The mass-circulation Japanese daily Sankei Shimbun opened a series of 80 articles to mark the centenary of the October 1917 Revolution with two items (25-26 October 2017) concerning the Dmitriev Affair: "The prisoners who disappeared. Over five days 1,111 people were shot in the forest" and "The historian who discovered where the victims of Stalin … Continue reading Japanese daily’s two items about Dmitriev
memory wars*
Rewriting Sandarmokh: Discussion
On 26 December 2017, Karelian journalists described their new investigation, “Rewriting Sandarmokh”, at a discussion held at the Agrikalch Art Gallery in Petrozavodsk. ANNA YAROVAYA told how the idea of conducting the investigation first arose. It was hard to find out who was trying to alter the history of the executions and burials at Sandarmokh, … Continue reading Rewriting Sandarmokh: Discussion
Russia – Past, Present and Future
THE OFFICIAL VIEW “As Russia marks the centenary of the October Revolution, President Vladimir Putin has urged the society to end discord over the Soviet era,” reported the TASS news agency[1] on 21 December 2017. "This year, the centenary of the October Revolution, we have been seeking to encourage the society to abandon confrontation, to … Continue reading Russia – Past, Present and Future
Who wants to rewrite the history of Sandarmokh—and why?
Since its discovery in 1997, Sandarmokh has become a place of pilgrimage for the descendants of those killed in Stalin’s Great Terror, for local villagers, for historians and for public figures. An International Day of Remembrance has been held at Sandarmokh every year since then, attended by delegations from various parts of Russia and from … Continue reading Who wants to rewrite the history of Sandarmokh—and why?
Dmitriev and Orwell
On Tuesday, 26 December, we were waiting for two reports: one about what happened that day at the Petrozavodsk City Court; the other, an account of a recent investigation into the new row over who is buried at Sandarmokh, and how they died. An excerpt from a long interview with MARIA KARP on Radio Svoboda … Continue reading Dmitriev and Orwell
The Dmitriev Affair 