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.

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.

On August 1, we waited with bated breath for news - and now what was very hard to believe has become a reality: the world-famous Russian political prisoners, among them our colleague and fellow Memorial member Oleg Orlov, have been released. They have been pardoned by Vladimir Putin’s secret decrees, they have finally been reunited with their loved ones, and their lives (one hopes!) are no longer in danger.

International Memorial Association's statement on February 24, 2023, one year after Russia's full-scale invasion into Ukraine

Today we are talking about Alexey Navalny’s tragic death in a Russian prison.

We are talking about a political murder with direct roots in the Soviet past.

Statement by human rights groups on the unjust verdict and sentence in politically motivated case against Russian human rights defender Oleg Orlov

The International Memorial Association is anxiously watching the violation of human rights in Russia and in the former Soviet Union. We call upon international communities, human rights activists in all the countries and the UN organs, to immediately demand the release of all political prisoners in Russia, stop prosecution for expressing anti-war opinions, and take all available legal and diplomatic measures to reach this goal.

Statement by the board of International Memorial and the Memorial Human Rights Center on February 24, 2022

Memorial cannot be “dissolved”, just as a human being cannot be deprived of their innate ability to keep memories and reflect. Memorial is more than an organization or a civic movement: it consists of people across the globe that share the same values and are willing to know the truth about their countries’ tragic past. That is why Memorial has survived and keeps going. On May 16, 2023, in Geneva, 15 Memorial branches operating in 9 countries formalized this, having established the International Memorial Association.