Free Yury Dmitriev! Libertà per Jurij Dmitriev

03.06.2020

Free Yury Dmitriev!
(Italian text below)

Historian, archaeologist and chronicler of Gulag and Great Terror

Since the late 1980s, Yury Dmitriev has actively investigated the history of the Gulag in his native Karelia (northwest Russia). 

His work on the White Sea-Baltic Canal (1931-1933), built by camp prisoners and exiled peasants (special settlers), is invaluable and of the highest academic quality. Dmitriev has not simply researched the history of forced labour: he has also compiled several Books of Remembrance, recording the names of thousands who died in the camps or were shot and buried by the Soviet regime in Karelia. 

As leader of several archaeological expeditions, seeking the killing fields of Stalin’s Great Terror, Dmitriev has located several sites of mass execution and burial. In July 1997, with Veniamin Iofe and Irina Flige of St Petersburg Memorial, he found the largest of them all, Sandormokh near Medvezhegorsk, where more than 7,000 victims of Stalin’s Great Terror were shot and buried in unmarked graves in 1937 and 1938. Soon after, guided by Ivan and Sergei Chugunkov, Dmitriev found Krasny Bor, not far from Petrozavodsk. Thanks to Dmitriev’s tireless and meticulous work in the archives almost all the 1,297 men and women shot and buried at Krasny Bor have been named. In subsequent years both sites became the focus of annual Days of Remembrance, 30 October at Krasny Bor and 5 August at Sandormokh.

Arrest, trial and acquittal, 2016-2018

Dmitriev has received national and international recognition for his remarkable work over the past quarter century. On 13 December 2016, however, he was arrested and charged with child pornography. On 5 April 2018, after months in detention, before and during his lengthy trial, Dmitriev was fully acquitted of this charge. Statements by experts and other witnesses called by the defence made it clear beyond any reasonable doubt that Dmitriev had not engaged in the production of pornographic material; he himself was of sound mind and had no paedophile tendencies.

Nevertheless, in June 2018 the Supreme Court of Karelia overturned the verdict and ordered a second trial. Dmitriev was re-arrested and is currently in custody, as the slow-moving, second trial proceeds. If convicted, Dmitriev faces a sentence of up to 15 years in a penal colony.

A Memory War

The Gulag and Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin are today at the centre of a «Memory War» in Russia in which the history of the past comes back to trouble the present. Even the identity of those shot and buried at Sandormokh has been disputed. The arrest and prosecution of Yury Dmitriev in December 2016 caught the imagination of the public in Russia and ever since there has been a nationwide campaign to secure his release and complete exoneration.

For more detail on all these issues, see the Dmitriev Affair website.

Appeal and Petition

With this letter we join the hundreds of Russian intellectuals, activists and citizens who have expressed their full support for Dmitriev and for others targeted with arrest and other intimidatory acts for their part in documenting the history of the USSR. 

We call for Dmitriev’s immediate release. He must be allowed to resume his research on the history of the Gulag and his work to name and commemorate the victims of that system. 

We ask that academic freedom be guaranteed to Dmitriev and to all researchers and NGOs active in the field.

 

Libertà per Jurij Dmitriev

Chi è Jurij Dmitriev

Jurij Dmitriev è uno storico russo, specialista della storia del gulag. A partire dagli anni ottanta, Dmitriev ha lavorato sulla storia del Gulag nella sua nativa Carelia. 

La sua attività scientifica, in particolar modo quella relativa al Canale Mar Baltico-Mar Bianco, costruito negli anni 1931-33 utilizzando principalmente il lavoro forzato dei prigionieri dei campi sovietici e costato migliaia di vite, è di inestimabile qualità e valore. Jurij Dmitriev non si è solo limitato alla ricerca storica, compilando numerosi martirologi contenenti i nomi di migliaia di vittime dei campi sovietici in Carelia e producendo pubblicazioni basate su materiali d’archivio, ma è andato oltre, lanciandosi in ricerche archeologiche sul campo per trovare i luoghi di sepoltura di molte vittime dei gulag. È così che, assieme a Veniamin Iofe e Irina Flige, Dmitriev ha scoperto nel 1997 Sandormoch, un luogo nascosto nel fitto delle foreste della Carelia, dove circa settemila vittime del Grande Terrore staliniano sono state fucilate e seppellite tra il 1937 e il 1938. Nello stesso anno Dmitriev ha scoperto (assieme all’aiuto di Ivan e Sergej Čugunkov) un altro luogo di sepoltura in Carelia, Krasnyj Bor, dove sono seppellite un migliaio di vittime. Grazie al suo lavoro di ricerca, tutte le 1297 vittime di Krasnyj Bor sono state identificate, caso raro nella storia del Gulag. 

Dmitriev ha proseguito la sua attività di ricerca, accompagnandola a quella sociale, diventando una delle figure più importanti nel lavoro di preservazione della memoria delle vittime dei gulag, soprattutto in occasione delle giornate della memoria organizzate ogni anno a Sandormoch (il 5 agosto) e Krasnyj Bor (il 30 ottobre).

L’arresto, il processo, l’assoluzione e il nuovo processo

Il 13 dicembre 2016 Jurij Dmitriev è stato arrestato e accusato di produzione di materiale pedopornografico. Dmitriev è stato assolto con formula piena dalle accuse di pedofilia il 5 aprile 2018, dopo le numerose testimonianze a suo favore, sia dei testimoni chiamati dalla difesa, sia degli esperti chiamati a intervenire, che hanno stabilito senza ombra di dubbio l’innocenza dello storico riguardo all’accusa di aver prodotto materiale pornografico, l’assenza di tendenze pedofile in Dmitriev e la sua totale integrità mentale. 

Nel giugno 2018 la Corte Suprema della Carelia ha annullato il verdetto e ordinato un secondo processo. Dmitriev è stato nuovamente arrestato ed è attualmente in carcere in attesa di giudizio. Rischia una condanna fino a 15 anni in una colonia penale. 

