Serious Concerns Regarding the Invitation of a Senior Leader of the Russian Psychological Society, Whose Leadership Has Supported Russia’s War Against Ukraine, to Deliver a Keynote Address at the 31st International Congress of Applied Psychology in Florence
The National Psychological Association of Ukraine, the Lithuanian Psychological Association, the Union of Estonian Psychologists and the Romanian Psychological Association address the international psychological community to express our serious concern regarding the invitation of a senior leader of the Russian Psychological Society (RPS) to deliver an invited keynote address at the 31st International Congress of Applied Psychology (ICAP), to be held in Florence, Italy, from 21 to 25 July 2026.
ICAP is the flagship congress of the International Association of Applied Psychology and presents its keynote programme as featuring leading psychologists from around the world. A keynote invitation is not ordinary participation in academic exchange. It confers exceptional visibility, professional recognition and institutional legitimacy. Through this invitation, a member of the RPS senior leadership is not merely attending the congress, but is being presented as an invited voice of authority at a major international psychology event held in Europe.
At a time when Russia continues its war against Ukraine, a sovereign European state, granting such a prominent platform to a senior leader of an organisation whose governing body and senior officials have taken documented actions supporting that war raises serious ethical and professional concerns. Our concern is not based on the nationality or academic achievements of the invited speaker. It concerns the conferral of distinguished keynote status upon a senior leader of the RPS in light of the Society’s institutional conduct and the public positions of several members of its leadership.
