Many Russians bemoan state terror, but denouncing it is dangerous. Anyone who protests against Putin’s war of aggression against Ukraine risks imprisonment. The organization Memorial, which received the Nobel Peace Prize, nevertheless put itself in danger.
With burning candles in their hands, men and women on Moscow’s Marosejka Street read out the names of those who had been shot. “All those who lived in this house left and did not return”, is written on a black board on the yellow facade, along with the years 1937, 1941, 1945, 1952 – and added with a marker: “2022?” The memorial campaign by the organization Memorial, which received the Nobel Peace Prize this year along with other civil rights activists, has not been approved and is therefore risky. The place is reminiscent of communist tyranny and state terror, which many Russians under Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin are still complaining about today.
Memorial staff stand guard at the site in the heart of the metropolis as people commemorate. Again and again provocateurs disturb these quiet actions during the organization’s much-attended political walks. “We can’t openly call for anti-war protests on the streets because that would be too dangerous for the people,” says Alexandra Poliwanova. The protests are banned. Anyone who nevertheless demonstrates against Putin’s war of aggression in Ukraine risks punishment up to and including imprisonment.
Even silent protest, for example on the Internet, can be dangerous. “But we’re still free, walking the streets and speaking out the necessary truth,” says Poliwanowa on a walk with a good two dozen people along the memorial sites for the victims of political violence. The other Nobel Peace Prize winners, on the other hand, would have a harder time: In Belarus, the human rights lawyer Ales Byaljazki is in prison. And in Ukraine, colleagues from the civil rights organization Center for Civil Liberties are doing their work under fire from Russian rockets, as Polivanova says.
Memorial said of the award, which will be presented on December 10 in the Norwegian capital Oslo, that it is an honor because it brightens the “depressive mood” in Russian civil society and gives moral new strength. And the award recognizes the fact that citizens in Russia are also actively involved in fighting the war. Memorial is a large international movement with structures in many Russian cities, but also abroad. The organization has repeatedly publicly condemned Russian war crimes in Ukraine – and has thus made many enemies in the Moscow power apparatus.
The civil rights activists use social networks to educate, for example, about how Russians can evade Putin’s partial mobilization so they don’t have to fight and die in Ukraine. Such walks as in Moscow to the scenes of state crimes serve the exchange of like-minded people and the feeling of togetherness.
“One of Putin’s greatest crimes is the destruction of civil society, the prevention of communication, solidarity and self-organization,” says historian Polivanova, who works on the Memorial board. Most recently, she tried to organize the annual “Return of Names” campaign for October 29, in which the names of victims of tyranny in the Soviet Union are read out in public. Poliwanova reports that the peaceful action, which Putin’s system sees as a political affront, required more than ten permits from various authorities. She had two – then the city prohibited the action with reference to the corona pandemic. On the other hand, Covid has long since ceased to play a role at major events with Putin.
The Russian judiciary had already dissolved Memorial last year because the organization is said to have violated the law. The human rights activists refused to use the controversial title “foreign agent”. When the Nobel Committee announced this year’s prizewinners in Oslo on October 7, the Russian state confiscated the organization’s headquarters, the building with meeting rooms and archives in the city center, by court order on the same day.
The archive has been saved, and parts have already been digitized, says Poliwanowa. “But the building, our property, is gone for now; we now have no place to meet.” What remains are these walks to the places of remembrance with the small actions in which the names of the victims of the tyranny are read aloud. The tours for around 20 participants, which are announced on social networks and organized two or three times a week, are always fully booked within a few minutes.
“I’m aware of the risk of ending up in prison, but it’s more important to me to stand up for freedom,” says student Mikhail, who came to Moscow from the city of Novgorod. The 21-year-old is one of those reading the names of the dead at the memorial in the capital. And he shouts loudly: “Free the political prisoners!” In his hometown he wants to establish the memorial work himself – despite the pressure from the authorities.
Memorial boss Jan Ratschinski, who gave the speech from the Russian side at the Nobel Prize ceremony in Oslo, has recently repeatedly expressed confidence that the work of the organizations will continue. “Memorial’s idea and mission are people, history, help for the victims of repression, the fight against state violence,” he said. “But it is not possible to ban memory and freedom.”