La guerra di memoria sul gulag

Il Gulag e la figura di Stalin sono oggi al centro di una «guerra di memoria» in Russia, in cui il passato torna ad agitare il presente. Anche l’identità delle vittime di Sandormoch viene oggi messa in discussione. L’arresto di Dmitriev e il processo a suo carico sono diventate un caso pubblico in Russia, scatenando l’indignazione di molti cittadini, che hanno avviato una campagna in suo favore. Per chiunque volesse saperne di più, il sito dmitrievaffair.com contiene numerosi materiali in inglese sul caso.

Appello e petizione

Con questa lettera ci uniamo alle voci di centinaia di intellettuali, attivisti e cittadini russi nell’esprimere il nostro pieno sostegno per Jurij Dmitriev e per tutti i mediatori di memoria colpiti da arresti e altri atti intimidatori. 

Chiediamo che Dmitriev venga subito rilasciato e messo in condizione di proseguire il suo fondamentale lavoro di ricerca e sociale sulla storia e sulla memoria delle vittime del gulag. 

Chiediamo che sia garantita la libertà accademica a Dmitriev e a tutti i ricercatori e ONG impegnati nella ricerca sulle repressioni sovietiche e nella preservazione della memoria delle vittime.

Signatories / Firmatari

Academics

Dott. Agnese Accattoli, Ricercatrice di lingua e traduzione russa, Università di Roma Tre (Italy)

Dott.ssa Noemi Albanese, Docente a contratto, Università degli studi di Roma 'Tor Vergata' (Italy)

Dott.ssa Ilaria Aletto, Docente a contratto di Letteratura Russa, Università degli Studi Roma Tre (Italy)

Golfo Alexopoulos Director, Institute on Russia Professor, School of Interdisciplinary Global Studies University of South Florida (USA)

Prof. PhD. Stefano Aloe, Associate Professor in Russian Literature and Slavic Studies, University of Verona (Italy)

Gulmira Amangalieva, Fellow journalist at Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism, University of Oxford (UK)

Prof. John Anderson, Professor of International Politics, University of St Andrews (UK)

Konstantin Andreev, Lecturer in English, Dalarna University (Sweden)

Prof. Hugh Nicholas Anson Willcox, Emeritus Professor of Neurosciences, University of Oxford (UK)

Dr Elisabeth Anstett, senior researcher, CNRS (France)

Dr Daniele Artoni, Researcher in Russian, University of Verona (Italy)

Laura Atie, PhD – Humanities Dpt. Philosophy & Dpt. Arts, Spectacles, Media and Communication, Teacher, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Milano (Italy)

Dr. Martin Aust, professor of Eastern European and Russia History, University of Bonn (Germany) 

Prof. Paolo Baldan, Associate professor, University of Padua (Italy) 

Prof. Andrea Baravelli, Lecturer in Contemporary History, University of Ferrara (Italy)

Dr. Alan Barenberg, Associate Professor of History, Texas Tech University (USA)

Dr John Bates, Lecturer in Polish and Russian, University of Glasgow (UK)

Prof. Annette Becker, Professor of Contemporary History, University Paris-Nanterre (France)

Dr. Davor Beganović, Lecturer for South-Slavic languages and literatures, Universität Tübingen (Germany)

Dr. Wilson T. Bell, Associate Professor, Department of Philosophy, History, and Politics, Thompson Rivers University (USA)

Tomas Benevento, dottore di ricerca, Università di Verona (Italy)

Prof. Stefano Beretta, Docente di Letteratura tedesca, Università di Parma (Italy)

Prof. Maria Luisa Betri, professore ordinario in pensione, Università degli Studi di Milano (Italy)

Dr David Blackman, Senior Research Fellow, University of Oxford (UK)

Dr Renate Blankenhorn, Lecturer /Linguist, VHS Pankow Berlin (Germany)

Marina Bogdanova, Tutor in Russian, University of Oxford, Language Centre (UK)

Dr Zuzanna Bogumił, sociologists, The Maria Grzegorzewska University in Warsaw (Poland)

Prof. Michaela Böhmig, professor, formerly University of Naples «L’Orientale» (Italy)

Prof. Anna Bonola, Professore Ordinario di Slavistica, Università Cattolica, Milano (Italy)

Prof. Bruno Bonomo, professore associato di Storia contemporanea, Sapienza Università di Roma (Italy)

Prof. Elena Bonora, Professore Ordinario di Storia Moderna, Università degli Studi di Parma (Italy)

Dr Philip Boobbyer, Historian/university lecturer, University of Kent (UK)

Dott. Manuel Boschiero, Ricercatore Slavistica, Università di Verona (Italy)

Prof. Bill Bowring, FAcSS, Barrister, Director of the LLM/MA in Human Rights, Director of Mooting, School of Law, Birkbeck College, University of London (UK)

Dr Joan Bridgwood, Professor Emeritus, Language Dept, Clemson University (USA) 

Prof. Giovanna Brogi, Professore emerito, Università di Milano (Italy)

Dr Wayles Browne, Prof. emeritus of Linguistics, Cornell University (USA)

Dr. Anja Burghardt, Associate Professor, Munich University (Germany)

Prof. Marco Buttino, Professor of Contemporary History, University of Turin (Italy)

Prof. Daniela Luigia Caglioti, Professore di Storia Contemporanea, Università di Napoli FedericoII $3 (Italy)

Prof. Raffaele Caldarelli, prof. associato di Slavistica (L-LIN/21) – Università della Tuscia (Italy)

Prof. Maurizia Calusio, Professore a contratto di Lingua e letteratura russa, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Milano (Italy)

Erica Camisa Morale, PhD candidate, University of Southern California (USA)

Prof. Mario Caramitti, professore associato università di Roma – la Sapienza (Italy)

Rosa Caroli, professoressa ordinaria in Storia e istituzioni dell'Asia, Università Ca' Foscari di Venezia (Italy)

