Returning the Names

“Returning the Names” is an annual commemorative event held by Memorial, dedicated to those who were exiled, arrested and killed by the Soviet state. It was first held in Moscow seventeen on 29 October 2007, one day before the annual Day of Remembrance for Victims of Political Repression. Since then, each 29 October people across Russia and elsewhere in the world come together to read aloud the names of those who tragically fell victim to Soviet state crimes.

In 2024, the annual event was held in over 100 cities worldwide.