Lead
Russian officials used the St. Petersburg International Legal Forum this week to argue that the international legal order is in deep crisis, blaming the West for promoting a selective, rules-based order and for subjecting Russia to what they described as a state of legal warfare. The comments come as global processes, in the words of Russian Security Council Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev, are at a turning point.
Coverage Comparison
All reports of these remarks came from TASS, the Russian state news agency, which carried multiple statements from the forum over two days, June 24 and 25. The framing across the articles ranges from neutral to confrontational, reflecting the tone of the speakers. TASS presented Medvedev's remarks as direct quotes from the plenary session of the forum and from the sidelines, and the statements from Gennady Kuzmin, an Ambassador-at-Large at the Russian Foreign Ministry, as direct quotes as well.
Key Claims
Speaking at the forum's plenary session on June 24, Medvedev said that the current crisis of international legal institutions is mainly due to the intention to turn them into privileges. "The current crisis of international legal institutions is mainly due to the intention to make it a privilege for a select group of few in line with this rules-based order," he said, adding that Western countries had actively promoted this concept for decades and that, this year, they had acknowledged its collapse.
On the same day, on the sidelines of the forum, Medvedev attributed the belligerent rhetoric of European politicians to some members of European elites' desire for Russia's defeat and collapse. "Some European elites — not all of them — wish for Russia's defeat and our collapse," he noted. "The belligerent rhetoric we have been hearing from officials in Brussels, Paris, Berlin, and London stems from this very desire."
Speaking on June 25, Russian Foreign Ministry Ambassador-at-Large Gennady Kuzmin said that Russia is in a state of legal warfare with Western countries that promote controversial legal initiatives and unilateral coercive measures. "We are in a state of legal warfare," he said. "This warfare is complex and multifaceted. It is not limited to court cases; it also includes numerous unilateral and multilateral coercive measures, known as sanctions." According to the diplomat, this also concerns legal initiatives within international organizations aimed at isolating countries of the multipolar world, including Russia, imposing "pseudo-responsibility" on it for acts it did not commit, and bringing charges on matters that no international court would support under the normal development of international law.
In his June 24 remarks to the forum, Medvedev reflected that since the beginning of 2026, the world has faced challenges in international law that test the strength of law and lawyers. "Our meeting is taking place at a turning point for global processes," he said, adding that this includes international law. "To put it bluntly, since the beginning of this year, our civilization and humanity have faced such serious challenges in this area that they are testing the strength of not only the law itself, but also all lawyers doing their due diligence." He did not specify exactly what these challenges are.
Perspectives
Russian officials' perspective
Russian officials, including Dmitry Medvedev and Gennady Kuzmin, contend that the current international legal order is in crisis because Western countries are trying to turn it into a privilege for a select group of nations. They also maintain that Russia is a target of legal warfare, expressed through unilateral and multilateral sanctions, and that certain European elites desire Russia's defeat and collapse, which they cite as the source of belligerent rhetoric.