Dr. Mihail Chiru, Lecturer in East European Politics, Russian and East European Studies, Oxford School of Global and Area Studies, University of Oxford (UK)

Prof. Ettore Cinnella, docente di Storia in pensione, Università di Pisa (Italy)

Prof. Simon Clarke, Emeritus Professor, University of Warwick (UK)

Dr. Molly Cochran, Reader in International Relations, Oxford Brookes (UK)

J M Coetzee, Professorial Research Fellow, University of Adelaide, Nobel Laureate, 2003 (Australia)

Prof. Yves Cohen, Directeur d'études (professor), École des Hautes Études en Sciences sociales, Paris (France) 

John Conner, Adjunct professor of creative writing, Southern New Hampshire University (USA)

Gabriella Corona, Primo ricercatore dell'Istituto di studi sulle Società del Mediterraneo del CNR di Napoli (Italy)

Dr Laurent Coumel, Assistant professor in History, National Institute of Oriental Languages and Civilizations, Paris (France)

Stephane Courtois, historian, specialist of communism, responsable of The Black Book of Communism, Centre national de la recherche scientifique (France)

Marta Craveri, Researcher at the Centre d'études des mondes russe, caucasien et centre-européen (CERCEC), Paris (France)

Prof. Julie Curtis, Professor of Russian Literature, University of Oxford (UK)

Dr Jonathan Davis, Senior Lecturer in History, Anglia Ruskin University (UK)

Dr Andrea De Carlo, Professore a contratto di Lingua e Letteratura Polacca, Università di Napoli L'Orientale (Italy)

Dott.ssa Giulia De Florio, Ricercatrice di Lingua e letteratura russa, Università degli Studi di Modena e Reggio Emilia (Italy)

Prof. Dott. Fabio Degli Esposti, Associate Professor of Contemporary History, Università di Modena e Reggio Emilia (Italy)

Prof.ssa Cinzia De Lotto, Docente di Lingua e Letteratura Russa (attualmente in pensione), Università di Verona (Italy)

Prof. Judith Devlin, Professor Emerita of History, University College Dublin (Ireland)

Prof. Cristiano Diddi, Università degli Studi di Salerno, Presidente della Associazione Italiana Slavisti (Italy)

Dott.ssa Annalisa Di Santo, Dottoranda in Studi letterari, linguistici e comparati, Università degli studi di Napoli «L'Orientale» (Italy)

Maria Luisa Dodero, già Docente di Letteratura e cultura russa Università di Torino e Genova (Italy)

Gregory Dufaud, assistant professor, IEP Lyon (France)

Prof.ssa Elena Dundovich, Teacher at the Department of Political Sciences, University of Pisa (Italy) 

Dr. Christine Dupont, PhD History, scientific collaborator, Université libre de Bruxelles (Belgium)

Prof. Alexander Etkind, Department of History and Civilisation, European University Institute, Florence (Italy)

Dr. Mois Faion, Senior Fellow, Center for the Study of Democracy, Sofia (Bulgaria)

Dott. Alessandro Farsetti, Ricercatore in Letteratura russa, Università Ca' Foscari di Venezia (Italy)

Gilles Favarel-Garrigues, Professor, Political science, Sciences Po, Paris (France)

Dr. Gero Fedtke, Wissenschaftlicher Koordinator, Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena (Germany)

Prof. Paola Ferretti, Professore Associato, Letteratura russa, Università Sapienza di Roma (Italy)

Prof. Francesca Fici, Università di Firenze (Italy)

Prof.ssa Monica Fioravanzo, Professoressa di storia contemporanea, Università degli Studi di Padova (Italy)

Dr. Felicitas Fischer von Weikersthal, Lecturer in Eastern European History, University of Heidelberg (Germany)

Dr. Anne O. Fisher, Senior Lecturer, Translation and Interpreting Studies, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (USA)

Prof. Marcello Flores, Professore ordinario, Storia comparata, Università di Siena (Italy)

Dr Anna Frajlich-Zajac, Senior Lecturer Emerita, Department of Slavic Languages, Associate Faculty Member, Harriman Institute, Columbia University (USA)

Prof. Roberto Francavilla, Professore Associato di Lusitanistica, Università di Genova (Italy)

Dott.ssa Elena Freda Piredda, docente di lingua russa, Università Cattolica del sacro Cuore di Milano (Italy)

Michelangelo Freyrie, Researcher, Hertie School of Governance, Berlin, (Germany)

Dr. Ines Garcia de la Puente, Visiting Assistant Professor, Boston University (USA) 

Prof. Jefferson Gatrall, Associate Professor, Coordinator of the Russian Program, Montclair State University (USA)

Prof. Lucyna Gebert, Professor of Slavonic Studies, Sapienza University of Roma (Italy)

Julie Gerber, PhD student in Philology, University of Strasbourg (France)

Dott.ssa Francesca Ghezzi, Titolare di borsa professionalizzante presso le Edizioni della Normale, Scuola Normale Superiore (Italy)

Prof. Maria Candida Ghidini, Professore Associato di Letteratura russa, Università degli Studi di Parma (Italy)

Prof. Gianfranco Giraudo, Professore ordinario di Filologia slava in quiescenza, Università Ca' Foscari di Venezia (Italy)

Prof. Giuseppina Giuliano, Professoressa associata di Lingua e Letteratura russa, Università degli Studi di Salerno (Italy)

Olga Gleiser Dipl. Phil. Universität Germersheim-Mainz und Julius-Maximilians-Universität (Germany)

Dr. Piotr Górecki, Professor of History, University of California, Riverside (USA)

Prof. Andrea Graziosi, Università di Napoli FedericoII $3 (Italy)

Dr Eugenia Gresta, Docente di lingua e letteratura russa, SSML Carlo Bo, Roma (Italy) 

Prof. Gabriella Gribaudi, Professore in Storia contemporanea, Università di Napoli FedericoII $3 (Italy)

Prof. Dr. Frank Grüner, Professor of East European History, Bielefeld University (Germany)

