On declaring Memorial an extremist organization
Statement by the Board of the International Memorial Association

It might feel like this kind of public support from global stars is something new. It’s not. Western artists were already speaking out for Soviet dissidents in the 1970s and 1980s — here’s a look back

Back in 2012, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Madonna, and Sting used their platforms to demand the release of Nadezhda Tolokonnikova, Yekaterina Samutsevich, and Maria Alyokhina.

A year earlier, the British duo Pet Shop Boys released a song in memory of Alexei Navalny. They had already been calling for the release of political prisoners and publicly opposing the shutdown of Memorial.

Not just popstar hits — statements

Recently, Shirley Manson, frontwoman of Garbage, joined John Cusack, Martin Sheen, and other Hollywood actors in speaking out for activist Mikhail Kriger during his dry hunger strike in prison.

In this carousel, we break down how the NKVD’s secret poison lab operated, who Grigory Mairanovsky was, how the truth about the lab came out — and who became its victims.

The use of poison as a tool of political killing is not new. It was already practiced in the Soviet Union by the secret police.

In February, five independent European laboratories concluded that Alexei Navalny was poisoned in 2024 with a lethal toxin — epibatidine.

Arseny Roginsky Conference Arseny Roginsky Conference 2026

The conference will take place in Berlin, with online streaming and translation into English, German, and Russian.

Join the conversation — and reflect on why preserving memory remains a political act today.

30marta.zukunft-memorial.de/en/

At the same time, archives created outside state control — by activists, researchers, and communities — have long served as a form of resistance.

The conference will take place in Berlin, with online streaming and translation into English, German, and Russian.

Once seen as neutral guardians of truth, archives are now understood as political spaces. They shape historical narratives, reflect systems of power, and can both conceal and expose state violence.

This international conference brings together researchers, archivists, and human rights practitioners to rethink what archives are — and what they do.

Memorial is hosting the Sixth Conference in Memory of Arseny Roginsky — historian, dissident, and co-founder of Memorial — on the eve of his 80th birthday.

Archives, Memory, and Resistance: Rethinking the Politics of the Past

Berlin | March 27–28, 2026

Meanwhile:

7 years in prison for posts about Bucha.
10 years for an alleged donation.
15 days in detention for comments.
Fines — for a slogan, a tattoo, even a like on a post.

These are fragments of resistance — and repression — across Russia in February and March

And also:

A communication tower destroyed in Lipetsk.
A freight locomotive set on fire in Oryol.

This is what “no resistance in Russia” looks like. It may be quiet, but it persists:

Posters and leaflets calling not to go to war.
Poetry read in public spaces.
Flowers brought to memorials.

We stand in solidarity with political prisoners in Azerbaijan — and recall that repression in the country has a long history, including during the Soviet period.

On January 16, Nurlan began an indefinite hunger strike after reporting violence by prison guards. According to his wife, his condition has significantly deteriorated: he is weak, has difficulty moving and speaking, and suffers from severe headaches. Medical care remains limited to basic checks.

Meydan TV is an independent online outlet that gives a platform to voices often excluded from public debate. All those charged deny the accusations and say the case is linked to their work.

In February 2025, journalist Nurlan Libre (Gahramanli) was detained in connection with the Meydan TV case. More than ten people have been charged under so-called “economic” offences — a common way to pursue politically sensitive cases.

Hundreds remain political prisoners in Azerbaijan
Among them are independent journalists, opposition figures, human rights defenders, and religious believers. Many report violence, ill-treatment, poor conditions, and lack of adequate medical care.

Several Memorial-related events are coming up across Europe — film screenings, exhibitions and discussions.

They will take place in Rome, Berlin, Paris, Freiburg, and other cities in the coming weeks. Many of them focus on history, memory, and the work of Memorial.

March 5 marks the day of Stalin’s death. On this anniversary, we selected eyewitness accounts from the 05/03/53 project — moments when people’s views of Stalin and the Soviet regime began to shift.

A friend’s remark, Khrushchev’s speech exposing Stalin, the deadly crush at the funeral of the “immortal leader.”

What makes someone suddenly see what they refused to see for years?

What becomes the point of no return — the moment when you can no longer “unsee” or “unhear” what you’ve learned?

Mosin stated that they met by chance, and that he lays flowers at Labor Square every February 27 in memory of Nemtsov.

The court nevertheless found him guilty and sentenced him to 9 days in jail.