Yan Rachinsky and Oleg Orlov from the Memorial Society, which has been recognized as a foreign agent and liquidated, are witnesses in a case related to the rehabilitation of Nazism. The organization representatives announced this on their Telegram channel. A criminal case was initiated against unidentified employees of the center on March 3rd regarding the rehabilitation of Nazism. During the investigation, a man was found in the lists of victims of political terror who had been sentenced to camps for working in a German police detachment and two more people for treason by military personnel. On March 21st, searches were carried out at the homes of Memorial employees in Moscow, including Oleg Orlov, Yan Rachinsky, and other officials. Earlier, a criminal case was opened against Oleg Orlov for reposting an article in his Facebook profile related to the armed forces. Investigators are downloading the Memorial archive as part of the search. Anastasia Larina wrote this content.
Yan Rachinsky, Chairman of the Board of the Memorial Society (recognized as a foreign agent and liquidated), and Oleg Orlov, Chairman of the Board of the organization, are witnesses in the case of the rehabilitation of Nazism. Representatives of the organization reported this on the Telegram channel.
As representatives of “Memorial” reported with reference to the decision, the criminal case “against unidentified employees” of the center was initiated on March 3. The investigation found in the lists of victims of political terror a man sentenced to camps for working in a German police detachment, and two more people “for treason by military personnel.”
At seven o’clock in the morning on March 21, searches were carried out at the homes of Memorial employees in Moscow: Oleg Orlov, Yan Rachinsky, deputy chairman of the center Nikita Petrov, mother of Memorial Moscow representative Alexandra Polivanova, as well as Irina Ostrovskaya, Galina Jordanskaya and Alena Kozlova. In addition, searches took place in the building of the human rights center on Maly Karetny in Moscow.
Earlier, a criminal case was opened against Oleg Orlov under the article on repeated discrediting of the armed forces (part 1 of article 280.3 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). The case was initiated because of the repost of an article in his Facebook profile (owned by Meta, which is recognized as extremist in the Russian Federation and banned) of his own article “They wanted fascism. They got it.” He was released on bail.
How lawyers and historians of a liquidated society were searched in the case of the rehabilitation of Nazism – “Investigators are downloading the Memorial archive.”
These recent events involving the Russian organization, Memorial, have sparked concerns among human rights activists and historians alike. The search of their offices and homes, along with the criminal case against its leaders, raise questions about the government’s motives and the potential risk to the preservation of history and memory. As the investigation continues, it remains to be seen how this will impact the work of Memorial and those who seek to honor the victims of political terror and promote human rights in Russia.