Dott. Simone Guagnelli, Ricercatore in Lingua Letteratura e Cultura russa, Università di Bari (Italy)

Dr Andrea Gullotta, Lecturer in Russian, University of Glasgow (UK)

Jeffrey S. Hardy, Associate Professor, History Department, Brigham Young University (USA)

Jane Henderson (Mrs), Senior Lecturer in Law (rtrd), Affiliate, School of Law, King’s College London (UK)

Mrs Karen Hewitt MBE, Tutor in Literature, University of Oxford and Chair of the Oxford Perm Association (UK)

Dr Kelly Hignett, Senior Lecturer in History, Leeds Beckett University (UK)

Dr Jana Howlett, Emeritus Lecturer and Fellow in Russian History, Jesus College, University of Cambridge (UK)

Prof. Dr. Habil. Iskra Hristova-Shomova, Sofia University «St. Kliment Ohridski» (Bulgaria)

Dr Anne Hartmann, Assistant Researcher and Lecturer, University of Bochum (Germany)

Prof. Dan Healey, Professor of Modern Russian History, University of Oxford (UK)

Mikhail Iampolski, professor, New York University (USA)

Federico Iocca, Teacher of Russian Literature, University of Florence (Italy)

Dr Viktoria Ivleva, Assistant Professor, Durham University (UK)

Prof. Krystyna Jaworska, Professor of Polish Language and literature, Università di Torino (Italy)

Dr. Piotr M. Jaworski, SFHEA Lecturer in Economics, Edinburgh Napier University (UK)

Prof. Bogumil Jewsiewicki, professeur émérite, Université Laval, Quebec (Canada)

Véronique Jobert, Professeur émérite de l'université de Paris-Sorbonne (France)

Luba Jurgenson, Professeur de littérature russe à Sorbonne Université (France)

Dr. Antony Kalashnikov, SSHRC Postdoctoral Fellow in History, University of Alberta (Canada) 

Aurélia Kalisky, researcher at the ZfL (Leibniz-Zentrum für Literatur- und Kulturforschung), Berlin (Germany)

Anne Kaun, Associate Professor in Media and Communication Studies, Södertörn University (Sweden)

Prof. Dr. Mario Kessler, Historian, Leibniz Center for Contemporary History, Potsdam (Germany)

Dr Nataliya Kibita, History Researcher, University of Edinburgh (UK)

Dr Katharina Klingseis, Assistant Professor, Institute of Slavic Languages, Vienna University of Economics and Business (Austria)

Prof. Michael Knapton, historian (retired), Udine University (Italy) 

Emilia Koustova, PhD, Associate professor of Russian history, Department of Slavonic Studies, Strasbourg University (France)

Dr. Roman Krivko, Institut für Slawistik, Universität Wien (Austria)

Marion Labey, Phd Student, Paris-Diderot VII (France)

Dott.ssa Giuseppina Larocca, ricercatore, Università di Macerata (Italy)

Dr. Victoria Legkikh, Scientific staff, Institutut of Slavic studies, University of Vienna (Austria) 

Prof. Maria Rita Leto, Professore ordinario di lingua e letteratura serba e croata, Università degli Studi di Chieti-Pescara (Italy)

Francine-Dominique Liechtenhan, Historian, specialist of Russian History, Research Director at the Centre national de la Recherche scientifique (CNRS), Centre Roland Mousnier (France)

Dott.ssa Elisabetta Longhi, Ricercatrice in Lingua e Traduzione Tedesca, Università di Parma (Italy)

Laura Luciani, PhD Researcher, Ghent University (Belgium) 

Prof. Thomas Lundén, Professor Emeritus, Södertörn university (Sweden) 

Paolo Macry, Professore emerito di Storia contemporanea, Università Federico II, Napoli (Italy)

Dott. Riccardo Maffei, Dottore di ricerca in Storia, storico indipendente, Fondazione CESIFIN «Alberto Predieri» – Firenze (Italy)

Laura Mafizzoli, Phd student, Social Anthropologist, University of Manchester (UK) 

Dott. Marco Magnani, Ricercatore a tempo determinato (Tipo A) di Slavistica, Università di Trento (Italy)

Prof. Emilia Magnanini, professore associato (in pensione) di Lingua e Letteratura russa, Università di Venezia (Italy)

Prof Luke March, Professor of Post-Soviet and Comparative Politics, University of Edinburgh (UK)

Prof. Nicoletta Marcialis, Professore ordinario, Università di Roma «Tor Vergata» (Italy)

Prof. Luigi Marinelli, Prof. ordinario di Slavistica, Sapienza Università di Roma (Italy)

Boris Maslov, Associate Professor in Classical Languages, University of Oslo (Norway)

Hedvika Matesová, Assistant Professor in English, University of Chemistry and Technology, Prague (Czech Republic)

Isabella Libertà Mattazzi, University Professor, University of Ferrara (Italy)

Dr. Massimo Maurizio, Lecturer in Russian literature and language at the University of Turin (Italy) 

Jade McGlynn, DPhil Candidate and Lecturer in Russian, University of Oxford (UK)

Prof. Carla Meneguzzi, docente senior, Università di Padova (Italy)

Aude Merlin, Lecturer in political science, Université libre de Bruxelles (Belgium) 

Dott.ssa Floriana Miele, funzionario archeologo, Ministero per i Beni e le Attività Culturali e il Turismo (Italy)

Dr. Dana Mills, Lecturer in Politics and International Relations, Oxford Brookes University (UK)

Ninna Mörner, editor-in-chief, Baltic Worlds, Centre for Eastern Europe and Baltic Studies, Södertörn University (Sweden)

Dr Alexander Morrison, Fellow & Tutor in History New College, University of Oxford (UK)

Prof. Carla Muschio, independent researcher in Russian literature (Italy)

Dr Philippe Mussi, Researcher, Computer Science, INRIA, SOPHIA ANTIPOLIS (France) 

