Over sixteen months (August 1937-November 1938), more than one and a half million people were arrested in the USSR and sentenced in their absence by regional tribunals -- the extra-judicial troika (“three-member commissions”), dvoika (“two-member commissions”), and Special Board -- or came briefly before the Military Collegium of the Supreme Court in Moscow. No defence … Continue reading The Great Terror, 1937-1938
KGB / FSB*
The Search for Sandormokh
“Twenty years ago, it seemed to us that Sandormokh as a place and these acts of remembrance divided the present from the past,” said Irina FLIGE in August 2017, at the Day of Remembrance at Sandormokh. “Today, unfortunately, we must recognise that memories of the Great Terror have not become part of our [shared] memory … Continue reading The Search for Sandormokh
The Kommunarka controversy
On 29 October 2018, the annual “Restoring the Names” ceremony took place in Moscow, despite previous uncertainties. That day and the next, similar events took place in 19 other Russian towns and cities (and in several foreign cities as well). In many more places, including Sandarmokh and Krasny Bor in Karelia, the 30 October was … Continue reading The Kommunarka controversy
In the archives (part 2)
Yury Dmitriev, "My Path to Golgotha" "Then I became an aide to Ivan Chukhin, a deputy of the RSFSR Supreme Soviet (and the State Duma, 1990-1995). He was a lieutenant-colonel in the police, a psychologist. Ivan Chukhin, 1948-1997 "Around that time, it was decided to compile a Book of Remembrance for Karelia. That’s to say, … Continue reading In the archives (part 2)
“Restoring the Names” — Why we should go
Every year, on 29 October, thousands of people gather near the Solovki Stone in Moscow to read out the names of those who were shot during Stalin's reign of terror. "We call on our readers to join them this Sunday on Lubyanka Square," writes the online Meduza website. (A photo accompanying the text shows speakers … Continue reading “Restoring the Names” — Why we should go
The Dmitriev Affair 