Support for MEMORIAL International
On 28 December, 2021, the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation ordered the closure of MEMORIAL International. A lawsuit to liquidate the human rights organisation for alleged violations of Russia’s so-called “foreign agents” act was filed in mid-November of 2021. Russia's oldest non-governmental organisation which was founded three decades ago by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Andrei Sakharov, has announced its intention to appeal the verdict and continue its work.
Even after the forced dissolution of MEMORIAL International, Körber-Stiftung and EUSTORY continue to stand by their partner organisation as well as its concern to promote an open approach to Russian and European history.
Körber-Stiftung and EUSTORY, along with their partners from Russia and other European countries, are in close contact with their colleagues at MEMORIAL International. The protection of the staff, the preservation of the archive and the continuation of the critical reappraisal of the history of Stalinism and Nazi tyranny in Central and Eastern Europe and in the territory of the former Soviet Union require every possible support.
The history competition "Man in History. Russia in the 20th Century", which Memorial International has been organising for pupils in Russia since 1999, has set new standards in teaching history. The Russian History Competition is one of the first history competitions that was run within the framework of EUSTORY.
Read a statement of MEMORIAL International on the dissolution of the organisation (in German)
Jens Siegert, former head of the Moscow office of the Heinrich Böll Foundation, offers further information on MEMORIAL and the trial on his blog (in German).