Russia Bans Nobel Peace Prize-Winning Rights Organization
Memorial, founded under the Soviet Union, is one of Russia’s oldest rights organizations (Dmitry Borko//Wikimedia Commons).
Russia’s Supreme Court ruled that the Memorial human rights organization is an “extremist movement” on April 9, banning it from operating in the country, according to Reuters. Memorial was founded under a different name in 1987 in the Soviet Union to document Soviet repression and hold its perpetrators accountable, per Encyclopedia Britannica. It played an important role in Russia’s transition to democracy in the 1990s, working with the government to implement reforms including the rehabilitation of Soviet political prisoners. Under Russian President Vladimir Putin’s rule, the government distanced itself from the organization while ramping up political repression against regime opponents.
Memorial, along with other organizations, like OVD-Info, helped aid victims of political repression, including queer people and those arrested at anti-government protests. The Russian government previously deemed Memorial to be a “foreign agent” in 2016, a label which paints members of Russia’s internal opposition as foreign enemies. The Supreme Court also previously ordered the closure of Memorial in 2021, mere months before its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Memorial was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2022, jointly with a Belarusian activist and Ukrainian rights organization.
In its ruling, the Supreme Court stated that Memorial is “clearly anti-Russian in nature and [is] aimed at destroying the basic foundations of Russian statehood, violating its territorial integrity, and eroding historical, cultural, spiritual, and moral values,” according to Reuters. Memorial released a statement condemning the ruling and pledging to continue its work from outside Russia, according to Meduza. The “extremist movement” designation applied to Memorial is notoriously vague and has previously been applied to the so-called “international LGBT movement,” which does not exist. In practice, it allows the state to persecute anyone it wants as an extremist.