Prof. Eric Naiman, Professor of Comparative Literature, University of California (USA)

Dr Mikhail Nakonechnyi, DPhil in History, History Faculty, University of Oxford (UK) and Postdoctoral researcher for the GULAGechoes project, University of Helsinki (Finland)

Martina Napolitano, Dottoranda in Slavistica, Università di Udine (Italy)

François-Xavier Nerard, Associate Professor, Pantheon Sorbonne U (France)

Prof. Simone Neri Serneri, Professore di Storia contemporanea, Università di Firenze (Italy)

Dr Michael A Nicholson, Emeritus Fellow in Russian & Dean of Degrees, University College, Oxford (UK)

Dr Viviana Nosilia, Researcher, Padua University (Italy)

Dott.ssa Laura Orazi, Docente a contratto di lingua russa, Università degli Studi di Macerata (Italy)

Fernando Orlandi, President of the Biblioteca Archivio del CSSEO (Centro Studi sulla Storia dell'Europa Orientale) in Levico Terme (Italy)

Dr Stefanie Ortmann, Lecturer in International Relations, University of Sussex (UK)

Prof. Maria Cristina Ossiprandi, University Researcher, Parma University (Italy)

Prof. Judith Pallot, Emeritus Professor, University of Oxford and Christ Church (UK)

Folco Panizza, Doctoral Student, University of Trento (Italy)

Raffaello Pannacci, PhD, cultore della materia presso la cattedra di Storia Contemporanea, Università degli Studi di Perugia, Dipartimento di Lettere-Lingue (Italy)

Prof. Lyudmila Parts, Professor of Russian, McGill University (Canada) 

Dr Sebastian Payne, retired Chief Scientist, English Heritage; D. Univ., University of York; PhD, Cambridge University (UK)

Dott.ssa Diana Pedone, Lingue e Civiltà Orientali, Università Ca’ Foscari Venezia (Italy)

Laura Pepe, Researcher, Professor, Writer, Università degli studi di Milano (Italy)

Prof. Roberto Peretta, Professor University of Trento, University of Bergamo (Italy)

Prof. Olga Perotti, Docente di Letteratura spagnola, Università degli Studi di Parma (Italy)

Prof. Alba Pessini, Professore associato, Università di Parma (Italy)

Dr. Stefano Petrungaro, historian, Ca' Foscari University, Venice (Italy)

Prof. Marta Petrusewicz, ordinario di Storia Moderna, in quiescenza, Università della Calabria (Italy)

Paolo Pezzino, Presidente Istituto nazionale Ferruccio Parri-rete degli istituti storici della resistenza e dell’età contemporanea, Milano (Italy)

Dr Marcello Piacentini, Docente dell'Università degli Studi di Padova (Italy)

Niccolò Pianciola Associate Professor of History, Lingnan University (Hong Kong) 

Dr Claudia Pieralli, Tenure Track Professor of Russian Literature, Università degli Studi di Firenze (Italy)

Dr Jan Plamper, Professor of History, Goldsmiths, University of London (UK)

Prof. Maria Pliukhanova, Professore ordinario, Università degli studi di Perugia (Italy)

Tamara Polyakova, PhD Candidate, Department of History, University of Wisconsin-Madison (USA)

Dott.ssa Giorgia Pomarolli, Docente a contratto di Lingua russa, Università di Verona e Padova (Italy)

Prof. Donatella Possamai, Professor of Russian Literature, University of Padua (Italy)

Dr Suzanne Pourchier-Plasseraud, Historian, Phd in History, Paris1 – La Sorbonne (France)

Prof. Francesco Privitera, Professore Associato, Università di Bologna (Italy)

Dr Manuela Putz, Academic manager, Research Centre for East European Studies at the University of Bremen (Germany)

Prof. Laura Quercioli, Professore Associato Letteratura e Cultura Polacca, Università degli Studi di Genova (Italy)

Dr James Rann, Lecturer in Russian, University of Glasgow (UK)

Prof. Leonardo Rapone, professore di Storia contemporanea, Università della Tuscia- Viterbo (Italy)

Prof. Donald Rayfield, Emeritus Professor of Russian and Georgian, Queen Mary University of London (UK)

Dr Oliver Ready, Lecturer and Research Fellow in Russian and literary translator, University of Oxford (UK)

Prof. Damiano Rebecchini, Professor in Russian, State University of Milan (Italy)

Prof. Allan Reid, PhD, Prof of Russian and Comparative Cultural Studies, University of New Brunswick (Canada)

Dr Bettina Renz, Associate Professor in Politics & International Relations, University of Nottingham (UK)

Pr Marie-Pierre Rey, Université Paris 1 Panthéon Sorbonne, History Department (France)

Ludivine Ricou, PhD student in Anthropology, University of Paris-Nanterre (France)

Garrett Riggs, MD, PhD Associate Clinical Professor of Neurology / Freelance Translator, AIMI Translations (USA)

Dott.ssa Giorgia Rimondi, Docente di lingua russa, Università di Genova (Italy)

Prof. Domenico Rizzo, Professore associato di Storia contemporanea, Università degli studi di Napoli «l'Orientale» (Italy)

Prof. Barbara Ronchetti, Docente universitario, Sapienza Università di Roma (Italy)

Prof. Laura Rossi, Professore Associato di Letteratura russa, Università degli studi di Milano (Italy)

Professor Cynthia A. Ruder, Professor of Russian Studies, University of Kentucky (USA)

Per A. Rudling, Research Associate, Center for Baltic and East European Studies, Södertörn University College, Huddinge, and Associate Professor of history, Lund University, (Sweden)

Prof. Stuart Russell, Macquarie University School of Law (retired), Sydney (Australia) 

Dott.ssa Luisa Ruvoletto, Ricercatrice di Linguistica slava, Università Ca' Foscari di Venezia (Italy)

Dr Slava Rychkov, Professor in Theoretical Physics, Institut des Hautes Etudes Scientifiques, Paris (France)

