“Memorial” launched a project for the 30th anniversary of the Human Rights Center

The “Memorial” Human Rights Protection Center (formerly the “Memorial” Human Rights Protection Center) launched the “30 years to” project, timed to the organization’s 30th anniversary.

Within the framework of this project, human rights activists together with journalists of independent mass media try to find answers to questions about why the current regime became possible and what went wrong on the way to building a free society.

“We were witnesses of key events in the history of modern Russia, we participated in them. We have something to tell,” the project’s website says.

The experts of “Memorial” took part in the presentation of the project: co-chairman of the Center for the Protection of Human Rights Oleg Orlov, co-chairman and head of the archive program Alexander Cherkasov, council member and historian Alexey Makarov, lawyer Natalya Morozova, journalist and photojournalist Dmitry Borko and head of the organization’s press service Ekaterina Yanshina .

It is planned that “Memorial” and its project colleagues will present works on at least 14 topics during the year. These are “Protests and demonstrations in the USSR”, “Elections in the USSR, in Russia, in the republics”, “State repression”, “War and society” and others. All works will be published on the project website.

“Each of the topics, it would seem, has already been touched upon many times in the publications of various mass media, and it is unlikely that something new can be added to it. However, it almost always turns out that mythologisation is hidden behind clarity, and generally accepted judgments are weakly correlated with reality. Turning to to documents, to witnesses and participants of events, to experts can give a fresh look at topics on which public opinion has already agreed”, – believes “Memorial”.

• In February 2022, the Russian authorities liquidated “Memorial”, which recorded political repressions in the USSR and modern Russia.
• Human rights defenders were accused of violating the law on foreign agents. “Memorial” called the actions of the Russian authorities politically motivated and disproportionate. The “Memorial” team continues its human rights activities without forming a legal entity.
• In 2022, the Norwegian Nobel Committee awarded the Peace Prize to “Memorial”, as well as to the Ukrainian “Civil Liberties Center” and the Belarusian human rights activist, chairman of the “Vesna” human rights center, Ales Beliatskyi.