Exceptional meeting "Memorial in Russia: the confiscated memory?"

The decision to dissolve this association, confirmed in appeal on February 28 of this year, four days after the beginning of the Russian aggression against Ukraine, is a huge attack on the historical memory, the history of the USSR, of Stalinism. It is to confiscate the historical memory for their own benefit and to impose on them their narrative that the authorities put an end to the activities of an association which has left its mark on the past 30 years. It is also the culmination of a lengthy harassment process.

This round table will evoke the history of Memorial, from its creation during the perestroika to the consequences of this dissolution, the actions carried out towards the public in recent years, the "crimes against history".

Alexandra Polivanova, was a member of the management of this association, and carried out many actions aimed at various audiences, to make known the history of the violence stalinist,

Nicolas Werth is president of the association Mémorial-France, director of research at the CNRS, historian of the Soviet Union, author of many books, his research focuses on Stalinist violence.

Alain Blum is vice-president of the association Mémorial-France, director of studies at EHESS and director of research at INED, historian and demographer, his research today focuses on Stalinist deportations.