Marco Sabbatini, Professore Associato, Università di Pisa (Italy)

Prof. Antonella Salomoni, Professore di Storia Contemporanea, Università della Calabria (Italy)

Prof. Roberta Salvatore, Associate professor of Russian Language and Literature, University of Messina (Italy)

Dr. Margaret Samu Lecturer in Art and Design History and Theory Parsons School of Design/The New School New York City (USA)

Prof. Irina Sandomirskaja, Professor of Russian, Södertörn university (Sweden) 

Prof. Antonietta Sanna, Dipartimento di Filologia, Letteratura, Linguistica, Università di Pisa (Italy) 

Dr. Donatella Sasso, ricercatrice in storia; Istituto Salvemini, Torino (Italy)

Prof. Dr Frithjof Benjamin Schenk, Professor of Russian and East European History, Basel University (Switzerland) 

Dr. Jutta Scherrer Professor of Russian History Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales, Paris (France)

Wolfgang Schneider, PhD candidate (Eastern European History), Heidelberg University (Germany)

Prof. Andreas Schonle, Head of the School of Modern Languages, The University of Bristol (UK)

Prof. Dr. Patrick Seriot, linguist slavist, univ. of Lausanne (Switzerland)

Prof. Robert Service, Emeritus Professor of Russian History, St Antony's College, Oxford University (UK)

Dr. Ekaterina Shelest, group leader, Martin-Luther University, Halle (Germany)

Dr Anna Shibarova, Lecturer in Russian, Ludwig Miximilian University of Munich (Germany)

Dr. Ilaria Sicari, Adjunct Professor, University of Florence (Italy) 

Dr. Michael Slager, Adjunct Instructor of English, Loyola University Chicago (USA)

Professor Steve Smith, Professor of History, University of Oxford (UK)

Prof. Maria Rosaria Stabili, Professore Ordinario Storia dell’America Latina, Università Roma Tre (Italy)

Prof. Daniela Steila, Professore associato di Storia della filosofia, Università di Torino (Italy)

Prof. Svetlana Stephenson, Course Leader for Criminology and Sociology, London Metropolitan University (UK)

Doz. hab. Radmila Svarickova Slabakova, PhD., Associate Professor of Modern History, Palacký University, Olomouc (Czech Republic) 

Dr Guillaume Tiberghien, Lecturer in Tourism, University of Glasgow (UK)

Prof. Giovanna Tomassucci, Professor of Polish Literature, University of Pisa (Italy)

Dott.ssa Lucia Tonini, Letteratura russa, Università di Pisa (Italy)

Prof. Massimo Tria, Professore Associato di Lingua e Letteratura Russa, Università di Cagliari (Italy)

Prof. Cécile Vaissié, Professor in Russian, Soviet and post-Soviet studies, Rennes 2 University (France) 

Dott.ssa María Valero Gisbert, Professore in Lingua e Traduzione Spagnola, Università degli studi di Parma (Italy)

Alissa Valles, Senior Teaching Fellow, Elie Wiesel Center for Jewish Studies, Boston University (USA)

Emily Van Buskirk, Associate Professor, Russian literature Director, Russian, East European Program Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey (USA)

Prof. Robert van Voren, Director, Andrei Sakharov Research Center for Democratic Development Professor of Soviet and Post-Soviet Studies, Vytautas Magnus University Kaunas (Lithuania)

Prof. Giorgio Vecchio, Professore ordinario di Storia contemporanea, Università di Parma (Italy)

Prof. Olga Velikanova, Professor of Russian History, History Department, University of North Texas (USA)

Prof. Michela Venditti, Professore associate, Università degli Studi di Napoli L’Orientale (Italy)

Dr Anat Vernitski, WEA Tutor in Russian Studies, Essex (UK)

Carlo Verri, Historian (Italy)

Lynne Viola, University Professor and Professor of History, University of Toronto (Canada)

Oane Visser, Associate professor, Erasmus University, Rotterdam (The Netherlands) 

Francesca Volpi, PhD Candidate in Linguistic, Literary and Intercultural Studies, University of Milan (Italy)

Dr Josephine von Zitzewitz, Marie Sklodowska Curie Research Fellow, UiT The Arctic University of Norway, Tromsø (Norway) 

PD Dr. Ricarda Vulpius, Senior Research Fellow and Lecturer in History, Free University Berlin (Germany)

Judith Wechsler, Professor emerita, Tufts University (USA)

Associate Professor Kevin Windle, Emeritus Fellow, Australian National University, Canberra (Australia)

Dr Monica White, Associate Professor in Russian and Slavonic Studies, University of Nottingham (UK)

Dr Sarah Whitmore Senior Lecturer in Politics, Department of Social Sciences, Oxford Brookes University (UK)

Anya Yermakova, Doctoral student and Teaching Fellow, Harvard University (USA)

Dr Sarah Young, Associate Professor of Russian, School of Slavonic and East European Studies, University College London (UK)

Prof. Maria Zalambani, Full professor, University of Bologna (Italy)

Dott. Livio Zerbinati, Ricercatore di storia contemporanea, SISSCO (Italy)

Margarita V. Zhivova, Assegnista di ricerca in lingue, letterature e culture straniere, Università degli studi Roma Tre (Italy)

Prof. Andrei Zorin, Professor of Russian, University of Oxford (UK)

Dr. Yelena Zotova, Associate Teaching Professor of Russian, The Pennsylvania State University (USA)


Non-academic signatories

Aglaé Achechova, Bibliothèque universitaire des langues et civilisations, Paris (France)

Ms Ekaterina Akopyan, historian (Germany)

Dr. Vera Ammer, Translator, Memorial Germany (Germany)

Thomas Ammer, contemporary historian, Euskirchen (Germany)

Anastassia Anton, student at the Technical University of Dortmund (Germany)

Carmen Armaroli, Freelance (Italy)

Rehim Babaoglu, Lawyer (USA)

Martino Baldi, Bibliotecario, Biblioteca San Giorgio, Pistoia (Italy) 

