guests of the need for a peaceful settlement of arguments.

Grigory Abukov, the Chairman of the Trade Union of Lawyers of Russia, noted the importance of creating the Mediator.RF magazine, since a genuine interest in mediation has already grown in society. In fact, it has existed for over 10 years, but in reality it began to develop quite recently.

‘Each profession should have its own magazine. The mediators have fulfilled this task’, summed up Abukov.

The first issue of the quarterly printed glossy magazine ‘Mediator.RF’ was released on September 16, 2021. It includes expert materials on mediation, real cases of professionals, as well as the interviews with representatives of business and government community. The circulation of the issue was 5,000 copies - it was distributed in 85 regions of the Russian Federation. 

Vladimir Kuznetsov, the Chairman of the All-Russian Trade Union of Mediators, made a speech on the occasion of the presentation of the magazine. He stressed out that Mediator.RF will become an important step in promoting mediation. Now mediators can hardly be called rich and successful, but with the development of the institute of mediation in Russia, the situation will change. Vladimir Kuznetsov separately noted that the trade union is interested in mediators’ higher salaries, and that mediation should move from voluntary to mandatory in a number of legal relations.

‘We want the the mediation to be prestigious. We want mediators to appear in good clothes, in a good car and work in good offices. So that not mediation turns into ‘meditation’ in T9, but vice versa’, summed up Kuznetsov.

Vladimir Kuznetsov announced that the Higher School of Arbitration, Mediation and Law will soon appear at the trade union. It will specialize in mediation between government and business and will not compete with schools that provide standard education.

The new school will be headed by professional business mediator Alexey Pokrovsky. He also attended the event and boasted of the fact that he had appeared on the pages of the first issue of Mediator.RF four times.

‘Mediation has been in Russia for 10 years now, but it is just becoming a profession. One of the indicators is the emergence of professional media. And it has finally happened’, said Pokrovsky.

Alexei Pokrovsky added that he was afraid to pick up the magazine and discover that it was  a standard publication in which ‘mediators write for mediators how great it is to be mediators’. But, fortunately, this did not happen. The future head of the mediation school stressed out that the magazine was interesting for everyone, and that he was proud of his appearance on its pages.

Honorary lawyer of Russia and international mediator-coach Elena Senina also could not miss the presentation of the magazine. She noted that she had been engaged in mediation since 2014 - for a long time, the prosperity of the profession in the Russian Federation was rather a dream. But now the reality, in which mediators have a future, has come true- and the launch of their own publication will only accelerate the development of mediation in the country.
Oksana Starozhiltseva, a lawyer, also commented on the publication of the magazine. She appreciated that ‘Mediator.RF’ is a publication not only for mediators - it can be easily‘released to the masses’. Starozhiltseva added that now there is a new revival of the institution of mediation, as society needs it. Any disputes are conflicts. Mediators are needed to solve them.

‘You can't go alone. As long as we are not alone, we are invincible. Trade unions are a certain power, mediators need protection and the right to show themselves off. Let me congratulate all the mediators! I hope that in future the publication will be issued monthly’, said Starozhiltseva.

In the final of the official part, the mediator, lawyer and chairman of the literary club Pavel Markasov made a speech. He emphasized the importance of mediation between business and government, as well as the need for training, since many are not yet familiar with this.

‘For me, mediation is a scenario that can safely lead people out of the conflict, said Markasov.

He also agreed with Vladimir Kuznetsov, noting that the wages of mediators in Russia are negligible - colleagues from the UK and the USA earn completely different amounts. However, Markasov expressed the hope that the situation would change soon and the Mediator.RF magazine will play an important role in popularizing the profession.