Memorial employees were searched in connection with a criminal case regarding the rehabilitation of Nazism

Claims again caused lists of those repressed.

On March 3, 2023, a criminal case was opened against unnamed Memorial employees for the rehabilitation of Nazism. As it became known later, the claims of law enforcement agencies are related to the presence in the database of victims of political terror in the USSR published by Memorial the names of three people, one of whom, Rudolf Neimiller, was convicted of working in a German police detachment, and the other two, Pyotr Dolzhenkov and Petr Double - were military personnel convicted of treason.

The investigation qualified the actions of Memorial employees under paragraph “c” of Part 2 of Art. 354.1 of the Criminal Code (rehabilitation of Nazism on the Internet). The case is being investigated by the investigative department for the Tverskoy district of the capital department of the Investigative Committee of Russia.

On March 21, 2023, in connection with a criminal case, searches were carried out at the employees of the Memorial society and the Memorial Human Rights Protection Center, continuing the work of previously liquidated organizations: Oleg Orlov, Yan Rachinsky, Nikita Petrov, Alexandra Polivanova (and her mother), Irina Ostrovskaya, Galina Jordanskaya, Alexander Guryanov and Alena Kozlova. After the searches they were taken for interrogation. Law enforcement agencies also searched the premises of Memorial in Maly Karetny Lane and Karetny Ryad.

The reason for the persecution of Memorial was the appeal of the public movement “Veterans of Russia” to the Investigative Committee. According to the executive director of this movement, several persons involved in the case have been given the status of suspects. We also note that in January it was reported about a pre-investigation check under Art. 354.1 of the Criminal Code in relation to the former chairman of the board of International Memorial, Jan Rachinsky.

Let us remind you that “International Memorial”, which compiled lists of victims of repression, was liquidated on December 29, 2021. Attempts to bring similar accusations against him have taken place before. Check under Art. 354.1 of the Criminal Code in relation to the organization was carried out in early February 2022 - also at the request of “Veterans of Russia”, who discovered in the database of victims of political terror in the USSR people who collaborated with the Nazis.

“International Memorial” then pointed out that in the database of victims of repression there is no information about the previous or further biography of the persons mentioned, “whether they led an impeccable lifestyle or sinned - only information about illegal repressions for political reasons,” so, for example, some of the illegal those repressed before the war indeed subsequently collaborated with the Nazis, but “this in no way cancels the fact of illegal repression and rehabilitation.” 16 people out of 19 mentioned in the first appeal of “Veterans of Russia” were rehabilitated, information about the rehabilitation of three was not obvious. Four out of 19 people also appeared on the Ministry of Defense website “Memory of the People” - in the “War Heroes” section. At the same time, Memorial did not deny the presence of inevitable errors in the huge database of victims of repression.

These considerations can be extended to the subsequent charges in 2023. The names of Dolzhenkov and Dvoinykh (whom “Veterans of Russia” mentioned in the first complaint) were taken from the Book of Memory of the Republic of Tatarstan, and the compilers of the book had no information about the conclusion of the Kursk prosecutor’s office of January 2001, according to which Dolzhenkov and Dvoinykh could not be rehabilitated in connection with with the nature of their crimes. Naymiller, according to declassified FSB archives, admitted that he participated in the execution of civilians of Moldova by the Nazis, and was convicted for this in 1954. In the Memorial database he was listed as a special settler, a repressed German, and Memorial had no information about his involvement in collaboration and committing war crimes; The materials of the Naimiller case were declassified by the Russian FSB Directorate for the Arkhangelsk Region only in January 2023.

We emphasize that “International Memorial”, in its activities to preserve the historical memory of repressions in the USSR, never promoted or justified Nazism.

Sources

Diana R. Sherman. Searches, arrests and “rehabilitation of Nazism”: what Memorial is now accused of // SOTA. 2023. March 21.
Memorial’s case about the rehabilitation of Nazism appeared because of three names in the list of the “Victims of Political Terror of the USSR” database, created in 1998 // OVD-Info. 2023. March 21.
Former employees of the Memorial Society were taken for interrogation // Interfax. 2023. March 21.
Searches of Memorial residents: what is known at the moment // Full PC 2.0. Telegram. 2023. March 21.
A case was opened against members of “Memorial” for the rehabilitation of Nazism at the request of “Veterans of Russia” // TASS. 2023. March 15.
VChK-OGPU and TASS: A criminal case was opened against Memorial employees for the rehabilitation of Nazism // OVD-Info. 2023. March 4.
The Cheka-OGPU became aware of the initiation of a criminal case under the article of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation “Rehabilitation of Nazism” against employees of the human rights organization “Memorial” // VChK-OGPU. Telegram. 2023. March 4.
Today, from the telegram channel of the Cheka-OGPU, we learned that a criminal case has been opened against “unidentified employees of the International Public Organization International Historical, Educational, Charitable and Human Rights Society “Memorial” under the article of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation “Rehabilitation of Nazism” // Memorial Society. 2023. March 4.
Nikita Petrov: “The International Memorial was liquidated by the decision of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation more than a year ago // Memorial Society. Telegram. 2023. March 4.