Maria Baldovin, giornalista, East Journal Italia (Italy)

Marina Balduzzi (Italy)

Leonardo Barattin, Entrepeneur (Italy)

Dr. Susan Barba, editor, Cambridge, MA (USA)

Marie Bardiaux-Vaïente, Comic book writer, Marmande (France)

Leonie Barron, Translator (UK) 

Sophie Bélaïch, journalist, Paris (France)

Francesca Berardi, insegnante di Filosofia e Storia, liceo «Enrico Fermi», Salò (Italy)

Dott. Davide Maria Bergonzi, docente di lingua e letteratura inglese, ITT Gentileschi – Milano (Italy) 

Jean-Jacques Bernard, History professor (France)

Joëlle Bernard, Nurse (France)

Prof.ssa Anna Rosa Bolognesi, docente, ITST «Artemisia Gentileschi», Milano (Italy)

Francesca Borrelli, curatrice inserto libri del manifesto, Alias D (Italy)

Anna Borsatti, Architetto (Italy)

Sivlia Bortoli, Translator (Italy)

Marija Bradaš, Venezia legge i Balcani, Padova (Italy) 

Elaine Bradshaw, Retired, former student at London School of Slavonic and East European Studies, Yorkshire (UK)

Roberto Branchetti, Longhi & Branchetti (Italy) 

Sylvie Brosselin, Rennes (France)

Patrick Bullen (UK)

Dr. Matthias Bürgel, Ricercatore in Filologia Italiana, Independent Researcher (Germany)

Dr Marina Buvailo, medical doctor, writer (UK)

Maria Caldini, Student (Italy)

Mary Pat Campbell, Soviet Memory Project, New York (USA)

Prof. Alessandro Candriella, Retired professor (Italy)

Antonio Carioti, giornalista, «Corriere della Sera» (Italy)

Jenny Carr, Retired Teacher (UK)

Franca Cavagnoli, Writer and translator, Milan (Italy)

Fania Cavaliere, insegnante di Storia e Filosofia al Liceo Linguistico Manzoni di Milano e presidente del Centro Artistico Alik Cavaliere (Italy)

Dott. Antonio Clemente Cavallo, Lizzano (Italy)

Stepan Cernousek, Gulag.cz Association, Chairman (Czech Republic) 

Prof. Simone Campanozzi, Teacher and Educator at the Istituto lombardo di storia contemporanea (Italy)

Richard Coombes, Translator, Richard Coombes Language Services (UK)

Mario Corti, Writer, Former Radio Liberty Russian Service Director (Italy)

Dr. Larry Cothren, independent researcher in Russian History (retired), Seacliff, South Australia (Australia)

Halya Coynash (Ms), journalist, Kharkiv Human Rights Group (Ukraine)

John Crowfoot, Translator and Editor (UK) 

Carmela Curzio, docente di geografia, ITT «A. Gentileschi» di Milano (Italy)

Stephen Dalziel, Freelance Journalist, London (UK) 

Lorenzo D'Ambrosi (Italy)

Bruno De Boni, Civil Servant, Brussels (Belgium)

Andreas Decker, History teacher at Camerloher-Gymnasium Freising (Germany)

Marina Decker, Freising (Germany)

Barbara Delfino, translator (Italy)

Martin Dewhirst, Former Honorary Research Fellow at the University of Glasgow (UK)

Federica Di Lella, translator and teacher (Italy)

Alfredo Di Lorenzo, Public manager, member of the Italian Democratic Party, Union leader (Italy)

Natasha Dissanayake (UK)

Paola Di Stasio, Insegnante, Milano (Italy)

Luisa Doplicher, translator, Paris (France)

Andrés Duque, Filmmaker, Barcelona (Spain)

Marcus Ferrar, Oxford (UK)

Marco Gabbas, PhD candidate, Milan State University (Italy)

Filippo Gaggini, Entrepeneur, Milano (Italy)

Kateryna Gamolina, student (BA Free University of Berlin), Memorial Germany (Germany)

Dott. Jurij Gatto, Libero professionista nel campo della formazione (Italy)

Pepijn Gerrits, Executive Director, Netherlands Helsinki Committee (The Netherlands)

Dr. Anke Giesen, Member of the Board of Memorial Internationals and MEMORIAL Germany (Germany)

Elena Gori Corti, Translator (Italy)

Francesca Gori, Memorial Italia (Italy)

Barbara Grzywacz, Memorial Italia (Italy)

Liudmila Gudman, Doctor, Haifa (Israel) 

Pavel Havlicek, Analyst at the Research Centre, Association for International Affairs, Prague (Czech Republic)

Jean-Michel Heuskin, Directeur de MNEMA La Cité Miroir, Chênée (Belgium)

Ms Siriol Hugh-Jones, Freelance Translator (UK)

Elena Ilina, Artist, gallerist, «Atelier Soldina», Berlin (Germany)

Mrs Yelena Karl, translator & trustee of The Cambridge Russian-Speaking Society (UK)

Masha Karp, journalist (UK)

Tomasz Kizny, freelance journalist and author of Gulag and The Great Terror books (Poland)

Winfried Klinghammer, Consultant (Germany)

Ph.D. Letizia Kostner, translator (Italy)

Dr. Julia Landau, curator, History of Soviet Special Camp No. 2, Buchenwald and Mittelbau-Dora Memorials Foundation (Germany)

Fabio Landi, Docente presso Liceo Parini, Milano (Italy)

Daniel Laudic, Aix-en-Provence (France)

Meryl Lavenant, student in History, Ecole Normale Supérieure, Paris (France)

Alessio Lega, Songwriter, Writer (Italy)

Alla Leibova M.A., co-owner of bookstore (Germany)

Laura Leonelli, Giornalista – Il Sole 24 Ore (Italy)

Mrs Virginie Leredde, lead document controller, Paris (France)

Marija Lisica, artist (Croatia)

