The more authoritarian Putin rules, the less he allows a critical view of Russian history. His Russia should appear as an Orthodox great power without mistakes and crimes. Memorial was branded a so-called foreign agent back in 2016. In 2021, the central structures in Moscow were dissolved by a controversial court order and many employees were forced into exile.
Memorial co-founder Irina Scherbakova calls the accusation of extremism an attack on critical historical work. The Gulag Museum in Moscow, which was reminiscent of the Soviet camp system, was also closed, says the current chairwoman of Zukunft Memorial in Berlin. Because of the war against Ukraine, Putin’s leadership is trying to stifle any possible resistance in Russian society. “We see that people have become afraid.”
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Despite the repression, Memorial’s work in Russia has not come to a complete standstill. There are regional circles. The “Last Address” campaign continued, which commemorates victims of political persecution – similar to the golden stumbling blocks in Germany to Holocaust victims. Every year on October 30th, the names of Stalin’s victims were read out at the Solovetsky memorial stone directly in front of the Moscow secret service headquarters.
The new ban is legally vaguely aimed at Memorial as a movement. This means that many activities can be considered extremist – similar to the Russian ban on an allegedly well-organized LGBTQ movement. The authorities have also classified the organizations of Kremlin opponent Alexei Navalny, who was tortured to death in custody in 2024, as extremist. Navalny supporters are being punished because of their previous cooperation or donations. Even long-forgotten posts on social networks serve as evidence of extremism. The opposition continues to work in exile.
Memorial recommends that its colleagues remove the logo from social media profiles and not repost texts. You want to offer as little attack surface as possible, says Scherbakowa. What risk someone takes in the future “will be the decision of each individual.”
