The trial of Yury Dmitriev, head of the Karelian branch of the Memorial Society, is currently taking place in Petrozavodsk. He is charged under Article 242.2 of the Russian Federation Criminal Code (“Use of a minor for the purposes of preparing pornography”) and Article 135 (“Perverted acts without the use of force against a minor”). … Continue reading Dmitriev is a political prisoner
Rights in Russia (UK)
Over 300 supporters
On 20 June, appeals in support of Yury Dmitriev were broadcast by writer Dmitry Bykov and musician Boris Grebenshchikov on the Echo Moskvy radio station. On its website the radio station also published a list of several hundred people who have signed a petition in support of the historian. * In Petrozavodsk City Court the … Continue reading Over 300 supporters
Who is Yury Dmitriev?
... and why is he facing 15 years' imprisonment? The trial of historian YURY DMITRIEV began on 1 June. The hearings in Petrozavodsk, suggests journalist Maria Eismont, are "the most important thing happening in Russia today". Because the charges are sensitive, and concern a minor, neither the press or the public can attend. Behind the … Continue reading Who is Yury Dmitriev?
He woke the Dragon
"Over the years of his work Yury Dmitriev became not only a splendid field researcher. He also became unique and unsurpassed as a kind of harvester of archives," Alexander Daniel (Memorial). This led to entirely unique results. You know the phrase that everyone always quotes, that line of Akhmatova's Requiem – "I'd like to call … Continue reading He woke the Dragon
A political prosecution
In February SERGEI KRIVENKO travelled to Karelia, as a member of the Presidential Council for Civil Society and Human Rights, to monitor the case of YURY DMITRIEV. In early June he talked to ZOYA SVETOVA. *** Yury Dmitriev is a very well-known person. He is an independent historian, the creator of Books of Remembrance, and … Continue reading A political prosecution
The Dmitriev Affair 