Dott.ssa Francesca Lomastro, Storica, Associazione «Il Ponte – Mict», Caldogno (Italy)

Julia Lorenz, Jurist (Switzerland)

András Lukács, President, Levegő Munkacsoport (Hungary)

Maura Maioli, insegnante, Associazione Culturale Letteraria, Fano (Italy)

Francesco Malcangi (Italy)

Carol P. Malczynski (Canada)

Maria Teresa Maranzana, School Teacher (Italy)

Dott. Paolo Mereghetti, critico cinematografico, Corriere della Sera (Italy)

Eva Mascolino, Freelance translator (Italy)

Mr Nikolai Matveyev, philologist (UK)

Dott. Maria Giovanna Mazzola, bibliotecaria in pensione dell'Università di Pisa (Italy)

Dott.ssa Yasmina Melaouah, translator, Civica Scuola Interpreti e Traduttori Altiero Spinelli, Milan (Italy)

Mag. Vera Merkel, translator, Innsbruck (Austria)

Professor Catherine Merridale FBA, freelance writer (UK)

Gennaro Migliore, Italian MP (Italy)

Aleksander Mincer, attore, Roma (Italy)

Eleonora Mogavero, Literary translator (Italy)

David Mohelský, M. A. Teacher, historian and translator Rio de Janeiro (Brazil)

Isabelle Momméja, treasurer, Thionville (France)

Melanie J. Moore, Freelance Literary Translator (UK)

Roberta Mori, responsabile delle attività didattiche, Centro Internazionale di Studi Primo Levi, Torino (Italy)

Vincent Morlier, Student in History, University of Rennes (France)

David Morton, Head of BBC Russian Service 1988-94, Head of BBC World Service EurAsia Region 1994-2003 (UK)

Ms Elena Murdaca, Memorial Italia (Italy)

Duccio Nadai, Doctor (Italy)

Prof. Vittorio Nadai, Translator (Italy)

Prof. Rita Navazio, Istituto Meucci, Firenze (Italy)

Chiara Nencioni. Docente del liceo Chini Michelangelo (Italy)

Mariangela Nieddu, writer (Italy)

Ilya Nuzov, Head of the Eastern Europe-Central Asia Desk, FIDH – International Federation for Human Rights, Paris (France) 

Thibaud Ochem, Administrative Assistant, Manpower Luxembourg, Metz (France)

Bruno Osimo, professore di traduzione russa presso la Civica Scuola per Interpreti e Traduttori «Altiero Spinelli» di Milano (Italy)

PhD Mateusz Palka, art critic, curator, editor, photographer, the National Ossoliński Institute (Poland)

Mgr. Tereza Paton, Interpreter, Sydney (Australia) 

Mario Peracchio, Educator and Psychologist (Italy)

Dott.ssa Marta Perrini, impiegata, consigliera della CCDC (Italy)

Alessandra Petrelli, Literary Translator (Italy)

Alexandra Petrova, Writer, poet (Italy)

Carla Poncina, President of the Istituto Storico della Resistenza di Vicenza (Italy)

Alexandra Popoff, Independent scholar and author, biographer (Canada)

Lia Quartapelle, Italian MP, Milan (Italy)

Olga Radetzkaja, literary translator and editor at OSTEUROPA journal, Berlin (Germany) 

Knud Ramian, Senioradvisor, m.psych. The Association for the Development of Old Age Opportunities (Denmark)

Ms. Caroline Rees, Translator with Russian and French, freelance (UK)

Dott.ssa Ilaria Remonato, docente lingua inglese, studiosa di letteratura russa (Italy)

Edoardo Ripani, attore, regista, operatore culturale Casi-UO, Transfocollect, freelance (Italy)

Andrea Riscassi, Giornalista Rai, Milano (Italy)

Rabbi Michael Rivkin (France)

Barbara Ronca, Translator (Italy)

Nicolas Rouzet, History teacher,Don Bosco high school, Marseille (France)

Dominique Roynette, Journaliste and collaboration to Gulag and The Great Terror in USSR by Tomasz Kizny (France)

Prof. Vincenzo Russo, former docente di Scienza delle finanze, Sapienza Università di Roma (Italy)

Anna Maria Samuelli, Insegnante, Responsabile sezione Didattica Gariwo, la foresta dei Giusti, Milano (Italy)

Michèle Santucci (France)

Anna Maria Saponaro , insegnante (Italy)

Domenico Scarpa, literary consultant, Centro internazionale di studi Primo Levi, Turin (Italy)

Giustina Selvelli, PhD, Independent Researcher and Writer (Italy)

Laura Sgarioto, translator, Budapest (Hungary)

Irina Shumovitch, former BBC World Service journalist (UK)

Silvia Sichel, translator (Italy)

Dott.ssa Flavia Sigona, Translator (Italy)

Dott. Alessandro Sommacal, studente di Lingue Moderne per la Comunicazione e la Cooperazione Internazionale, Università di Padova (Italy)

Dr. Stephan Stach, Chief Specialist, Historian, POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews, Warsaw

Franco Stagni (Italy)

Ms. Charlotte Swadling, graduate MPhil student in Russian and East European Studies at the University of Oxford (UK)

Leila Tavi, giornalista (Italy)

Dr Christine Thomas Former Head of Slavonic and East European Collections, the British Library (UK)

Marco Travaglini, Giornalista e scrittore (Italy)

Joanna Urbanek, Historian, Warsaw (Poland)

Mr. Laurynas Vaičiūnas, Deputy Director, Kolegium Europy Wschodniej im. Jana Nowaka-Jeziorańskiego we Wrocławiu (Poland)

Maria Laura Vanorio, Teacher and Translator (Italy)

Dott. Pasquale Vinciguerra, dirigente statale in pensione (Italy)

Ekaterina Vinogradova, MA, educator

Maurits Westbroek, Student, University of Oxford (UK)

Jan Wiencke, Bookstore owner, Hamburg (Germany) 

Claudia Zonghetti, Translator (Italy)