Yesterday at 19:23
Oct. 30 marks a nationwide remembrance day for the victims of political repressions in Russia.
“This day means a lot to me, as I am one of those many millions whose families suffered from Communist repressions. However, I think it is even more important for the young generation. Take a look, it is very nice that many young ones are among those who gathered here today,” said Vladimir Lukin, Russia’s former human rights ombudsman.
The mourners gathered near the Solovetsky memorial stone in front of the headquarters of the Soviet secret service, the KGB, at Lubyanka Square in the center of Moscow. The stone was brought from the Solovki Islands in the north of Russia, where the first forced labor camp, a symbol of Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin’s Gulag system, was situated.
In recent years, Russia has been trying to rewrite history to paint Stalin as a national hero.
“This is not only a day of remembrance, but also a barrier for any return to human rights violations. This piece of history is a wound on the body of Russia,” said Tatyana Moskalkova, Russia’s human rights commissioner.
Today, participants at the ceremony read the names of more than a thousand people who are said to have been executed by the Soviet secret police, the NKVD, a precursor to the KGB, during Stalin’s regime.
“For me personally, this means a lot. My relatives suffered as well. That is why for me, both personally and as a citizen of the country, it is a very serious day,” said journalist Nikolai Svanidze.
Memorial is a historical society that researches previously classified information on the victims.
The group began organising the Returning the Names ceremony in 2007. Since then, it has read out less than half the names of known victims to date. Some estimates of the total numer of Stalin’s victims run into the tens of millions.
