On 10 December, International Human Rights Day, the exhibition “The Other Russia: Memorial” has opened in the Seimas of Lithuania. It presents the history of the organisation awarded the Nobel Peace Prize (2022), which has moved from commemorating victims of Soviet terror to opposing today’s war and repressions. Despite pressure, the “foreign agent” label and its forced liquidation in Russia, Memorial continues to work as an institution of historical memory and civic responsibility.
“In Russia, the Soviet regime, its institutions and its practices have never been recognised as criminal. Largely for that reason, post-Soviet civic culture proved receptive to a renewed sacralisation of power and to the justification of violence,” — notes Sergey Krivenko, Chair of the Board of Memorial-Vilnius. “Our work could not prevent the war, but it has laid bare the link between impunity for past repressions and the crimes of the present.”
The exhibition at the Seimas Visitors’ Centre brings together the history of Soviet terror and testimonies from Russia’s war against Ukraine:
– 10-panel display telling the story of Memorial’s uninterrupted work over 35 years;
– books and documentary collections published by Memorial over different years;
– exhibition “Gulag. The History of One Camp”, dedicated to the Perm-36 colony (1946–1987). Among its prisoners were Memorial’s first chair Sergey Kovalyov, Lithuanian dissident Balys Gajauskas and Ukrainian poet Vasyl Stus. Created by the Perm-36 Memorial Museum (Russia); Lithuanian version by the Museum of Occupations and Freedom Fights;
– “Voices of War” – multimedia installation with video testimonies from Ukrainians who survived occupation (with Lithuanian subtitles).
OPENING PROGRAMME – 15 December (14:00–17:00)
Welcome addresses:
Emanuelis Zingeris, Member of the Seimas, Chair of the International Commission for the Evaluation of the Crimes of the Nazi and Soviet Occupation Regimes);
Dr Arūnas Bubnys, Director General, Genocide and Resistance Research Centre of Lithuania;
Ramunė Driaučiūnaitė, Director, Museum of Occupations and Freedom Fights;
Sergey Krivenko, Chair, Memorial-Vilnius.
Panel discussion “Memorial Today: Responsibility for the Past”
Participants:
– Oleg Orlov, co-chair of the Memorial Human Rights Defence Centre, released in a historic prisoner exchange, presenting a new report on Russia’s war crimes in Ukraine;
– Anna Gavina, Memorial Polska;
– Sergey Davidis, Memorial Support Programme for Political Prisoners;
– Elena Zhemkova, Zukunft Memorial;
– Sergey Krivenko, Memorial-Vilnius.
Moderator: Inna Shilina, journalist (Lithuania).
SPECIAL EVENTS
17 December, 15:00–16:00 – Public talk
Speaker: Sergey Davidis, Head of Memorial’s Support Programme for Political Prisoners
Title: “People First.” Contemporary Political Repression in Russia and Support for Its Victims
18 December, 15:00–16:00 – Guided tour by the author
Guide: Sergey Krivenko, Chair of the Board of Memorial-Vilnius
Title: “From the Gulag to the War in Ukraine: The Continuity of Violence and the Memory of Memorial”