(London) Russians on Sunday commemorated the victims of Soviet state terrorism, as the Russian government continued its crackdown on dissent in the country.
The “Return of Names” event was organized by the Nobel Peace Prize-winning human rights organization Memorial.
The commemoration traditionally takes place in Moscow on October 29 – the day before Remembrance Day for the Victims of Political Repression in Russia – at the Solovetsky Stone memorial dedicated to the victims of Soviet-era repression, and focuses on reading of the names of those killed during Joseph Stalin’s Great Terror in the late 1930s.
Since 2020, the Moscow authorities have refused to grant permission for the demonstration. This would be due to the “epidemiological situation” and the ban on organizing public events, even if Memorial’s supporters believe that this refusal is politically motivated.
Memorial itself was ordered to close its doors by Moscow authorities in November 2021. Although it was closed as a legal entity in Russia, the group still operates in other countries and continued some of his activities in favor of human rights in Russia.
Instead of a demonstration, on Sunday, Muscovites and several Western ambassadors laid flowers on the Solovetsky stone. The discreet event took place under the watchful eye of the police.
Memorial also organized a live broadcast of the reading of the victims’ names, from Moscow and other Russian cities, as well as from abroad.
The “Return of Names” event comes as Russian prosecutors seek a three-year prison sentence for human rights activist and Memorial co-chair Oleg Orlov.
Mr Orlov was fined around US$1,500 earlier this month and found guilty of publicly “discrediting” the Russian military after a Facebook post denouncing the final stage invasion of Ukraine of relentless repression against activists, independent journalists and opposition figures.
Memorial said Friday that state prosecutors appealed the sentence, calling it “excessively lenient.”
“It is obvious that Orlov needs to be isolated from society in order to correct himself,” the prosecutor said, as quoted by Memorial.
A law passed shortly after the Kremlin launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine made this public “discrediting” a criminal offense if committed several times during the year. Orlov was fined twice for protesting against the war before facing criminal charges.
Memorial, one of Russia’s oldest and most renowned rights organizations, was awarded the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize alongside imprisoned Belarusian activist Ales Bialiatski and the Center for Civil Liberties, a Ukrainian organization.
Memorial was founded in the Soviet Union in 1987 to ensure that victims of Communist Party repression were remembered. He continued to document human rights abuses and track the plight of political prisoners in Russia as he faced Kremlin repression in recent years.
The group has been declared a “foreign agent,” a designation that carries additional government scrutiny and carries strong derogatory connotations. Over the years, Memorial has been ordered to pay massive fines for alleged violations of the “foreign agent” law.
Russia’s Supreme Court ordered its closure in December 2021, a decision that sparked outcry at home and abroad.
Memorial and his supporters have called the trial against Orlov politically motivated. His defense team included Dmitri Muratov, editor-in-chief of the independent newspaper Novaya Gazeta and 2021 Nobel Peace Prize laureate.