Closure of the Russian Gulag History Museum Amid Pressure on NGOs

The Russian government has officially closed the Gulag History Museum in Moscow, dedicated to the repressions during the Soviet era and the system of forced labor camps under Joseph Stalin, as of November 15, citing "safety violations". Although this closure is said to be "temporary", in recent years, alongside pressure on non-governmental organizations, the Russian government has imposed severe restrictions on those researching Soviet history. Several Russian historians known for their research on the disappearances during Stalin's terror have been sentenced to prison, memorial stones for the victims of government terror from that period are being removed, and ceremonies held in recent years to commemorate these events have been banned. In contrast, over 100 statues of Stalin have been re-erected in Russian cities, and a group of Russian parliament members has called for the revival of the Gulag. The Gulag system, particularly during Stalin's terror, was a place of exile and imprisonment for political and cultural elites. Those suspected of not being loyal to Joseph Stalin were accused of "treason" and sentenced to execution or imprisonment in the Gulag. It is reported that between 1921 and 1953, at least 16 million people fell victim to this system; at least 1.7 million people died in Gulag camps. After Stalin's death, especially with the onset of perestroika led by Mikhail Gorbachev, many of these individuals were exonerated. "The Gulag Archipelago" by Alexander Solzhenitsyn is the most famous artistic-historical research collection from that era, with tens of millions of copies sold worldwide. In 1970, Solzhenitsyn won the Nobel Prize. In 2001, Anton Antonov-Ovsyenko, another historian and writer who experienced years of imprisonment in Stalin's camps, initiated the establishment of the Gulag History Museum in Moscow. This museum operated for over twenty years in Moscow and in 2021, a few months before the start of Russia's war against Ukraine and the intensification of repression against Kremlin opponents, the Council of Europe awarded this museum a special prize for "keeping alive the memory of the victims of political repression and human rights violations". Government documents alongside photographs, letters, and items of Gulag prisoners formed the main sections of this museum's permanent exhibition. However, now the museum's website displays a notice of "temporary" closure. According to this statement, the museum's activities have been suspended "to identify fire safety violations". The statement adds that "addressing safety deficiencies to ensure visitor comfort is essential". No timeline has been specified for completing the necessary work and reopening the museum. Those who purchased tickets in advance will be refunded. The Moscow News Agency, which belongs to the municipal government of the Russian capital, claimed that the existing problems stem from the location of a metro ventilation shaft within the museum grounds and that in the event of a fire, smoke could disrupt the operation of the Moscow metro ventilation system. This issue had never raised concerns among Russian officials in the past twenty years. According to the Moscow Times, an opposition publication, the reason for the closure of the Gulag Museum is not safety but political. Unnamed sources have told this publication that "the Presidential Administration and the Russian Security Service" requested the closure of the Gulag Museum. The Moscow Times recalls that two years ago, the Moscow Documentary Film Center was "temporarily" closed on the same grounds of fire regulation violations and has not resumed operations since. An opposition Telegram channel speculated that the closure of the Gulag Museum was due to official dissatisfaction with the holding of a memorial ceremony for the victims of the repression at this museum two weeks ago. The "Return of Names" ceremony is held on the eve of the memorial day for victims of political repression on October 29 (Aban 8). During this ceremony, which has been held annually for the past sixteen years at the initiative of the "Memorial" organization, participants gather in various cities to remember their family members who were killed during Stalin's era. However, this year, Moscow officials reportedly banned the ceremony due to restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Simultaneously, Roskomnadzor, the agency overseeing communications, information technology, and mass media, blocked access to the website of the ceremony organizers. Since the perestroika era and especially after the collapse of the Soviet Union, documents from the terror era, particularly during Joseph Stalin's rule, have been made available to the public. Mikhail Gorbachev emphasized that exposing the crimes of Stalin's era is essential for democratizing society. Boris Yeltsin also made significant efforts to reveal the crimes of Lenin and Stalin, resulting in a plethora of research on this topic. However, with Vladimir Putin's rise to power, this trajectory changed, and although he did not take steps to improve the image of Soviet dictators in the early years of his presidency, he believed that the achievements of the Soviet Union should be the focus, rather than "some flaws of that period". He has repeatedly referred to Stalin as a "great leader" while acknowledging the widespread repression in the Soviet Union. Since the beginning of Putin's presidency, over 100 statues honoring Joseph Stalin have been erected in various Russian cities. In recent years, especially since the start of Russia's war against Ukraine, the Russian government has focused on rewriting history and prohibiting the commemoration of the victims of the former Soviet Union's terror. In 2021, the human rights organization "Memorial", which won the Nobel Peace Prize, was shut down in Russia. The following year, the activities of the human rights organizations "Sova" and "Moscow Helsinki Group", as well as the Andrei Sakharov Center, were also banned. Memorial stones with the names of Stalin's victims that were installed on their former homes have been removed. About two months ago, the Attorney General of Russia ordered a review of the process of reviving the memory of the victims of Soviet Union repression. It has been stated that those accused of "treason" and "collaborating with the Nazis" "should still be considered guilty". This is while historians believe that the accusation of treason was often a pretext for suppressing dissent. Recently, the Attorney General's office announced that the exoneration of over four thousand individuals previously recognized as victims of Stalin's era has been revoked. Several Duma representatives have stated that they are calling for the revival of the Gulag, "at least until the death penalty is reinstated in Russia". A few days ago, the head of the Human Rights Council under the President of Russia stated that there is no political repression in the country. In the list of political prisoners in Russia, updated by the "Memorial" organization, the names of over one thousand individuals are recorded; over another thousand are being prosecuted for political reasons.