Russia’s Supreme Court has designated the human rights organization Memorial as an “extremist” entity, effectively banning its activities across the country.
The ruling followed a closed hearing on April 9, 2026, in which the court granted a request from the Ministry of Justice. The government utilized the term “International public movement Memorial” as a catch-all designation to ensure the ban encompasses all Memorial-related organizations and their affiliated activities.
Criminalization of Human Rights Documentation
The “extremist” label shifts the legal status of Memorial from a liquidated entity to a criminalized one. Under the latest designation, the Russian authorities may prosecute individuals for liking or sharing Memorial’s materials on social media. Any reference to the organization in publications that fails to explicitly mention its “extremist” status may now be treated as a criminal act.
Denis Krivosheev, Amnesty International’s Eastern Europe and Central Asia Deputy Regional Director, stated that the move targets one of the country’s oldest civil society organizations and a co-winner of the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize. Krivosheev argued that the designation serves to criminalize human rights work itself and represents an attempt by the Kremlin to erase extensive archives of human rights violations from the public domain.
By labelling Memorial as ‘extremist,’ the authorities are not just targeting one of Russia’s oldest civil society organizations and co-winner of the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize, they are criminalizing human rights work itself.
— Denis Krivosheev, Amnesty International
Institutional Role and History
Founded during the late Soviet era, Memorial has spent nearly four decades documenting state-sponsored repression. Its work includes the cataloging of victims from Stalin’s GULAG system and the reporting of human rights abuses during conflicts in Chechnya, Georgia, and Ukraine. The organization has similarly documented the arbitrary detention of political opponents and critics of the Kremlin.
Amnesty International noted that Memorial has continued its operations despite facing severe reprisals, including the detention and killing of its staff members.
Chronology of Legal Restrictions
The Supreme Court’s decision is the latest step in a multi-year campaign to dismantle the organization. In May 2014, the Russia-based Human Rights Centre Memorial was first designated as a “foreign agent.” This status was subsequently extended to several other Memorial branches and approximately 20 individual staff members.
In December 2021, both International Memorial and the Human Rights Centre Memorial were liquidated by the state for alleged violations of the “foreign agents” law. More recently, in February 2026, the Ministry of Justice added the German foundation Zukunft Memorial and the Switzerland-based Memorial International Association to the list of “undesirable organizations.”
Amnesty International has called on the Russian authorities to reverse the Supreme Court’s decision and restore the ability of human rights groups to operate in accordance with Russia’s obligations under international human rights law.
