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

The decision to dissolve this association, confirmed on 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, on the history of the USSR, of Stalinism. It is indeed to confiscate historical memory for their own benefit and to impose their historical narrative that the authorities have thus put an end to the activities of an association that has left its mark over the past 30 years. It is also the result of a long harassment process.

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

Alexandra Polivanova, was a member of the management of this association, and carries out numerous actions aimed at various audiences, to make known the history of the Stalinist violence,

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 the 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 current research focuses on the Stalinist deportations.

I am participating in the meeting