Lectures: 79
In a new session of Dialogues of Memory, three prominent Russian press freedom and human rights activists held a conversation with international analyst Paz Zárate.
They are Kirill Martynov, deputy editor-in-chief of the newspaper Novaya Gazeta Europa, awarded the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize; Pavel Andreyev, member of the board of directors of the NGO Memorial, distinguished with the Nobel Peace Prize 2022; and Konstantin Eggert, an independent Russian journalist and political analyst, who are on an international tour to publicize the current situation in their country.
The delegation was received by the president of the Museum’s board of directors, Marcia Scantlebury, and by the executive director, María Francisca García, after which they took a tour of the Museum’s main exhibition, in which they were especially interested in the judicial processes carried out carried out after the dictatorship.
During the subsequent discussion, convened around the theme “Armed conflicts, human rights and freedom of expression”, the activists referred to the severe limitations on freedom of information and the difficult conditions for the press that currently exist in Russia, including the Restrictions imposed on the use of social networks and the Internet.
They also agreed that the current war campaign in Ukraine is a survival strategy for Vladimir Putin, which has a high cost for the Russian people.
The activity was attended by the EU ambassador in Chile, León de la Torre, representatives of the diplomatic corps and civil society organizations, as well as members of the Museum’s board of directors.
The Novaya Gazeta newspaper is known for its investigative, objective and often critical coverage of political and social issues in Russia. Seven of its journalists have been killed in the line of their professional work since 2000. In 2022, one month after the start of the invasion of Ukraine, the Russian government suspended Novaya Gazeta’s website and then banned it from publishing online and in paper, forcing it to close, accused of spreading false news.
The NGO Memorial was founded in 1987 in the former Soviet Union, and its mission is historical research and the defense of civil rights, operating today in Russia and several post-Soviet states. During its early years, Memorial documented the victims of crimes committed during the Stalinist era. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, he continued his work focusing on human rights violations in Russia.
In 2016, the Russian government declared Memorial a foreign agent, and in 2021 the Russian Supreme Court ruled that Memorial International, part of the NGO dedicated to investigating the purges committed in the Soviet era, should be liquidated by having defended the rights of people who allegedly had links to terrorist organizations. In 2022, one month after the invasion of Ukraine began, the Russian government outlawed Memorial and forcibly took possession of its offices.
