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85 years ago, on December 14, 1939, the Soviet Union was excluded from the League of Nations. This was a consequence of the Soviet attack on Finland on November 30, 1939.

The focus of Memorial has always been on the person. It is through the stories of specific, often unknown, people that Memorial’s unique perspective on 20th-century history is revealed. The research competition that Memorial has been holding for high school students for the past 20 years is dedicated to such stories and destinies. This is not just a tradition for us — it is our philosophy. It combines the historian’s rigorous study of sources and facts with deep, human empathy.

“Memory activism” is a recent term, and one that we are very fond of: the expression defines very neatly what we do at Memorial. We have put together a brief history of the term and what it represents.

On Monday, September 2, the KARTA Center in Poland issued a statement revealing that the center is on the verge of bankruptcy and about to cease its activities. Its board and staff notify that, since June 2024, it has been difficult for the organization to finance its projects and publications and to pay for maintaining its premises. The staff of KARTA Center have not received salaries for two months and yet continue to work, as they stay true to its main goal of documenting and popularizing history.

This year, Europe – and not only Europe – will commemorate the 85th anniversary of the outbreak of World War II. In the aftermath of the war, it seemed that humanity would never forget this tragedy and would be able to learn from it. For Russians, the phrase "as long as there is no war" became a kind of proverbial incantation for several generations.

Fifteen people were released from prison in Russia in a spectacular prisoner swap on 1 August, 2024, but hundreds and most likely thousands of political prisoners remain incarcerated. How many, exactly? The two well-known Russian organizations that keep count are Memorial and OVD-Info, whose estimates and criteria differ. Our colleagues explain what the numbers mean and why many more political prisoners remain unrecognized and uncounted.

The General Assembly of the International Memorial Association, established in 2023 by 15 Memorial organizations from different countries, was held this June.

In many Russian cities, local authorities have intensified their efforts to destroy name plaques marking the addresses of people caught up in the Stalinist Great Terror. Thousands of such plaques exist, set up by a widespread civil society movement called “Last Address”. Despite the campaign to destroy these sites of memory, activists are spontaneously working to restore the plaques. Memorial believes it is important to highlight these “small” acts of civic resistance.