“A nice birthday present for Putin! » Sergueï Prodovski, 73, has a humble and ironic joy at the same time. Among so many other anonymous volunteers, this ordinary Russian citizen spent part of his retirement in the KGB archives. First to discover the past of his grandfather. But above all to draw up lists of other victims of the Soviet gulags. “Endless work. But today, he is rewarded! », he smiled. This Friday, October 7, Memorial, the emblematic Russian NGO for which he works, received the Nobel Peace Prize.
Considered one of the pillars of Russian civil society, created in 1989 by Andrei Sakharov (himself a Nobel Peace Prize winner), Memorial has multiplied research, programs and exhibitions for more than three decades to maintain the memory of the Soviet repressions, minimized under the regime of President Vladimir Putin.
Chance of the calendar, the NGO learned of its Nobel the day when the head of the Kremlin celebrates his 70th birthday. An anniversary celebrated under a shower of official praise. But for Memorial, Vladimir Putin’s quarter century of power has been a long way of the cross, a succession of political repressions and legal proceedings. Last winter, a Russian court ordered the dissolution of Memorial for violations of a controversial law on “foreign agents”.
“A huge recognition”
Almost a year later, the judicial tunnel continues. Another coincidence of the calendar, the announcement of the Nobel Peace Prize came as the NGO found itself again before the judge. At the Tverskoy court in Moscow, a hearing was held on the subject of the possible confiscation of the organization’s offices. Quite a symbol: this is where, in the past, exhibitions and conferences were held. “The minute the whole world congratulates us on the Nobel Prize, there is a trial to seize our premises”, denounced the Memorial Human Rights Center.
“It’s important to be here today,” blows to the hearing Irina Galkova, another figure of Memorial. Previously, she had attended the entire trial against Yuri Dmitriev. The NGO historian, whose work unearthed Stalin’s crimes and listed 40,000 victims executed during the terror, was sentenced last year to 13 years in prison for sexual violence against a child. A case widely seen as fabricated to intimidate those who do not follow the official reading of the story.
“When I learned that we were receiving the Nobel Prize, I had tears in my eyes.raconte Irina Galkova. It is an important moment at a time when the whole system prevents us from functioning. A huge recognition of our work! » But, like others in the courtroom and among Memorial leaders, she does not hide her concern: this international prize, awarded jointly to Belarusian human rights activist Ales Bialiatski and the Center for Civil Liberties of Ukraine, will be denigrated by the Kremlin and its televisions. In the eyes of the authorities and public opinion, Memorial will remain above all “a fifth column agent”.