Russian court orders human rights group to close
MOSCOW — Russia’s Supreme Court ruled Tuesday the nation’s most prominent human rights organization must close, signaling President Vladimir Putin’s long-standing determination to control the narrative of some of the most painful and repressive chapters of Russian history.
The court ordered the liquidation of Memorial International, which chronicled the harrowing persecutions in the infamous Stalin-era labor camps in an effort to preserve the memory of its victims. The group, founded by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Andrei Sakharov and other dissidents more than three decades ago, became a symbol of the country’s emerging democracy after the collapse of the Soviet Union. The decision comes after a year of a broad crackdown on opposition in Russia as the Kremlin moved aggressively to stifle dissent — in the news media, in religious groups, on social networks and especially among activists and political opponents, hundreds of whom have been harassed, jailed or forced into exile.
Shutting down Memorial is also another step in Putin’s effort to recast Russia’s legacy as a series of glorious accomplishments and soften the image of the often-brutal Soviet regime. While the state opened a comprehensive gulag history museum in Moscow and Putin laid flowers at a new monument to the victims of Soviet repression, the increasingly emboldened Kremlin has moved aggressively to remove alternative interpretations of Russian history by organizations it does not control.
In particular, Putin is eager to convince Russians their country is surrounded by enemies who wish to oversee its demise, a tack he has taken recently in demanding NATO guarantee it will not expand farther eastward toward Russia. As such, the Kremlin wants the Russian public to focus on foreign foes instead of crimes committed by homegrown dictators.
In recent years, Putin has shown a keen interest in shaping interpretation of Russia’s history, publishing his views in lengthy articles about the Soviet Union’s key contribution to the victory over Nazism and “the historical unity of Russians and Ukrainians.” His viewpoint includes a renunciation of the democratic steps taken in the 1990s, which included reforms, self-criticism and social and economic upheaval.
The hearing drew dozens of protesters outside the courthouse, and afterward families of those affected by Stalin’s repressions and opposition figures expressed outrage, pointing to the deepening level of repression under Putin.
Ilya Miklashevsky, 65, whose father and grandfather were imprisoned in the gulag, said Memorial’s closure represents “a new step downward,” adding that “the country is sleepily moving downhill.”
Sergei Mitrokhin, a Russian opposition politician, said Memorial was “the last barrier on the way to complete Stalinization of the society and state.”
“What we have now is still light Stalinism,” he said, speaking on Ekho Moskvy, a radio station. “I am afraid it can turn way worse. It is a tragedy for our country.”
Memorial International oversees an archive of victims of Soviet persecution, mostly in the era of the gulags, forced labor camps where Russians were imprisoned in harsh, debilitating conditions. The group’s database contains more than 3 million names — no more than one quarter of all victims, according to the organization’s estimates.
Memorial’s lawyers have dismissed all of the accusations against the group as unfounded and called its persecution “politically motivated.” In a statement, Memorial said its members were intent on “finding legal ways” to continue their work.
Jan Z. Raczynski, chair of the board of Memorial International, said the group intended to appeal the ruling and that it would be allowed to operate for at least a month while the appeal was pending. It is unclear what will happen to Memorial’s archive and other physical items, including the ones it displays in a subterranean Moscow museum.
In a separate hearing Wednesday, the Moscow City Court will rule on whether to shut down Memorial’s Human Rights Center, which compiles a list of current political prisoners in Russia.
The center is accused of “justifying terrorist activities” by including members of banned religious organizations on the list. The list includes Alexei Navalny, an imprisoned Russian opposition leader, who was poisoned in a clandestine operation widely believed to have been organized by the Russian special services.