Excavations in the heart of Sandarmokh

18 August 201913 December 2020 / editors (JC)

Memorial observers monitor the activities of the Russian Military History Society I can't look calmly at this photo. In the very heart of Sandarmokh, between commemorative stones and plaques on the trees, they are now digging up the graves. I have one question. If someone came along and started digging up a memorial to the … Continue reading Excavations in the heart of Sandarmokh

Barbaric excavations again under way at Sandarmokh

16 August 201918 August 2025 / editors (JC) / 1 Comment

New excavations are underway at the Sandarmokh Clearing in Karelia which holds the last remains of thousands of victims of the Great Terror of 1937-1938, writes Halya Coynash. Any pretence that the excavations by a body linked to the Russian Minister of Culture are not aimed at rewriting history has been dispelled by a letter … Continue reading Barbaric excavations again under way at Sandarmokh

Sandarmokh — Moscow press conference

31 July 201931 July 2019 / editors (JC)

Just as 80 years ago, arbitrary and lawless acts today define Sandarmokh. At a press conference in Moscow, activists and public figures have spoken out in defence of the Karelian memorial to the victims of Stalin's Terror.

Were 2018 excavations at Sandarmokh legal?

13 March 201918 August 2025 / editors (JC) / 1 Comment

As the prosecution continues to present its evidence of "new offences" by Yury DMITRIEV at his second trial in the Petrozavodsk City Court in Karelia, a related dispute is being pursued at the national level over the identity of those executed and buried at Sandarmokh. In early February, the Kommersant daily newspaper reported on this … Continue reading Were 2018 excavations at Sandarmokh legal?

Russia arrests second historian of Stalin’s Terror

3 October 201814 December 2020 / editors (JC)

It is becoming dangerous in Russia to investigate the crimes of Stalinism, writes Halya Coynash. A second Karelian historian, Sergei KOLTYRIN has been arrested and is facing charges almost identical to those now brought against political prisoner, Yury DMITRIEV. Sergei Koltyrin While the possibility cannot be excluded that there are real grounds for these new … Continue reading Russia arrests second historian of Stalin’s Terror